Vol. 40, No. 3 September 2011 Journal of the International Planetarium Society

Vol. 40, No. 3 September 2011

Journal of the International Planetarium Society

Where is astronomy in the U.S. science standards? Page 10 Check it out!

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Essential Features AD v2.indd 1 7/15/2011 5:12:39 PM Articles

September 2011 Vol. 40 No. 3 10 Keeping Astronomy in Science Education Gary Tomlinson Executive Editor 13 Astronomy Literacy: Essential Concepts for a K-12 Sharon Shanks Ward Beecher Planetarium Curriculum U.S. Planetarium Affiliates Youngstown State University 20 The history and current state of school-associated One University Plaza planetariums in Pennsylvania Youngstown, Ohio 44555 USA Rob Webb, Kathleen Fadigan +1 330-941-3619 26 IPS 2012: Bridge to New Beginnings Jon Elvert [email protected] 36 Programs to help you with video Jack Dunn Advertising Coordinator 41 Under one Dome: Planetario Arcadio Poveda Ricalde Dr. Dale Smith, Interim Coordinator Juan José Durán-Nájera (See Publications Committee on page 3) 44 Using today’s tools for science diffusion Membership Melissa Gil Individual: $65 one year; $100 two years Institutional: $250 first year; $125 annual renewal 50 Between Chicago, Moscow and San Diego, Global Library Subscriptions: $45 one year; $80 two years Immersion’s Martin Howe has a lot to talk about All amounts in US currency Judith Rubin Direct membership requests and changes of 62 In memory, Konstantin Porcevsky address to the Treasurer/Membership Chairman Moscow Planetarium Back Issues of the Planetarian IPS Back Publications Repository maintained by the Treasurer/Membership Chair; Columns contact information is on next page 68 Book Reviews...... April S. Whitt 74 Calendar of Events...... Loris Ramponi Index 46 Educational Horizons ...... Jack L. Northrup A cumulative index of major articles that have 49 IMERSA News...... Judith Rubin appeared in the Planetarian from the first issue 56 International News...... Lars Broman through the current issue is available online at 76 Last Light ...... April S. Whitt www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/planetarian_ 8 Letters to the Editor ...... index.pdf 65 Mobile News...... Susan Reynolds Button 8 Partycles...... Alex Cherman Final Deadlines 4 President’s Message ...... Dave Weinrich March: January 21 70 Waxing New...... June: April 21 September: July 21 December: October 21 Index of Advertisers Astro-Tec Mfg., Inc ...... 35 Associate Editors Antares Fulldome Productions...... 29, 71 Audio Visual Imagineering ...... 53 Book Reviews Editor-at-Large International Clark Planetarium ...... 55 April S. Whitt Steve Tidey Lars Broman Denver Museum of Nature & Science...... 9 Calendar Education Last Light Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc...... 75 Loris Ramponi Jack Northrup April S. Whitt Evans & Sutherland ...... 27, 51, 63, 73, inside back cover Cartoons IMERSANews Mobile News eyemmersive...... 19 Alexandre Judith Rubin Susan Button Cherman Global Immersion...... 5 GOTO INC ...... 64 Konica Minolta Planetarium Co. Ltd ...... 7 International Planetarium Society home page: Loch Ness Productions...... 30-33 www.ips-planetarium.org R.S.A. Cosmos ...... outside back cover Planetarian home page: Sky-Skan, Inc ...... 37-40 www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian Softmachine...... 21 Spitz, Inc...... 23, 43, 45 Guidelines for Contributors and Advertisers: www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/ White Tower Media...... 48 guidelines.html Zeiss, Inc...... inside front cover

On the Cover: The history of U.S. science standards, “by the books.” Press. All book cover images used with permission. What’s next is up to us. Science for All Americans, 1989, published by Oxford Background: The Leo Triplet Galaxies from VST. Credit: ESO, INAF-VST, University Press. National Science Education Standards, 1995, and A Frame- OmegaCAM; Acknowledgement: OmegaCen, Astro-WISE, Kapteyn I. work for K-12 Science Education, 2011, both published by National Academy

