The Merrillville Community School Corporation and the Merrillville Community Planetarium have been selected to host the 2006 Conference of the Great Lakes Planetarium Association. The conference will be held over four days in late October. More than 100 planetarium people from the midwest are expected to attend the annual conference.

The Great Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA) has over 200 members from the Great Lake states and beyond. The assocation sponsors an annual conference for planetarium professionals, typically each autumn. Different institutions host the conference each year. In 2004, the conference was held in Detroit and, in 2005, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Merrillville previously hosted the GLPA Conference in 1987. Since then, Pierce Middle School and the planetarium have undergone a 28 million dollar renovation.

Update: We have opened our page for information regarding the 2006 GLPA Conference at http://www.mcpstars.org/glpa.