People of the Planetarium

My first memorable visit to a planetarium was in fifth grade. My teacher brought in an inflatable planetarium which seemed to take up half the gym. We had to sit on the edges so the dome could stay filled with air. She showed us constellations and told us their stories. I didn’t see a single constellation, but loved the stories. I was already a big fan of greek mythology so I began studying the constellations and fell in love with astronomy. I got to visit many other planetariums as a student which continued to inspire me. Our high school had a planetarium which I took Astronomy and Astrophysics in and first learned to run the projectors. In college I worked in the college planetarium and observatory. This gave me a unique chance to restore both and help to build a new planetarium, which proved very useful in my current job. I also got a job as planetarium assistant at a museum in a nearby town. After I graduated I was lucky enough to get this job as planetarium director at the CCSD Planetarium in Gillette. It makes me very happy to share my dreams and inspirations with our community. I hope I can inspire people here with our planetarium as much I was inspired by my teachers and planetarium experiences 

Nello Williams was the planetarium direct from its beginning in 1981 to summer of 2008. Even after his retirement Nello continues to be active in the community as a referee at sporting events, helping at the senior center, and as a presenter for the planetarium. Nello enjoys his retirement and the time it affords him to spend with his family and traveling. Nello’s passions for astronomy go back a long way and he has done much to advance the awareness of science and its progress to the community of Gillette including designing and operating the original planetarium. 

Jon Means

I was hooked on astronomy by watching the first episodes of Star Trek and the NASA Apollo missions on TV. The glory of the cosmos kept my interests. Looking up and realizing that the light I am seeing has taken at least 4.2 years, in the case of Alpha Centauri, to millions and billions of years in the case of galaxies. When looking at the Sombrero Galaxy I see what it looked like 28 million years ago. The distances and numbers are nearly incomprehensible. Seeing things that were considered science fiction being proved through science such as black holes, dark matter/energy, the Higgs Boson is very exciting. These are the things I want to know and see.

I went to CCHS, Class of 1985. After high school I joined the United States Marine Corps. In 1997 I came back to Gillette and joined the Wyoming Army National Guard after my time with the Marines was complete. I retired from the military in 2012. I got my start in the planetarium when my new neighbor in 2008 was the new planetarium director. We became friends through the shared interest of Star Trek and I began helping out with public shows at the planetarium shortly after.

Toni Brown

I owe my love of astronomy, aviation & space to my father, Alec W. Brown.  He taught my brother, 2 sisters & me the cycle of the moon, names of constellations, when the longest and shortest days of the year were and would roust us all out of bed in the middle of the night to watch the streaking Northern Lights where we lived west of Billings, Montana.  He had flown “The Hump” (Burma, India China) during World War II.  So when I soloed while taking my private pilot lessons back in 1977, he gave me his Army Air Corps Wings. I now fly Cessna 182’s with Civil Air Patrol search and rescue.

Growing up we watched the first Mercury flight of Alan Shepherd together on our small black & white TV.  Then we watched the Apollo flights to the moon.  My oldest daughter was born in 1981, the year of the first shuttle launch.  I had applied to be the Teacher in Space, but am relieved not to have been on that Challenger flight in 1986.

I am now a retired teacher. I am certified to teach preschool through college.  I have taught in Campbell County schools since 1980: all subjects at Cottonwood in Wright, Conestoga, and Rozet Elementary Schools; English at Twin Spruce & Sage Valley JHS; English Comp & Creative Writing at Gillette College.  Now that I have retired, I am a substitute teacher. When Paul Zeleski asked me to learn to operate the new equipment at the Planetarium as a substitute for him, I was very excited.  It is much like flying an airplane – give me a checklist and an instrument panel and I am all set.