A retirement reception for Jack Dunn, coordinator of Mueller Planetarium, is 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. July 18 at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Morrill Hall. A presentation by Dunn is at 5:30 p.m. in the planetarium.
Dunn has educated and entertained audiences in Mueller Planetarium for 43 years. Since his arrival in 1971, Dunn has successfully transitioned the planetarium’s technology from a theatre that once operated with a single car speaker sound system and slide projectors, to a state of the art digital learning environment. Among other accomplishments, Dunn has helped facilitate the annual Astronomy Day activities, welcoming astronauts and distinguished researchers to interact with audiences at the NU State Museum for more than 20 years. Dunn has also consulted with NASA, Jet Propulsion Lab and planetariums around the world.
Dunn has been active in the astronomy community holding positions as president of the Great Plains Planetarium Association and Prairie Astronomy Club of Lincoln. He is also a fellow and member of the governing council of the International Planetarium Society, chair of the Hyde Memorial Observatory’s board of supervisors, and member of the Nebraska Star Party’s board of directors.
The reception is free and open to faculty, staff and students.
