EPISD: Planetarium Not Closing, ‘Farewell’ Event Post Inaccurate

No, the EPISD-operated Gene Roddenberry Planetarium is not closing. Yes, there is going to be an event there in October but it will not be a "Farewell Show before its demolished."

To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of its death were greatly exaggerated.

The mix up was the result of a press release containing inaccurate information sent out by Insights El Paso Science Center and subsequently shared in an article posted by 95.5 KLAQ. According to a series of comments posted by EPISD on Twitter, Insights' original communication “mistakenly billed an upcoming event as the last one before the Planetarium closes.”

Yes, the planetarium is going to vacate the location it's currently in on Boeing, and the building itself will eventually be demolished once EPISD Central offices relocates to its new headquarters off Stanton St., but the planetarium is not going to be a thing of the past.

"The Planetarium is thriving and EPISD is working on making an exciting announcement regarding the future of the Gene Roddenberry Planetarium!" a separate district tweet stated.

That announcement will most likely be its relocation to Crosby Elementary School in Northeast El Paso sometime next year. The district has been working on a contract with the city regarding a city-funded grant to make that move since the beginning of the year.