CityView Magazine

38 May 2023 groups to visit the planetarium. A Saturday aernoon STEAM Team has been open to students in seventh through 12th grades since 2018. (STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.) "Some of our STEAM Team students have assisted with building various projects, such as the planetarium lighting system," Kabbes says. "We call it STEAM because it rhymes with 'team' and also adds some art stuff. A lot of people don't appreciate that there's a huge amount of art in science and engineering. ere's an artistic component to a lot of things, plus a huge amount of creativity even to stuff you don't see. "at's the fun thing — helping students to understand that they can be creative and innovative and make things that maybe nobody else could come up with." One of those students is 14-year-old Julianna Jones, a high school freshman who is part of the STEAM Team Star Docents, a biweekly program with STEM enrichment activities. "My favorite activity we've done was with circuits," she said. "I like that science allows for understanding and progression. Although I want to be a biomedical engineer when I'm older, I would like to learn how to code and more about astronomy." She considers the FSU Planetarium a one- of-a-kind, first-class facility. "I love the planetarium," Jones says. "It's not too big and not too small. e projects make everything very clear and make the experience very immersive. I like that there Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album. A remastered version of the album was released, and the band created the planetarium show. e FSU planetarium was one of the first two in the U.S. that was approved to license the show, Kabbes says. e Pink Floyd show debuted April 6 and continues through June. For ticket information, go to the planetarium's website. "is show is a series of stunning, full- dome visuals choreographed to the songs from 'Dark Side of the Moon,'" Kabbes says. "Each song has a unique visual theme. We see the 'Dark Side of the Moon' show as a unique cultural opportunity for FSU and the Fayetteville community. Given our world-class, high-definition projection and 6,500-watt sound system, we will offer an experience like no other in the region." When Kabbes arrived at Fayetteville State six years ago, he hit the ground running. "I got here the third or fourth day of August of 2017, and two weeks later we had an eclipse party," he says. "Here, the eclipse was about 95%. Even with only two weeks to get it together, we had about six to eight hundred people. It was a lot of fun." Excited about science With its continued growth, the planetarium is Joe Kabbes' world, and everyone is welcome to it. Especially students. "is isn't about me. It's about opportunities we're trying to create," Kabbes says. "I want to introduce them to the excitement of science. A lot of kids don't realize that, 'I could be a scientist; I could be an engineer.' "I went to a third-grade class one time and was showing a picture of one of the conferences I was at, and (the attendees were) about half women. And a little third- grade girl in the back said, 'You mean girls can be scientists too?'" at look of wonder from people viewing his exhibits is what drives Kabbes. "ere's two things," Kabbes says. "I want people to feel like they can come back another week and learn more of this stuff and, secondly, I get bored doing the same thing over and over again." For tickets to the Saturday shows at the Fayetteville State University planetarium, go to https://www.uncfsu.edu/community/ planetarium. Kabbes hosts two Saturday night shows each month for the general public that begin at 7 p.m. Take our free joint pain assessment at CentralCarolinaHosp.com/Joint Enhanced cleaning, mask requirements and social distancing to help keep you safe. Count on us to keep your life in motion. are many different features, including full dome videos and galaxy tours." e planetarium offered its first Space Camp for seventh- through 12th-graders last summer; a second one is scheduled for June 12-16. "Students will build and launch rockets and learn how to program small robots during the week," Kabbes says. One teacher who has taken advantage of the planetarium is Diego Mendivelso, an earth and environmental science and chemistry teacher at Cross Creek Early College High School on the FSU campus. e planetarium has showcased FSU's science and technology programs to generate interest and awareness among his students, says Mendivelso, a teacher for 12 years who has lived in Fayetteville for two years and attended the National University of Colombia. "e planetarium has developed an essential role in the divulgation of science among the schools in Cumberland County," Mendivelso says. His STEM team was among 60 winners in NASA's second TechRise Student Challenge, a nationwide contest designed to engage students in technology, science and space exploration. e team will receive $1,500 to build an experiment that will be tested on one of two NASA-sponsored high-altitude balloon flights this summer. e FSU planetarium also is among 100 worldwide chosen to host a show in honor of the 50th anniversary of rock band Pink

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