02 February 2004
(No attribution)
The director of Armagh Planetarium - one of the province's top visitor attractions - says a £1m cash windfall will make a dramatic change to how people see the stars.
Dr Tom Mason says the much-needed funding from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure will be used to complete refurbishment of the Space Theatre, originally known as the Star Theatre.
The planetarium, built in the grounds of the observatory, opened in 1967.
The brainchild of the late Dr Eric Lindsay, who was director of the observatory, it is the only one in Ireland.
The boost was announced in the government's Priorities and Budget 2004-2006.
It is intended to enable the planetarium to provide a service "that is of benefit to the city of Armagh and to Northern Ireland as a whole".
For some time, the Space Theatre has been undergoing renovations in line with health and safety regulations. Some of the grant will be used to make it wheelchair-user friendly.
And planetarium bosses are still seeking a further £8.2m for an ambitious plan revealed in March 2002 to create a new Challenger Centre and turn the facility into one of Europe's premier Space Science Centres.
"Given what is currently happening in space and what will happen in the future, it is of the utmost importance that the planetarium is up and running so that astronauts of the future can get their first taste of space here," says the director.
It is hoped that the cost of six new projectors for the Space Theatre will be covered by the government funding allowing planetarium users to actually step into a bit of space.
Commenting on the Space Centre plans, Dr Mason said that a bid for the cash is still floating around.
"We are still hopeful of securing the funding," he added.
Current renovations will hopefully be completed by the summer - although Dr Mason stresses this is dependent on the availability of new equipment.
