Pluto's recent downgrade in planetary status has led to Streator hosting a convention to honor the distant world, with a planetary scientist and author participating.

The Streator Tourism Council announced plans Wednesday to bring the event, dubbed Planet Pluto Expo, to the city May 18 and 19.

"With all the controversy over Pluto lately, it was time we found out what was going on, so we decided to have this expo," said Ed Brozak, Streator Tourism Council president.

Planet Pluto Expo -- being referred to P2E for short -- will feature seminars, interactive displays and workshops centering around Pluto specifically and space in general.

Planetary scientist and author Dr. Alan Stern will speak. He is the principal investigator of NASA's Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission and executive director of the Southwest Research Institute's Space Science and Engineering Division, based in Boulder, Colo.

"He's all for believing Pluto should be there as a major planet," Brozak said. "Of course, Pluto has sentimental value for people from Streator because this is where (Pluto discoverer) Clyde Tombaugh is from, but we're finding out that a large contingent of people from across the country think the same way."

Tombaugh, born in Streator in 1906, lived there until his family moved to a farm near Burdett, Kan., during his high school years. He was working at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., when he discovered Pluto in 1930.

Pluto was considered the ninth major planet in our solar system until August 2006, when the International Astronomical Union downgraded the distant world's status to "dwarf planet."

Lowell Observatory Outreach Manager Kevin Schindler also will speak. The location has yet to be determined, as organizers are gauging attendance.

Brozak said the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, the Challenger Center in Bloomington, the Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences in Peoria, and several universities have expressed interest in participating in the event.

Brozak expects details to be available next month.