Logo of the Friends of Arlington's David M. Brown Planetarium. (Courtesy of saveplanetarium.org.)

Correction: The original version of this story misstated the month that Friends of the Planetarium received its 501(c)(3) status. They received that status in August.

Name: Friends of Arlington's David M. Brown Planetarium

Members: 400 on mailing list

Founded: May, 2010

Agenda: To raise $400,000 for improvements to the David M. Brown Planetarium by June, 2011.

Why they formed: In February of this year, the Arlington Public Schools board decided to close the planetarium on the grounds of Washington-Lee High School, citing a lack of funding for $400,000 worth of improvements to the facility. "There was a tremendous response by the community," according to Dr. Alice Monet, president of the group and an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory. "The school board realized they couldn't go ahead with this without giving the community time to make the case and raise funds."

Which is exactly what the Friends of the Planetarium are hoping to do. Monet, who remembers going on field trips to the planetarium as a child, says the goal is to keep the planetarium open and in full operation.

How it's going: The school board has agreed to keep the planetarium open half-time for this school year. Programs at night and on the weekends will still run, but the programs during the day for school field trips will be dramatically reduced, according to Monet. Staff that previously worked at the planetarium has been reassigned.

Friends of the Planetarium also just received some good news from the school board: they got approval to use the planetarium for an upcoming fundraiser in October, as well as the Washington-Lee High School auditorium for another event.

The news is symbolic as well as useful; Monet said the group wasn't sure whether the school would continue to support their efforts given that they are likely to fall short of a September fund-raising goal. "I was a little concerned that the school board would play hardball and say September's here and you don’t have $161,000," Monet says. "But clearly the board is looking to the long run. They’re not shutting us down." The Friends have raised $17,000 from 669 individual donations so far.

What's next:  The group is about to go into full-speed fund-raising mode after officially received their non-profit status in May August. Monet says she fully believes the Friends can meet the goal of $400,000 by June, despite the slow start due to logistics. She has submitted some grant applications that look promising, and corporations located in Arlington have expressed an interest in supporting the facility.

They'll also be continuing to host fund-raising events at the planetarium to raise awareness of its value. Night at the Planetarium Part 2 (the first was in July) will be held on Saturday, Oct. 2 and feature shows, stargazing and other activities. On Oct. 16, the Friends are hosting a benefit concert for the planetarium at Washington-Lee High School. For more information, check out the Friends' Facebook page, or make donations at http://www.saveplanetarium.org.