HILO, Hawai'i —The Imiloa Astronomy Center plans to cut six staff positions because the high-tech science facility is attracting only half as many visitors as expected since it opened two years ago.

The center faces a $282,458 budget shortfall during the current fiscal year in part due to disappointing visitor numbers.

Higher energy costs and less federal funds than expected have also squeezed the center.

The facility is designed to make the kind of astronomy research that goes on atop nearby Mauna Kea accessible to the general public. The center also educates visitors about Hawaiian culture, showing how Polynesians used the stars to navigate the seas.

Only 53,000 people visited the center last year, far short of the goal of 100,000. It had 45,000 visitors in its first year.

"We can see that it's not going to be what we projected it to be, even though it's better than last year," said the center's executive director, Peter B. Giles. "It's growing, but it's growing at a slower rate than we expected."

Four people will be laid off and two vacant positions will not be filled as the number of full-time positions drops to 22 from 28.

The sales promoter, planetarium programmer, visitor services supervisor and education manager positions were terminated.

The Imiloa's planetarium operator resigned, and that position will be filled by two student interns instead. A senior customer service position, opened when the employee left to give birth, will not be filled.

Giles said center was expecting to attract tourists from West Hawai'i, where most travelers stay, and from the cruise ships that call.

Instead, 84 percent, or nearly six out of every seven visitors, have been Hawai'i residents. The remaining 16 percent have been tourists.

"The (business) model is shifting," Giles said. "You have to make adjustments, and we're facing that now."

He said the Imiloa has recently grown more visible. This year, for example, it was featured in all the major travel guides for the first time, he said.

Imiloa had a $3.6 million budget from state, federal and private sources for the fiscal year ending June 30.

But earned revenue came in $200,000 below estimates and federal funds from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration fell $110,457 below projections.

A $27,999 increase in private donations over the projected amount defrayed some of the shortfall but not all.

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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, www.hilohawaiitribune.com