September 2011 Planetarian 1 Affiliate Representatives

Association of Brazilian British Great Plains Planetarium Rocky Mountain Planetariums Association of Planetaria Association Planetarium Officers Alexandre Cherman Shaaron Leverment Jack Dunn Association Planetário do Rio de Janeiro Explorer Dome: Ralph Mueller Planetarium Rick Greenawald President R. Vice-Governador Hands-on Science Outreach University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faulkner Planetarium Dave Weinrich Rubens Berardo, 100 Mailbox 42 210 Morrill Hall Herrett Center Planetarium Rio de Janeiro RJ 22451-070 179 Whiteladies Road Lincoln, Nebraska College of Southern Idaho Minnesota State +55 (21) 2274-0046 ext. 264 Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG 68588-0375 USA P. O. Box 1238 University-Moorhead +55 (21) 2529-2149 fax England +1 402-472-2641 315 Falls Avenue 1104 7th Avenue South [email protected] United Kingdom +1 402-475-8899 fax Twin Falls, Idaho Moorhead www.rio.rj.gov. +44 117 914 1526 [email protected] 83303-1238 USA Minnesota 56563 USA br/planetario +44 793 035 0805 www.spacelaser.com/gppa +1 208-732-6659 +1 218-477-2969 shaaron@explor- +1 208-736-4712 fax +1 218-477-5864 fax erdome.co.uk [email protected] [email protected] Association of information@explor- herrett.csi.edu/ Dutch-Speaking erdome.co.uk Italian Association faulkner_overview.asp Planetariums/PLANed www.planetarium.org.uk of Planetaria Past-President Eddy Pirotte Loris Ramponi Dr. Tom Mason, Director Beisbroek Planetarium Canadian Association National Archive of Planetaria Armagh Planetarium & Public Observatory of Science Centres c/o Centro Studi e Ricerche Russian Planetariums College Hill Zeeweg 96 Ian C. McLennan Serafino Zani Association Armagh BT61 9DB B-8200 Sint-Andries #404 - 1275 Haro Street via Bosca 24, C.P. 104 Zinaida P. Sitkova Northern Ireland Brugge, Belgium Vancouver, British Columbia I 25066 Lumezzane Nizhny Novgorod United Kingdom + 32 50390566 V6E 1G1 Canada (Brescia) Italy Planetarium +44 (0)2837 524725 [email protected] +1 604-681-4790 +39 30 872 164 Revolutsionnja Street 20 +44 (0)2837 526187 fax [email protected] phone + fax +39 30 872 545 fax 603002 Nizhny +44 (0)771 0013453 cell www.beisbroek.be +1 604-240-0938 cell [email protected] Novgorod Russia [email protected] www.planed.org [email protected] [email protected] +7 831 246-78-80 www.armaghplanet.com [email protected] www.planetaritaliani.it +7 831 246-77-89 fax www.ianmclennan.com [email protected] President-Elect Association of French- [email protected] Thomas W. Kraupe Speaking Planetariums Chinese Planetarium Planetarium Hamburg Agnès Acker Society Japan Hindenburgstraße 1 b Observatoire de Strasbourg Jin Zhu Planetarium Society D-22303 Hamburg 11, rue de l’université Beijing Planetarium Kaoru Kimura Southeastern Deutschland 67000 Strasbourg France No. 138 Xizhimenwait Street Japan Science Foundation Planetarium +49 0 (40) 428 86 52-21 +33 3 90 24 24 67 Beijing, 1000044 Kitanomaru Park, Chiyoda-ku Association +49 0 (40) 428 86 52-99 fax +33 3 90 24 24 17 fax P.R. China Tokyo, 102-0091 Japan John Hare +49 0 (40) 4279 24-850 e-fax [email protected] +86 10-5158-3311 [email protected] Ash Enterprises +49 0 (40) 172-40 86 133 cell [email protected] +86 10-5158-3312 fax www.shin-pla.info 3602 23rd Avenue West thomas.kraupe@ www.aplf-planetariums.org [email protected] Bradenton, Florida planetarium-hamburg.de 34205 USA www.rdp-planetarium.de Council of German +1 941-746-3522 Association of Mexican Planetariums Middle Atlantic [email protected] Executive Secretary Planetariums Thomas W. Kraupe Planetarium www.sepadomes.org Lee Ann Hennig Ignacio Castro Pinal Planetarium Hamburg Society Planetarium, Thomas Torres de Mixcoac, A6-702 Hindenburgstraße 1 b Patty Seaton Jefferson High School C.P. 01490, México City D-22303 Hamburg H.B. Owens Science Center for Science and Technology D.F. México Deutschland 9601 Greenbelt Road Southwestern 6560 Braddock Road +52 (55) 5500 0562 +49 0 (40) 428 86 52-21 Lanham-Seabrook, Association of Alexandria, Virginia 22312 USA +52 (55) 5500 0583 fax +49 0 (40) 428 86 52-99 fax Maryland 20706 USA Planetariums +1 703-750-8380 [email protected] +49 0 (40) 4279 24-850 e-fax +1 301-918 8750 Rachel Thompson +1 703-750-5010 fax cosmos.astro.uson.mx/ +49 0 (40) 172-40 86 133 cell +1 301-918 8753 fax Noble Planetarium [email protected] AMPAC/AMPACintro.htm thomas.kraupe@ [email protected] Fort Worth Museum of planetarium-hamburg.de Science and History Treasurer and www.rdp-planetarium.de 1600 Gendy Street Association of Spanish Fort Worth, Texas Membership Chair Planetariums European/ Nordic Planetarium 76107 USA Shawn Laatsch Javier Armentia Mediterranean Association +1 817-255-9409 Planetario de Pamplona Planetarium Prof. Lars Broman +1 817-732-7635 fax All fiscal matters: Sancho Ramirez, 2 Association Teknoland +1 682-233-0822 cell P.O. Box 4451 E-31008 Pamplona Manos Kitsonas Stångtjärnsv 132 [email protected] Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA Navarra Spain Eugenides Planetarium SE-791 74 Falun rachelsusanthomp- +34 948 260 004 387 Syngrou Avenue Sweden [email protected] All other correspondence: +34 948 260 056 17564 P. Faliro +46 2310177 southwesternassociationof- ‘Imiloa Astronomy +34 948 261 919 fax Athens Greece [email protected] planetariums.art.offic- Center of Hawai’i [email protected] +30 210 946 9674 lars.broman@strom- elive.com/default.htm 600 ‘Imiloa Place gestion@pamplonetario. +30 210 941 7372 fax stadakademi.se Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA infonego-cio.com [email protected] www.teknoland.se www.planetarium.se/npa +1 808-969-9735 Australasian Planetarium Great Lakes Planetarium +1 808-969-9748 fax Society Association [email protected] Mark Rigby, Curator Jeanne Bishop Pacific Planetarium Sir Thomas Bris- Westlake Schools Association bane Planetarium Planetarium Gail Chaid Mt. Coot-tha Road, Parkside Intermediate School 1320 Glen Dell Drive Toowong 24525 Hilliard Road San Jose, California Brisbane, Queensland Westlake, Ohio 44145 USA 95125 USA 4066 Australia +1 440-899-3075 x2058 +1 408-540-8879 cell +61 7 3403 2578 +1 440-835-5572 fax +1 408-288-8525 +61 7 3403 2575 fax jeanneebishop@ [email protected] mark.rigby@bris- wowway.com sites.csn.edu/ bane.qld.gov.au www.glpaweb.org planetarium/PPA

