Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium

Inside the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium, October 26, 2012

Candles in holders were spread throughout the room creating an eerie light.

Chains hung down from the edge of the ceiling.

Spider webs covered black holes in the wall.

The music playing softly in the background begins to swell as the lights flicker on and off.

Howling wind and mournful wailing add to the crescendo of sound as a black hooded figure enters and circles the room.

“I will be your guide today,” said the black hooded figure. “I am Charon, Boatman of the River Styx.”

Viewers sat on curved couches and stared up at the ceiling of the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium for the show. Charon went on to speak of each of the 12 Labors of Hercules. Pictures went along with each of the myths and music played softly in the background. The tales were of the Nemean Lion, the Lernean Hydra, The Ceryneian Hind, the Erymanthian Boar, the Augean Stables, the Stymphalian Birds, the Cretan Bull, the Horses of Diomedes, the girdle of Hippolyte, Geryon's Cattle, the Apples of Hesperides, and Cerberus.

After each myth was told of the 12 Labors Hercules had to go through, the ceiling lit up showing the stars. The audience was shown the autumn night sky and introduced to the man portraying Charon, Tim Collins. By rotating the autumn sky, Collins showed the audience different constellations that were visible such as the big and little dippers, the north star, and orion. Constellations from the myths like hydra, and the lion were also pointed out.

In its final three months of service before closing down for renovations, the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium hosted one its last showings of “Legends of Autumn: The 12 Labors of Hercules” on Oct. 26.

Collins, an employee of the planetarium and a Buffalo State alumnus, has worked on perfecting shows and creating ways to keep viewers entertained for 25 years.

“A lot of people enjoy the star shows,” said Collins. “People love to look at and learn about the different constellations in the sky. All of us who do the shows have our own style so you can come back to a show two or three times and experience something completely different.”

Collins said that the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium is one of the only planetariums around that’s open to the public. Being able to work in such a place is amazing because he gets to share his enthusiasm about the stars.

For married couple Marten Vanzwietering and Emily Pici, they were revisiting the place where they had gotten married.

“We don’t get a chance to come to the planetarium often anymore because we live in Vermont now, but I’m originally from Buffalo,” said Pici. “It will be fantastic to be able to see a show.”

Vanzwietering added that they were glad to be able to catch a show before having to head back to Vermont in a few days.

Steve Halasz, a native from Buffalo came to see the show about Hercules expecting it to be unique and interesting.

“I found out about the show because it was advertised on the computer through the science museum,” said Halasz.

The shows at the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium range from Greek mythological stories about Hercules and Medusa, to conspiracy theory shows about the '2012 Prophecy of Doom.' There are also Laser Music shows that combine laser patterns with popular songs.

The Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium has been around for 30 years. Beginning in Jan. 2013, it will undergo an upgrade to be moved to a bigger a more efficient space.

“The new planetarium will be state of the art,” said Collins. “There isn’t any other ones around except in Rochester, so the upgrade should be great.”

The planetarium holds shows every Friday at 6:30 and 8 p.m. Shows are also held on Saturday at 2 and 4 p.m. People can reserve tickets online for shows online, by e-mail, or by telephone number, 716-878-4911. General admission tickets cost $6. BSC students are admitted free with a school ID.

The Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium is located in the Science Building on Buffalo State College’s campus.