Planetarium set to reach milestone

Stanhope - It was a storeroom. It was the faculty’s union meeting room. It was utilized for everything except what it was designed to be — a planetarium, and the only public school planetarium in Sussex County. Finally now open for its original purpose, the Lenape Valley Regional High School planetarium will reach a milestone sometime during the current school year. One day soon, the 50,000th visitor will walk through the doors. For a room with only 53 seats, 50,000 sounds like a very high number. Although open for a time early on, the new beginning for the planetarium was some years after the high school opened in the 1970s. John Scala was hired as planetarium director about 20 years ago, marking his return to public education after years in the private sector. Scala explained: “At the same time I was working as an adjunct instructor and lecturer at the planetarium of the County College of Morris. I had mailed resumes around the country looking for a full-time Planetarium position. Lenape Valley had the position available.” Scala recounts that he “was given a mandate by the Board of Education through then-Superintendent Mr. Joseph Stracco and then-Principal Dr. James Riccobono, to restore the planetarium to what it was designed to be.” Scala began by offering the facility as an astronomy field trip site to the students of Byram, Netcong, and Stanhope districts. “I revised a curriculum for planetarium visits that had been developed by the original director, Dr. Wayne Heim. It had been several years since Dr. Heim had left Lenape, and the room was not put to its designed use.” Scala then sought and received permission to expand the area schools that he could invite to make use of what the planetarium offered. In a matter of just a few years, Scala was sending invitations to schools throughout Sussex, Morris, and Warren counties, in addition to running the planetarium itself and carrying a full-time teaching load in the science department. Beyond opening the planetarium to local school children from grades pre-Kindergarten to students attending Sussex County Community College, Scala has offered programs to local Boy and Girl Scout troops, and acts as one of several merit badge counselors in his field for the Morris-Sussex district. He has lectured to Eagle Scout candidates at Camp Allamuchy in the Allamuchy Mountain State Park where they could observe a real night sky. For several years early in his tenure he opened the planetarium to the general public and last year, with the backing of current school Superintendent Paul Palek Jr., Scala opened it up again. He hopes to be able to do so again this year. The planetarium plays a major role in the Science department through the offering of two semester astronomy electives offered to upper class students. Scala has also created a catalog of presentations that cross the lines of nearly every subject area within the building. Among these are programs centered on the works of Shakespeare, classical mythology, the Christmas ‘star’ of Bethlehem, and ordinary items that get their names from the realm of astronomy. These programs earned Scala the prestigious A+ For Kids Educators Recognition program. The planetarium is also a major draw for foreign exchange students attending Lenape Valley from their home schools in Germany and Spain. Scala has received recognitions from many sources. He was granted a “scholarship” from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation with which he attended NASA’s ‘Space Camp.’ This lead to an invitation from NASA to attend a regional aerospace conference which culminated in his watching a Space Shuttle night launch. He was invited to be a member of a 25 person delegation of astronomy educators to spend two weeks in mainland China touring various astronomy research and educational sites. He has earned ‘Teacher of the Year’ honors from the Lenape Valley Board of Education, the Office of the Governor of New Jersey, and the New Jersey State Air Force Association. His biography is published in several editions of “Who’s Who”. Scala said he is most humbled by his recognition hi “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” because only students in the top five percent of their class can nominate a teacher for this recognition and they can only nominate one teacher from throughout their entire K-12 education. He is especially proud of the fact he has been put forward for this recognition more than once in his 20 year career. In his spare tune Scala has served as a coach, school dance chaperone, exam proctor, track & field official, and the press box “voice” of the varsity football team. He actively involves himself in his discipline by attending and making presentations at regional and State level science and planetarium conferences. He became one of the first of 75 nationally certified astronomy resource teachers of the American Astronomical Society by spending 5 weeks during the summer of 1994 at the University of Maryland. School and Scouting Groups may schedule visits to the planetarium by calling (973) 347-7600 ext 165, and leaving a voicemail message. From his letter of invitation that he sends to the local school districts Scala writes “a future starship captain may be sitting hi your class right now- please don’t hesitate to call.” Special gifts await the 50,000th visitor to the Lenape Valley Planetarium.