Roddenberry Planetarium carries on legacy of Star Trek creator born in El Paso 100 years ago
EL PASO, Texas -- "Space. The final frontier."
Those words are heard at the beginning of every episode of Star Trek, the original TV series.
The man who created Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, was born in El Paso 100 years ago this week.
The Roddenberry Planetarium, which used to be located at the El Paso Independent School District headquarters on Boeing Drive, is now in brand new digs on the former site of Crosby Elementary School in northeast El Paso.
While the pandemic has kept the planetarium closed, it is still taking people on a trip to the stars virtually.
EPISD's director of special projects says Roddenberry's Star Trek legacy can still be felt today.
"At the time in the 1960's, it was very influential because it talked about things that television shows weren't talking about back then. It talked about civil rights, it talked about war, it talked about man's inhumanity to man and talked about all these things. And that legacy, that influence carried on," Timothy Holt explained.
The planetarium is asking you to join in the celebration by giving your best Vulcan greeting with the hashtag #Roddenberry100 and post it on their Twitter page.
Science knows still practically nothing about the real nature of matter, energy, dimension, or time; and even less about those remarkable things called life and thought. But whatever the meaning and purpose of this universe, you are a legitimate part of it. Happy #Roddenberry100 pic.twitter.com/ye9Z9iipOX
— The Roddenberry Planetarium (@RoddenberryThe) August 19, 2021