2 Planetarian September 2011 Standing Committees IPS Permanent Awards Committee Conference Host-2012 Australia +1 419-372-8666Mailing Address Prof. Lars Broman, Chair Jon Elvert +61 3 6323 3777 +1 419-372-9938 fax Teknoland Irene W. Pennington Planetarium +61 3 6323 3776 fax [email protected] Stångtjärnsv 132 Louisiana Art & Science Museum [email protected] International Planetarium SE-791 74 Falun 100 South River Road Society Sweden Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 USA Finance Committee +46 2310177 +1 225-344-5272 President, Past President, Presi- c/o Shawn Laatsch [email protected] +1 225-214-4027 fax dent Elect, Treasurer, Secretary Treasurer/Membership www.teknoland.se [email protected] Chair Membership Committee Conference Committee Conference Host- 2014 Shawn Laatsch, Chair All fiscal business: Dave Weinrich Dr. Jin Zhu, Director ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii P.O. Box 4451 Planetarium Beijing Planetarium 600 ‘Imiloa Place Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA Minnesota State 138 Xizhimenwai Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA University-Moorhead Beijing 100044 China +1 808-969-9735 All other correspondence: 1104 7th Avenue South +86 10-5158-3007 +1 808-969-9748 fax ‘Imiloa Astronomy Moorhead +86 10-5158-3312 fax [email protected] Minnesota 56563 USA [email protected] Center of Hawai’i +1 218-477-2969 Publications Committee 600 ‘Imiloa Place +1 218-477-5864 fax Elections Committee Dr. Dale W. Smith, Chair Hilo, Hawaii 96720 USA [email protected] Martin George, Chair BGSU Planetarium Launceston Planetarium 104 Overman Hall +1 808-969-9735 Queen Victoria Museum Physics &Astronomy Department +1 808-969-9748 fax Wellington Street Bowling Green State University [email protected] Launceston Tasmania 7250 Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 USA

