“I was inspired to go into astronomy by attending my local library when I was about 14 years old. My mother had asked me to get her some books on volcanoes, but I couldn\’t find any books on volcanoes in the whole library. [However,] on the same earth sciences shelf were books on astronomy. So rather than coming home empty handed, I rode back home on my bike with those books instead,” Heather Rookhuyzen starts. “As you may have guessed I ended up reading those books. I devoured information on constellations, planets and galaxies. I memorized facts and learned to identify the differences between nebulas, galaxies and star clusters.”
Rookhuyzen is the manager of the Mt. SAC Planetarium in Walnut, California. She states that she has “been working in the planetarium for about twenty years.”
“Whenever we traveled as a family, I asked to visit a planetarium. I found them magical and inspiring. On one visit, after asking a question in a planetarium, I realized I knew more than the presenter did about astronomy and that got me thinking, ‘Could I work in a planetarium?’ That thought inspired me to pursue a career in physics education for my bachelor\’s degree and work in the Utah Valley University planetarium while attending classes there,” Rookhuyzen continues. “I eventually went on to get my Master\’s degree in Astrophysics from Brigham Young University and ran their planetarium outreach program as well as started their annual AstroFest community event celebrating astronomy and the sciences.”
Rookhuyzen says, “One of my favorite things to do is create new planetarium shows.” Her latest show is called “James Webb Discoveries” and premiered in September. “My favorite show that I’ve created … is called ‘Cosmic Comets’. It’s all about how comets work and how comets have been viewed throughout history,” Rookhuyzen says.
After asking Rookhuyzen what her average day at the planetarium day was like, she said, “Because I manage the planetarium and the observatory at Mt. SAC, every day is a little different. Sometimes I’m working during the day, and sometimes at night. What I’m doing often depends on the needs of instructors, the weather, and even the phase of the moon! If it’s a full moon or [if] it is cloudy we can’t do any observing with the telescopes.” The day of the interview, Rookhuyzen said she “spent the morning getting caught up in my messages, [and] made some progress on creating an automated payment tracking system … for the business side of the … planetarium.” She also stated that “later this afternoon I will be teaching a class on how to take photos of the sun with a solar telescope.”
“I love sharing my passion and love for astronomy with students and the community,” Rookhuyzen finishes. “I hope you can visit the planetarium sometime soon.”
