June 16-20, 2009
Thanks for joining us at SEPA 2009 in Nashville! Check our post-conference materials list for powerpoint presentations and the delegate list.
Howdee fellow dome dwellers,
Another school year is almost over, and summer will be here sooner than you think. We want to make sure that SEPA 2009 is on your calendar for June 16 through 20, in Nashville, Tennessee. Get ready for 90 hours of non-stop planetarium excitement and no sleep!
Plans are well underway for the next annual conference of the Southeastern Planetarium Association, which will be held here at the Sudekum Planetarium at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville. In addition to delegates from the SEPA region, members of the Great Plains, Rocky Mountain, Pacific, and Southwestern Planetarium Associations will also be joining us. For that matter, GLPA and MAPS members are also welcome.
Of course, we will be showing off our own equipment, programming, and facilities, but we are also looking forward to showcasing others’ equipment, shows, software, educational strategies, and more. The Dome Showcases will feature exciting new hardware and software as well as shows, trailers, excerpts, and NO Powerpoint in the dome!
Everyone should plan on participating in the world famous Constellation Shootout, which was first held in Nashville during SEPA 1996. You will also not want to miss any of the after hours film festival during which we will show several programs never before seen in the U.S.
The conference hotel will be the Millennium Maxwell House, which has given us a rate of $109/night. Click here to get more details and make reservations. This is the same hotel we used for SEPA 1996, but it has undergone another fabulous renovation since then.
The registration fee for the conference is $250. This covers three lunches, three evening meals, the banquet, and one full breakfast plus transportation to a local observatory and more. Online registration is strongly encouraged as you will be able to print a receipt immediately, and it will make our tracking much easier.
The participation and support of sponsors, vendors, and demonstrations is simply phenomenal and keeps growing. We doubled the size of the vendor hall, and we could really use more room. If everyone who says they are sending fulldome content gets their hard drives here in time, we may present 18 full length, fulldome shows in addition to multiple hardware, software, and other content or operational demonstrations during our Dome Showcase and Film Festival. (Look for Red Bull included in the drink selection for late night breaks!) Add to that a full roster of daytime papers and speakers, the trip to SPOT Observatory, and serious networking and conversation in the hospitality suite.
Some delegates will want to arrive in Nashville early for a preconference lecture on Mayan astronomy titled “Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico”. World-renowned archaeoastronomer Dr. Anthony Aveni will use the new Sudekum Planetarium, GOTO Chiron Hybrid optical star projector seamlessly integrated with Evans and Sutherland Digistar 3, to recreate important aspects of Mayan astronomy. This special presentation is scheduled for 8:30 to 10:30 am on June 16, 2009, and is made possible by the Center for Latin American Studies at Vanderbilt University.
Even if you cannot attend the conference, I still encourage your participation. We are always happy to put your materials out for the delegates. If you want to make sure everyone gets your promotional piece, consider a Black Hole Bag opportunity where for a small fee, we will place your item in the delegate bags, which are distributed at registration.
If you have questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know. We look forward to seeing all of you very soon.
Kris McCall, Director
Sudekum Planetarium
Adventure Science Center
800 Fort Negley Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37203
615-401-5077
www.SudekumPlanetarium.com
krismccall@sudekumplanetarium.com