IPS Web Site: Ad Hoc Committees www.ips-planetarium.org Education Committee IPS Publicity Coordinator Script Contest Committee Jack L. Northrup Rachel Thompson Thomas W. Kraupe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planetarium Noble Planetarium Planetarium Hamburg Please notify the Editor King Science and Technology Fort Worth Museum of Hindenburgstr.1b of any changes on these Magnet Center Science and History D-22303 Hamburg Germany 3720 Florence Blvd. 1600 Gendy Street +49(0)40-428 86 52-21 two pages. Omaha, NE 68110 USA Fort Worth, Texas 76107 USA +49(0)40-428 86 52-99 fax +1 402-557-4494 +1 817-255-9409 +49(0)40-4279 24-850 e-fax Contact the Treasurer/ [email protected] +1 817-732-7635 fax +49(0)172-40 86 133 cell webmail.ops.org/~jack.northrup +1 682-233-0822 cell thomas.kraupe@plane- Membership Chair for in- [email protected] tarium-hamburg.de dividual member address Full-Dome Video Committee www.rdp-planetarium.de Antonio Pedrosa, Chair Outreach Committee changes and general cir- Navegar Foundation Jon W. Elvert, Chair Armand Spitz culation and billing ques- Centro Multimeios Espinho Irene W. Pennington Planetarium Planetarium Education Fund tions. Av. 24, nº800, Louisiana Art & Science Museum Finance Committee 4500-202 Espinho 100 South River Road Portugal Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 USA Strategic Planning Committee +351 22 7331190 +1 225-344-5272 President, Past President, Presi- The Planetarian (ISN 0090- +351 22 7331191 fax +1 225-214-4027 fax dent Elect, Treasurer, Secretary 3213) is published quarterly [email protected] [email protected] by the International Plane- Technology Committee History Committee Planetarium Jack Dunn tarium Society. ©2011, Inter- John Hare, IPS Historian Development Group Ralph Mueller Planetarium national Planetarium Society, Ash Enterprises Ken Wilson, Chair University of Nebraska- Lincoln Inc., all rights reserved. Opin- 3602 23rd Avenue West 9346 Drawbridge Road 210 Morrill Hall Bradenton, Florida 34205 USA Mechanicsville, Virginia 23220 USA Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0375 USA ions expressed by authors +1 941-746-3522 [email protected] +1 402-472-2641 are personal opinions and are [email protected] +1 402-475-8899 fax Portable [email protected] not necessarily the opinions International Planetarium Committee www.spacelaser.com/gppa of the International Planetar- Relations Committee Susan Reynolds Button, Chair ium Society, its officers, or Martin George, Chair Quarks to Clusters Web Committee Launceston Planetarium 8793 Horseshoe Lane Alan Gould, Chair agents. Acceptance of adver- Queen Victoria Museum Chittenango, NY 13037 Holt Planetarium tisements, announcements, Wellington Street +1 315-687-5371 Lawrence Hall of Science or other material does not Launceston, Tasmania 7250 Australia [email protected] University of California +61 3 6323 3777 [email protected] Berkeley, California 94720-5200 USA imply endorsement by the +61 3 6323 3776 fax +1 510-643-5082 International Planetarium So- [email protected] Professional +1 510-642-1055 fax Services Committee [email protected] ciety, its officers or agents. Job Information Service Mike Murray, Chair The Editor welcomes Letters Subcommittee Clark Planetarium to the Editor and items for (Professional Services Committee) 110 South 400 West Steve Fentress, Chair Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 USA consideration for publica- Strasenburgh Planetarium +1 801-456-4949 tion. Please consult “Guide- Rochester Museum & Science Center +1 801-456-4928 fax lines for Contributors” at 657 East Avenue [email protected] Rochester, New York 14607 USA www.ips-planetarium.org/ +1 585-271-4552 ext. 409 planetarian/guidelines.html. +1 585-271-7146 fax [email protected] The Editor reserves the right to edit any manuscript to suit this publication’s needs.

