Charles W. Brown Planetarium
The Charles W. Brown Planetarium at Ball State University contains the largest dome in the state of Indiana. It seats over 150 people and is home to a star projector, which welcomes in 70k resolution. The planetarium gathers over 20,000 visitors a year.
Ball State has had a planetarium since 1967, inside what was the Cooper Science Complex. This was later demolished and upgraded to what is known today as the Cooper Science Building, which holds the Charles W. Brown Planetarium (added in 2014). The planetarium is now operated by Ball State’s first female director, Dayna Thompson.
The Dayna Special
Dayna Thompson, the planetarium director at Ball State, is one of the familiar faces behind the planetarium on campus. She started at Purdue University Northwest and attained a bachelor’s of science in physics. Afterward, she went to Ball State as a graduate student in the physics and astronomy department, eventually earning her master’s degree.
Dayna has spent 13 years at Ball State. Once she graduated from the university, she applied for the role as assistant director of the Charles W. Brown Planetarium, which was new at the time. After seven years in this position, Dayna was promoted to planetarium director in 2019.
Dayna says she enjoyed science fiction throughout her childhood. Growing up, her family always watched the genre on TV, specifically, Star Trek was one of Dayna’s favorites.
While her interest in science fiction played a part in becoming planetarium director, Dayna’s educational journey is what led her to the position. She was mostly captivated by math, but her interest in space evolved overtime. Mathematics came naturally to Dayna. She started by learning about quantum physics through NOVA specials, which is a science series shown on PBS.
“That really interested me, using math to understand how things work in the world and understand our place in it,” Dayna says.
She later switched over to astronomy to pursue her interest in the subject’s beauty and fascinations. She even began focusing on red dwarf stars. Red dwarf stars are the smallest and most common type of star in the Milky Way.
The planetarium displays a number of programs, including one of Dayna’s own. It is titled “Sunset Meditation” – a health and mindfulness oriented program that discusses the role of astronauts and how they deal with feelings of anxiousness while undergoing space travel.
Dayna expresses how the topic is important to her, so she wanted to make this showing free and accessible for all. Her show was so popular that it was sold to several planetariums across the United States and distributed worldwide. The guided meditation is even translated into six different languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Slovak.
The Voice of the Universe
Nicolette Terracciano is the planetarium show specialist at Ball State. She is the voice of the majority of the shows that take place in the Charles W. Brown Planetarium.
Nicolette was an undergraduate student at Ball State and obtained her degree in astronomy and physics. She is currently a graduate student working toward her master’s degree in physics. She started her work within the planetarium as an assistant and was later promoted to show specialist because of her enthusiastic personality.
Nicolette’s interest in astronomy started when she was 10 years old. When she was a child, her older sister would take her stargazing in the fields of their neighborhood. Her sister would tell her about the constellations and star forms.
“Eventually, I started asking too big of questions,” Nicolette says. “She would look at me and say, ‘Nic, I have no idea.’”
This was when Nicolette realized that she wanted to dig deeper into the world of science.
When it comes to understanding the environment around her, Nicolette has always been curious.
“I don’t like leaving questions unanswered,” she says. “I want to know.”
With that, Nicolette worked hard to pursue her career in the STEM field. She found great interest in the stars and universe and came to a realization.
“I discovered that I can make a career out of studying astronomy … something that I love,” she says.
From there, she finished up her schooling and applied for the role as planetarium assistant, and she was recommended by her professors. She was later named the show specialist for Charles W. Brown Planetarium, where she conducts public shows, show scheduling, planning events, prepping activities, and more.
When being introduced to work in the planetarium, Nicolette was heavily influenced by Dayna. She was the first woman in the STEM field that Nicolette had ever met. Dayna believed that Nicolette was suitable for the job and that she was capable of conducting scientific presentations.
Because of Dayna’s faith in her, Nicolette pushed herself to jump at the opportunity to work as an assistant. She also admired Dayna’s professional and intelligent character. Dayna’s trust and support helped Nicolette thrive in the industry, take risks, and prepare her for her career. The two of them have a trusting bond and work well together.
“The best part about my job is making it a safe place for everyone to talk with me or with Dayna Thompson or with anyone on our staff and be able to learn something new,” Nicolette says.
Sources: Charles W. Brown Planetarium
