I writing today from Bay City, Michigan, where I'm attending the annual conference of the Great Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA). The conference began on Wednesday evening and runs through Saturday afternoon.

Like other professions, there are organizations for people who work in planetariums. There is the International Planetarium Society (IPS) with members from around the world. Within the United States, there are about half a dozen regional planetarium associations. The Great Lakes Planetarium Associations includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. GLPA, however, has members from across the United States and overseas.

Each year -- usually in the fall -- a planetarium in the GLPA region hosts the annual conference. This year, the conference is being hosted by the Delta College Planetarium and Learning Center. There's probably 140 or so delegates, vendors, and conference hosts attending this year. There are nine of us from Merrillville, including six students (grades 8 to 12), one adult volunteer, my wife and my self.

The Merrillville Community Planetarium hosted the GLPA conference in 1987 and 2006. Hosting a four day conference for nearly 150 people is a lot of work, but it's also rewarding. The people attending the GLPA conference are eager to experience other planetariums and share ideas and information. The hours are long -- from breakfast at 7:30 a.m. to sessions lasting until 11:00 p.m. or later.

-- Gregg Williams, Planetarium Director
October 23, 2009