September 2011 Planetarian 3 in personal gatherings. A 2009 study in the Harvard Business Review showed that 87% of President’s Message business professionals think that face-to-face Dave Weinrich meetings are essential to sealing a business Planetarium, Minnesota State University-Moorhead deal, while 95% said that they are key to suc- 1104 7th Avenue South cessful, long-lasting business relationships. Moorhead, Minnesota 56563 USA It is highly advantageous for our IPS regional affiliate representatives, committee chairs +1 218-477-2969 and officers to gather in Council once a year. +1 218-477-5864 fax In even-numbered years, the Council meets [email protected] two days prior to our biennial IPS Conference. Our treasury pays for hotel and food expenses, but not for travel expenses since it is expected Dear Friends and Fellow Planetarians hold all of our meetings on-line? that officers and Council members will attend This morning, a few hours before I started Much can be accomplished using mod- the IPS conference. writing this message, I watched the final land- ern communication, but there is still a need On odd-numbered years, IPS pays for a por- ing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The landing for personal meetings. Even Apple co-found- tion of the travel expenses, the hotel, food and marked the end of an era and so I reflected on er Steve Jobs, one of the principal players in other costs associated with the meeting. In my the accomplishments of the Space Age during the communication revolution of the last 40 opinion, it is money well spent. the past 54 years since the launch of Sputnik. years, places a high priority on meeting with In my March message, I described the pro- Yesterday was the 42nd anniversary of the his team leaders, recognizing that personal cess of choosing the Council site for the odd- Apollo 11 moon landing. I wonder what will meetings are often the best venues for team- numbered years. This is what I wrote Alexan- occur in the next 50 years of space explo- building and decisions. der Serber when I accepted the invitation to ration? Like many of you, my life has been Written words do not adequately convey come to Nizhny Novgorod for the Council greatly influenced by human space flight. I at- the subtle nuances that we are able to detect meeting: tribute my early interest in science to the television coverage of Alan Shepherd’s and John Glenn’s space missions. My memories of that magical July evening when humans first set foot on another world still inspire me. After our recent IPS Council meeting in Russia, I toured the Museum of Cosmonau- tics in Moscow and was awed by the details of Yuri Gagarin’s flight that I had never heard as an 8-year-old boy growing up in the United States. The achievements of Soviet spaceflight were not highly celebrated on American television. What can we do in our theaters to awaken the dream of space exploration in new gener- ations of children? How can we spark the curiosity of our visitors so that they will want to explore the world and the universe?

