A view of the stars is opening up again in Chemnitz: after a month-long break, the school planetarium at the Albert Schweitzer Secondary School is back in operation. In future, it will be available as an extracurricular place of learning for the city's schools, according to the local authority. The planetarium was closed for almost a year due to a lack of teachers.
Around 5,000 pupils used the planetarium every year before it was closed, says long-time director Thomas Weisbach. However, the physics and mathematics teacher explains that there has been less and less time for the program over the years. "More and more hours were cut. In times of teacher shortages, that's not going to change." Weisbach is now set to resume operations together with three external staff on a freelance basis. "We are all working full-time and will have to see how the project gets off the ground."
The city is inviting the public to a public program for the reopening on the nationwide Astronomy Day on Saturday (28 March) from 5 pm. Chemnitz has made efforts to preserve the facility, says Weisbach, who has been running it for almost 30 years. In the current double budget, an additional 40,000 euros have been earmarked for the planetarium, the city announced in response to a dpa inquiry. The money is to be used primarily for honorary staff.
