SHOP LOCAL
L10 | SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2023
ARIZONA DAILY SUN
PHOTOS BY MATTHEW HAYDEN
Shooting for the
Planet Science is located in the 109 building on Leroux Street next to Atria.
STARS Planet Science proposes itself as the new science hub for the community
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EMILY GERDES
n 11 short months Matthew Kent, president and CEO of Meteor Crater Enterprises, transformed Planet Science from an idea in his head into a brick-and-mortar reality with its doors open to the community. Planet Science recently opened in May 2023 and is aimed at anyone who has an interest in science. Located on North Leroux Street across from Heritage Square, this store brings science to the center of the Flagstaff community. Although Planet Science is backed and supported by Meteor Crater Enterprises, the store carries items entirely different from what customers might find at the Meteor Crater Gift Shop. The love for science has remained a constant presence in Flagstaff through its rich traditions and history for the last 100 years. Kent said when he first discovered the Flagstaff science community he immediately saw the buzz around Lowell Observatory and Meteor Crater. “I think woven into us is the natural curiosity and adventure that science brings to us,” Kent said. “We wanna recapture that and we want to reconnect with that and we want to give everybody the opportunity to find that inner junior scientist in them.” While the store does carry memorabilia for generations who have a sentimental attachment to the era of the Apollo and Artemis missions, Kent explained they have an area that caters to their younger audience as well. “We call it our junior scientist area, and it’s got low tables. And we encourage kids to color these coloring pages,” Kent said. “We’ve got puzzles and toys and dinosaurs and stuff. They can just hang out there while their parents look at
Planet Science sells NASA apparel and caters to the kids with their junior scientist area, which plays a video about Meteor Crater on the wall of TVs.
Stop in and you may find some extra-terrestrials lounging around. other stuff in the store” This area also contains flatscreen TVs, which were installed with the intent of the store be-
ing able to stream events such as eclipses and SpaceX launches and be a general meeting place for people to gather and watch these
events. Kent also said there are hopes of hosting presentations and guest lectures. There is great potential for this space to be a beneficial addition to the downtown atmosphere especially when paired with Kent’s ideas, which allow the junior area to be a utilitarian space. “I’m sending a challenge, an invitation out,” Kent said. “Festival of Science people, I want to put together a whole Festival of Science kid’s event and use the education departments of Lowell Observatory, Museum of Northern Arizona and Meteor Creator, and come together and do one big event dedicated to our junior scientists and our kids, sponsored by the science attractions. So I’m issuing the challenge, let’s put it together and make it happen.” The Festival of Science is a yearly 10-day event put on for free encapsulating a variety of events surrounding that year’s theme. A portion of the revenue generated at Planet Science will be going to the Meteor Crater Educational Foundation, which is dedicated to our youth, Kent said. Bringing classrooms out to Meteor Crater, creating scholarships and putting together school curriculums are some of the ways Kent said they are hoping to bring science to Northern Arizona students of all ages. Kent explained this store is one part of building the foundation for those kids’ future. From the beginning, Kent said he always wanted to collaborate with other groups in Flagstaff for this store. Along with the Museum of Northern Arizona and Grand Canyon Youth, Kent also reached out to Lowell Observatory. Danielle Adams, the chief marketing and revenue officer at Lowell Observatory, elaborated on the convenient location of the new downtown store. “We want any tourist who comes to Flagstaff to come on up to the observatory, but sometimes they don’t have enough time,” Adams said. “Perhaps if they’re wandering around downtown, they may still take something from Lowell home with them.” Adams said this STEM-focused store makes gift-giving and science memorabilia more accessible to the community. Adams also explained how Planet Science caters to a niche section of the tourism industry called astrotourism. The City of Flagstaff has already begun marketing the town as one of the central locations for astrotourism, but Planet Science will act as a physical space where science and
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