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NAIC/AO Newsletter, March 1997
I don't know which was more shocking, Paul Goldsmith giving his speech in Spanish or the sight of Chris Salter wearing a jacket and tie. But on March 1, 1997, such anomalies were taken in stride by those attending the opening ceremony for the Arecibo Observatory Visitor Center.
The event was kicked off well past the designated time of 2 pm (not an anomaly) by Rey Medina, the M.C. A large tent with ceiling fans had been set up next to the pool for this occasion. After a rather comprehensive invocation, Daniel Altschuler managed the tricky task of thanking everyone without sounding like an Oscar acceptance speech (see p. 3 for the text of his inaugural address). Greetings and congratulations followed from representatives of the Puerto Rican government, including the governor's stand-in, the president of the senate, and the mayor of Arecibo. Julieta Fierro, an astronomy professor from the Autonomous National University of Mexico, presented a perspective of a scientist and educator. Then came the speech in Spanish by Paul Goldsmith, which was understandable even by those of us with poor Spanish thanks to his wonderful norteamericano accent.
Although a certain degree of formality was unavoidable simply by the nature of such an event, levity prevailed during a series of Yervant Terzian jokes that skewered the current state of basic scientific knowledge among the populace. Jorge Dávila, director of the Puerto Rican Tourism Company, then brought us down to earth with the reminder that the new facility will not only enrich the minds of Puerto Rican children but also the coffers of their parents' businesses by attracting more tourists.
Frank Rhodes, president emeritus of Cornell, triggered a standing ovation with his eloquently articulated vision of the facility's role in public education, using his trademark ability to cite numerous names and statistics from memory. Finally, Argentina Hills, president of the Angel Ramos Foundation (the major donor of funds for the new center), closed with her own account of the genesis of this project.
We were then taken up the hill to the Visitor Center in publicos. Regular visitors will not have this luxury, and one could see that 7 Up (donor and vender) had anticipated the mounting thirst of the hill climbers with not-so-subliminal signposts along the way.
The mandatory benediction, unveiling of the sign, and the ribbon cutting preceded the event for which we had all been waiting: the reception dinner starring bottomless paella and an open bar at Puerto Rico's most spectacularly sited open-air café! But seriously, it was quite exciting to walk into this striking new building (by far the best-looking one on site, although there is not much competition from our circa-1960s government blockhouse architecture), and look at and play with the exhibits. For those of us that had a hand in creating some of the displays it was an especially rewarding experience. (Live performance by a string quartet will, however, not be a regular feature of the exhibit hall.)
The exhibition program is too extensive to describe here. Those of you who are regular users of the Arecibo Observatory will undoubtedly get a chance to experience it for yourselves. Others may wish to submit an observing proposal just to have an excuse to visit the new center. After all, the proof is in the pudding, as they say (unless it is J. J. Thomson's plum pudding).
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