Shawn Laatsch, manager of the ‘Imiloa Planetarium, was kind enough to reach into the hat for Moore Bettah ‘Ukuleles t-shirt winners.

The planetarium at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo is amazing. Have you been? Hilo isn’t generally known for its numerous state-of-the-art installations, but ‘Imiloa shakes that up a bit.

‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i’s planetarium is the first in the world to have 3D stereoscopic capabilities, revolutionizing the planetarium industry. The new system, installed in January 2008, heightens the entertainment experience and also becomes a tool for astronomers’ research by allowing them to see how celestial bodies are situated and how the universe is changing.

‘Imiloa’s digital full-dome planetarium system and 5.1 audio surround sound create a spectacular immersive audio-visual experience! Every presentation includes a live sky lecture featuring the sky as viewed from Maunakea. One daily Planetarium show is included in the price of a general admission ticket; tickets to additional shows may be purchased separately at $6 ($5 for kama’aina, $3 for children).

For spring break, which is March 24 – April 4, they have a special children’s program. Generally they offer their keiki planetarium show on Saturdays at 10 a.m., but until April 4 they are showing them every morning.

Legends of Orion runs everyday at 10 a.m. through this Saturday, March 28, and then from Sunday, March 29 through April 4 they will show Secrets of the Cardboard Rocket every morning at 10. (We’ve seen that one, and it’s good. Kids will like it.) (My little one will sit through all the regular planetarium shows, too, and then asks if we can come back again the next day.)

‘Imiloa will have its Kilohoku Keiki Korner Activity available for kids who view the planetarium shows during spring break, too, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Legend of Orion activity is creating Light Box constellations, and the Secrets of the Cardboard Rocket activity is creating your own Pop Rocket.

They also offer a monthly Maunakea lecture series in the planetarium on the third Saturday of the month at 7 p.m.

Here’s their regular planetarium schedule.

Tuesdays through Sundays:

Thursday Evening: Limited Run, ends April 30, 2009

Friday Evening music show:

Saturday Keiki Show:

I’ll bet right around now you’re wondering who won the t-shirts, huh?

We have two people who will receive Moore Bettah ‘Ukuleles retro-style hula girl t-shirts. This was a really popular contest with a lot of entries.

And the winners are:

Nan,

and

Wolverine.ks

Congratulations to both! Shirts are coming to you in the mail, and thank you for supporting Big Island On The Cheap.