Guidelines for Planetarium Visits

The San Juan College Planetarium welcomes interested guests to its show performances. A visit to the planetarium is designed as a learning experience in the science of astronomy. There is no admission charge for planetarium presentations. We do require your cooperation in planning your visits, and these guidelines will be helpful to you:

Capacity
Planetarium seating is limited to 60 persons. If your group numbers less than 60, other guests may be allowed to attend your show until the planetarium is at capacity.

Reservations
It is requested that 14 calendar days notice be given prior to the date of your visit. You may also call for a reservation at (505) 566-3361. Information needed includes show title or subject area you are studying (I will make a choice of a specific show, if you indicate a subject matter), with date and time desired (give two choices), name of school or group, mailing address, contact person, age or grade level of guests, and total number of persons (including students, teachers, leaders, parents, and any guests of your group, even babes in arms). Please give as much notice as possible, should you need to cancel or postpone a show. Contacts for groups are advised to schedule as far in advance as possible. All reservations are subject to open dates and times. The planetarium reserves the right to substitute shows in the event of a technical difficulty.

Also, due to several past incidences of groups arriving on a date or at a time for which they were not scheduled, the planetarium will be requiring any group making a reservation to present a confirmation slip sent by the planetarium in order to gain admittance into the presentation!! (The planetarium director will also retain a signed copy of the confirmation slip sent to the group making a reservation, for comparison purposes, if necessary.) The presentation is still free of charge, but the confirmation system has become necessary in order to eliminate the erroneous arrival of unscheduled groups. After a reservation is made, whether by phone or mail, the person responsible for the group's trip must wait for a confirmation slip to be sent via mail (or via e-mail, if an address is provided. Bring a printed copy for admittance). A group will be admitted to the planetarium only with its confirmation slip for the CORRECT date and time! If you have made a reservation and, after a reasonable amount of time, have not received a confirmation slip from the planetarium, contact the planetarium director to check on its status: your reservation is not completed until you receive a confirmation slip from the planetarium. Once you receive your confirmation slip, please check it to ensure that the time and date are those that you really want. The time and date that the planetarium director will have your group scheduled for in his records will be the time and date on your confirmation slip, and no other. If your group arrives on a date or at a time that is not on the confirmation slip, your group will not be admitted under any circumstances.

During a Performance
For all shows, please be punctual in arriving for starting times. It would probably be best to plan your travel schedule so that your group arrives at the planetarium about 10 minutes before the scheduled starting time. This will allow time for getting water and using restrooms (especially after those long bus rides!) Otherwise, it may be necessary to shorten or cancel your presentation in order to accommodate the other shows on the day's schedule. Also remember that if yours is a small enough group, there may be another small group scheduled to attend the same presentation. If one group has arrived on time, and another one is late, the latter may be closed out of the presentation, as the planetarium doors lock automatically, and no one is allowed to enter once a show starts. So please be prompt and enjoy the presentation!

Normal daytime attire is acceptable. Eating, drinking, chewing gum, and smoking are not permitted in the planetarium. Teachers and chaperones, please take measures to ensure that students are aware of this policy beforehand, and that they do not even bring things to snack on in the planetarium. The plantarium director cannot police violators of this rule and run a planetarium show at the same time, and cleaning up gum, sunflower seeds, and other leavings after a show makes it impossible to maintain a show schedule properly. Students must be accompanied by adults who will be responsible for their group's behavior. If a behavior problem develops in the planetarium, the director will suspend the show.

To get to the planetarium once you have reached the campus, find the building with the clock tower on it. Buses may park right by the sidewalk next to the college's gymnasium/wellness center. Even though you may see a "Do not park" sign there, I have checked with the college, and it is O.K. for buses. Go to the right of the building with the clock tower and follow a wide sidewalk which goes up an incline. There will be a low brick wall to the left of the sidewalk and a painted metal handrail on the right. This takes you to a covered walkway. Turn right and follow the walkway to a set of double doors, with an electric eye to open them. Go through this and the next set of double doors. Once inside, the planetarium entrance will be the first set of double doors to your left(Rm. 1723). All reserved groups shall enter and exit via these doors. Please call the planetarium if you need further help with the directions. As a courtesy to college students in class, guests are required to remain quiet in the hallways. Unless you are being given a special presentation for preschoolers, attendance by children under 5 years old is not recommended. Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to seeing you!

4601 College Boulevard · Farmington, New Mexico 87402 · 505-326-3311

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