It seems like yesterday that Dian Curtis Regan received her diploma from Mitchell High School, as a member of the first full graduating class of 1968.

The brand-new school had opened in 1965 off Galley Road east of Academy Boulevard and had state-of-the-art features. But what she and many students from that era most remember is the Scott Carpenter Planetarium, which was added in 1967.

“It was such a source of pride when we were in school,” she said. “It was so modern for the ’60s and a big deal when you had a science class in the planetarium.”

Other schools from around the state would visit the home of the Marauders to use the planetarium, Regan recalls.

The unique school-based planetarium debuted at the height of the space race between the United States and the former Soviet Union, which competed to put a man into Earth’s orbit and return him safely.

Over the years, the 65-seat planetarium, with no telltale dome to indicate its existence, no outside ticket booth or sign announcing the next celestial viewing, had introduced thousands of Pikes Peak region students to the wonders of the night sky.

When Regan and about 10 of her classmates returned to the high school for their 50th reunion in July, they were shocked to find the planetarium that had provided so many memorable moments no longer functioned. In fact, it had sat unused, tucked away on the second floor down the hall from science classes, for several years.

“It was so sad,” said Regan, who after graduating from Mitchell became a school teacher and the author of 60 books for young readers, from picture books for toddlers to teen novels.

“We talked it over and decided to research what we could do to fix the aging equipment and bring it back to life.”

The first estimate the group received was astronomical, she said.

But a tech company in Virginia, Ash Enterprises, said it could modernize the equipment and restore operations for $5,000.

That sounded more doable, Regan said, and alumni from the class of 1968 pooled their money to make it happen. Other key players have been alums Tom Segady and Martie Stott.

The remodeling was completed a few weeks ago. Ash Enterprises co-owner and technician Erik Melenbrink replaced rubber belts that runs the equipment, refurbished the 1960s Spitz projector, realigned the moon, fixed the motion to the stars and planets, repaired the transformer and upgraded the old lamp to LED.

The upgrades should last for a while, Regan said.

The blue vinyl bench seating wasn’t touched.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the planetarium’s reopening will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. All past, present and future students are invited to attend. Ongoing 15-minute shows will follow until 3 p.m.

Mitchell High senior Lunden Aitkey created a banner for the ceremony.

Alumni also will dedicate a plaque in honor of the planetarium’s first director, the late John Akey, who headed the planetarium until 1993. A quote by Beatles co-founder John Lennon — “We all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun” — is inscribed on the plaque.

The planetarium’s namesake, astronaut Scott Carpenter, will remain for now. Carpenter, who died in 2013, was a Colorado native assigned to the nation’s first human spaceflight program, Project Mercury, which ran from 1958 through 1963.

A donation fund to maintain the planetarium has been set up through the school.

“We’re really happy it’s up and running again,” Regan said. “Students from every school in southern Colorado can come and see the programs.”

Contact the writer: 719-476-1656.

Erik Melenbrink of Ash Enterprises in Virginia restored the Scott Carpenter Planetarium at Mitchell High a few weeks ago, and the ribbon-cutting on its reopening is 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Courtesy photo.

courtesy photo