Boy Scouts troops’ handcrafted planetarium now open at library

photo by: Mike Yoder

A young boy peeks inside the Icarus planetarium in the atrium of the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. Boy Scouts of America Troops 55 and 61 constructed the project out of cardboard and binder clips. From inside the structure a light display of several constellations is projected on the ceiling.

Stargazers, particularly those of the small variety, should appreciate the latest addition to the Lawrence Public Library’s atrium.

In honor of the library’s space-themed Read Across Lawrence teen series, which blasted off earlier this week, a pair of local Boy Scouts troops have built a miniature planetarium fashioned out of cardboard and binder clips, now open to astronomical enthusiasts of all ages at the library.

The whole thing fits up to six adults comfortably, says teen librarian Miriam Wallen. Plenty more if we’re talking about little kids.

“Overall, it’s been really enjoyed,” Wallen says. “Some people go in for a bit and take a quick glance at the stars, and some people stay for a while and watch it slowly rotate.”

The stargazing structure arrived in pieces Tuesday night, when Boy Scouts troops No. 55 and No. 61 assembled the 40 triangular pieces into a geodesic dome and stationed it in the atrium with help from library staffers.

It’s since become something of a fixture there and even has its own nickname: Icarus, after the fictional spaceship in “These Broken Stars,” this year’s official Read Across Lawrence selection for teens.

The cardboard creation will remain in the library atrium through the end of the month – or possibly sooner, “depending on how many people fall on it,” Wallen says.