Notes about Tucson Time Capsule : Gee-whiz groundbreaking (starnet-local)

It was not a traditional groundbreaking on July 3, 1974, for the $1.6 million Grace Flandrau Memorial Planetarium. The new University of Arizona facility needed a science-based ceremony. UA President John P. Schaefer aimed a laser gun at a large, white balloon that was filled with acetylene and tied to the ground of the parking lot on North Cherry Avenue. The balloon burst into flames, and when the thick black smoke cleared, there was a small, churned-up section of asphalt. Even though it wasn't a real laser and the ground already had been broken, it was spectacular event. Who was Grace Flandrau? Read about her in today's Tales From the Morgue at  go.azstarnet.com/morguetales