Orono - Reach for the stars... Construction is making that reach even closer in Orono. On Monday, Nickerson & O'Day, Inc. construction hoisted up the final beam of the new emery astronomy center at UMaine. More than fifty children from the Old Town and Orono Recreation Departments watched. They also got to sign their names on the beam before it was lifted up, along with UMaine personnel, architects and others who were influential in the building's design. "Science begins with the imagination of youngsters being exposed to the universe, to their environment at all levels, understanding their cosmos by using imagination together with the models that we are able to provide, so these youngsters are really our target. They've alway been the lion's share of what we consider to be our mission," said Alan Davenport, Director of Umaine's Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium. "I think it's cool that its a new facility and its really really big. I think this will help a lot because I also really love looking up at the stars," said 11-year-old Jonathan from Hampden. The director says university students will have the opportunity to see and do things that were never possible in the older facility. The building will hold Maine's largest telescope and planetarium. The new astronomy center could be open as soon as the fall of next year.
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