In one of his final official acts Sunday, Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval cut the ribbon on the city’s new planetarium, an attraction that he described as “among the best of its kind anywhere in the world”
The Planetario y Centro Interactivo de Jalisco Lunaria, as the facility will be known, features a state-of-the-art dome with an 18-meter-wide screen with 2D and 3D projection, in addition to 23 interactive exhibits and games covering the fields of astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, ecology and engineering.
Sandoval called the new space “extraordinary and magical,” somewhere children can “become lovers of science.”
The city’s former planetarium, located on the northern beltway, has been closed for more than a decade. A condominium complex and new location for the annual Fiestas de Octubre is planned for this site.
Located centrally in Colonia Miraflores, a stone’s throw from La Normal Glorieta, the Lunaria covers an area of 21,00 square meters, and includes an open-air auditorium, green areas, cafe, elevators, a Mi Bici bike share station and parking.
The facility cost 195 million pesos and took 13 months to complete. It is located on the site of the former headquarters of the now defunct and discredited University Guadalajara students union, the Federation de Estudiantes de Guadalajara (FEG). The building was closed several years ago after it was revealed that a series of murders had taken place on the property.
Neighbors in the predominantly middle-class zone initially opposed the project but relented after the government gave them assurances that their way of life would not be affected. Many neighbors were among the 500 people attending then inauguration ceremony on Sunday.
The public was allowed in free of charge on the first four days after the planetarium opened. The incoming state government of Enrique Alfaro – which took office Thursday – will determine what the entrance fees will be.