Welcome to our annual gathering of hemispheric friends!
We want to extend enormous gratitude to our hosts Sally Brummel, Darnell Eveleth, and their team at the Bell Museum. This will be a fantastic chance to learn and network with each other. From the pre-conference workshops to the post-conference tour, our days will be packed with amazing demonstrations, presentations and opportunities to discuss how you can make your planetarium the best that it can be. Please also take a moment to thank Renae Kerrigan, the conference planning team, the videography team, our bus drivers and the staff of the Bell Museum, the Delta Hotel, Como Elementary School, the Hoċokata Ṫi Cultural Education Center and the Como Park Zoo & Observatory. So many people will be working diligently to make our time together run smoothly and efficiently.
We also want to thank our sponsors for their generous support. In addition to keeping our gathering affordable, they work tirelessly to bring their very best products and services to our community. They are a vital part of our community. Please make the most out of this unique opportunity to explore what they can do for you and your planetarium.
We have several fantastic speakers lined up. We hope you will benefit from their knowledge and wisdom. Please plan on attending GLPA’s annual business meeting to learn about how your executive committee has been navigating challenges and ensuring that GLPA supports you and your work. In addition, this is an election year. If you haven’t read the candidate statements, they are in the Fall Equinox GLPA Newsletter. You’ll have some tough choices because we have so many amazing members that want to give back to the organization through their leadership and service.
Lastly, be sure to take good care of you! There are so many exciting things going on that it becomes easy to forget to get your rest and stay healthy. We have several conference helpers that can help you manage your personal needs. Your wellness is a very high priority.
Warmest regards,
Mark Percy – GLPA President
Jack L Northrup – GPPA Treasurer
Jeremy Amarant – PPA President
Dear Planetarians,
Welcome to the Twin Cities for the 60th Annual GLPA conference and the second joint GLPA/WAC conference. The Bell Museum is your official host institution, but we feel this is truly a statewide event as it is the first GLPA in Minnesota since the Minneapolis Planetarium hosted in 1996. You’ll be hearing from Minnesota planetarium directors throughout the conference. You may also see some old friends who haven’t worked in planetariums for many years, but still feel the sense of community that GLPA provides.
The planetarium is new to the Bell Museum and the University of Minnesota. We are proud to have all of you here to show off all of the stellar things you do that make this profession unique! The papers, posters, workshops, and sponsor sessions show the diverse skills you gain and contribute by being a planetarian. We look forward to the exciting twist that Dr. Shannon Schmoll will bring with the Astronomy Update. Two invited speakers also have local connections–Jim Rock, who is still spreading his knowledge all throughout the state, and Bob Bonadurer, the Spitz Lecturer, who spent some of his planetarium days in Minneapolis.
When the Minneapolis Planetarium hosted GLPA for the second time in 1979, its Director was Maxine Haarstick, a treasure of the community . She was the Spitz Lecturer that year, and she remarked, “As planetarium operators we provide the ‘stepping stones’ for a better understanding of the real sky show. We bridge the gaps between the scientists and the kid coming to us on the orange school bus. We are the catalysts for inquiry and investigation….I thank God we are so privileged.” I think we all feel some sort of gratitude too.
Thank you for coming to the Twin Cities for the GLPA/WAC conference!
Sally Brummel
Darnell Eveleth
2025 Conference Hosts
The Bell Museum sits on traditional and treaty land of the Dakota people, in the area known as Mnisóta Makhóčhe (the land of Minnesota).