Triton’s Cernan Center Invites Visitors to see the World Through a Bank Swallow’s Eyes
RIVER GROVE, Ill. — Triton College’s Cernan Earth and Space Center is thrilled to premiere a new and engaging planetarium program that highlights unseen aspects of the world around us through the unique perspective of Bank Swallows.
This nature program, Beyond Our Senses: Bank Swallows, follows a colony of birds through a season of triumph and loss. Each spring, the bluffs of Lake Michigan are transformed when thousands of Bank Swallows return from South America to burrow into the eroding cliffside to build their nests. In his documentary, Wisconsin-based filmmaker David Andrew Busse captures the remarkable ways in which these modest little birds experience their surroundings.
Bank Swallows are not exotic or flashy, but they live in a sensory world so different from humans that it might as well be another universe. Through their amazing senses, Bank Swallows perceive ultraviolet light, Earth’s magnetic field, subtle changes in air pressure and altitude, nearly 360-degree vision, and the passage of time at a rate far slower than humans.
The Bank Swallow’s expansive field of vision makes the Cernan Center’s planetarium dome a perfect setting to observe the world through an avian lens without needing to grow wings.
“The Cernan Earth and Space Center seeks to celebrate Earth as well as space, and Beyond Our Senses: Bank Swallows showcases one of Earth’s wonders,” said Wayne Foster, planetarium educator and bird enthusiast. “You don’t have to travel to a remote location to experience nature, because nature is all around us, even in the city, if we just take some time and look.”
Beyond Our Senses: Bank Swallows is playing Saturday nights in October at 7 p.m. and Wednesday afternoons in November at 2:30 p.m.
Shows at the Cernan Earth and Space Center are open to the public. Ticket prices vary depending on the program, ranging from $8-$10 for adults and $4-$5 for seniors ages 55 and older and children ages 2-17. Tickets may only be purchased at the Cernan Center’s Star Store on the day of the show, beginning 30 minutes before the first show of the day. There are no advance or online ticket sales.
Follow the Cernan Earth and Space Center on Facebook and Instagram. For more information, including upcoming programs, visit the Cernan Center website.
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Media Contacts:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper | melissacooper@triton.edu | 708-456-0300, Ext. 3496
Hunter Oberst | hunteroberst@triton.edu | 708-456-0300, Ext. 3820
ABOUT TRITON COLLEGE:
Triton College, located at 2000 Fifth Ave., River Grove, is a public institution of
higher education dedicated to student success. Recently recognized by the Aspen Institute
as one of the Top 200 community colleges in the nation, Triton offers more than 130 degree and certificate
programs that prepare students to pursue meaningful careers, transfer to four-year
universities, and thrive in a global economy. Guided by our mission—Valuing the individual, educating and serving the community—Triton serves nearly 17,000 students annually on its 110-acre campus in River Grove,
Illinois. Our dedicated faculty and staff provide high-quality, accessible and affordable
educational opportunities that empower students and strengthens the communities we
serve. Triton College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member
of the Illinois Community College Board. Illinois is home to 45 colleges in 39 community
college districts. Learn more at triton.edu.