The meeting in Nizhny Novgorod The 2011 IPS Council met in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia on July 1-2. I am sure that the IPS regional affiliate representatives and others in attendance will agree that it was a IPS President Elect Thomas Kraupe (left) congratulates Dr. Jin Zhu, IPS 2014 Conference host. It was a fruitful meeting. double congratulations, as Dr. Zhu also represented the Chinese Planetarium Society, the newest IPS af- I wish that all you could have been there filiate. Photo by Dave Weinrich with us to experience the closeness that we all felt with the Russian planetarians we met. The Welcome to the Chinese Planetarium Society Council especially would like to thank our Our Society has a new regional affiliate! At the 2011 Council meeting in Nizhny hosts, Dr. Alexander Serber, Zinaida Sitkova, Novgorod, Council voted to accept the Chinese Planetarium Society (CPS) as our 22nd af- Alexandra Timoshinova, and all of the staff of filiate. the Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium for help- The Chinese Planetarium Society, founded in 2007, currently has 58 members who rep- ing to make it such a special meeting for us all. resent schools, colleges, universities, museums, planetariums, and corporations. Obviously, any meeting that gathers rep- Dr. Jin Zhu, president of the Chinese Planetarium Society and director of the Beijing Plan- resentative from around the world involves etarium, wrote “the Society aims to encourage the sharing of ideas among its members considerable expense for our Society. Some through publications and conferences, and to make more communication with interna- may wonder why we spend the money to tional planetarium organizations.” have these meetings in this era of email, Sky- I know that several IPS presidents have encouraged our Chinese colleagues in this venture. pe and other internet services. Why don’t we Congratulations and best wishes to our new affiliate! I

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37834 GLO] Advert_AW.indd 1 10/05/2011 17:41 Lars Broman Chris Janssen James Wallace Mark Rachel Thompson Ian McLennan Rigby Shaaron Leverment Celso John Melissa Ferreira Omar Fikry Cunha Hare Agnes Aker Martin Alex Cherman George Alexandra Timoshinova

Jon Elvert Rob Appleton

Jeanne Bishop Zinaida Sitkova Tom Button Tom Manos Shawn Laatsch Lee Ann Mason Kitsonas Kaoru Kimura Henning

Susan Button

Dave Weinrich Alexander Serber

Putting faces to the names: The IPS Council and our hosts at the Nizhny Novgorod Planetarium. Photo by Olesya Mityanina

“The Russian Planetarium Association cil meeting, and we had a joint meeting dur- ports will be on the IPS website, but I do want (RPA) has not been officially represented at ing our last day in Nizhny Novgorod. to mention some highlights. Council meetings for some time and I want Papers in Russian and English, fulldome pre- One of the major tasks of the Council is the you to know that you are a valued part of our sentations, and planetarium shows filled the selection of future IPS conference sites. This community and that there is much that we day. One interesting note that several Coun- year we had 2014 conference bids from Bra- can learn from each other. cil members commented on was the fact that zil, Canada, and China. All were good, solid “The other officers and I believe that it is the majority of the Russian planetarians at the bids and we knew that each of the three sites important for the Council to meet planetar- meeting were female. would host a wonderful conference. We re- ians from many parts of Russia during our We were happy to hear from our Japanese ally appreciate the hard work that went into visit. One way to facilitate that would be to Council representative, Kaoru Kimura, that each bid. schedule a RPA meeting right after the Coun- our planetarium colleagues in Japan are recov- It was a difficult choice, but Council, after cil meeting finishes, e.g. starting on Saturday ering from the damage caused by the devas- much deliberation, made the decision to ac- evening.” tating March earthquake. They really appreci- cept the bid by the Beijing Planetarium. The Those words proved to be very true. Our ate the messages of concern that they received 2014 IPS Conference will take place June 23- Council meeting in Russia re-established ties from planetarians around the world at the 27 in Beijing, China. Look for updates in the with the Russian Planetarium Association time of this national tragedy. Planetarian and in the conference section of (RPA) and built many bridges with our col- the IPS website. leagues from that part of the world. I feel that And then there was the karaoke Again, I want to thank our friends in Rio de this meeting will lead to collaborative proj- That evening we had a banquet in a kara- Janeiro and Vancouver and I hope that they ects with planetarians worldwide and greater oke restaurant. There was much conversation, will consider bidding for a future IPS confer- participation of our Russian colleagues. many toasts, and once the ice was broken, ence. considerable singing. I was on an emotion- As I was writing this message, I received Meeting the RPA al high as a large group of us, from many na- a Facebook alert reminding us that we are The highlight of our meeting was the oppor- tions, linked arms and sang our hearts out. I re- only one year from the beginning of the IPS tunity to get to know so many planetarians alized that we are all, regardless of where we 2012 conference on July 22, 2012. How quick- gathered together at the Nizhny Novgorod live in the world, united by our passion for as- ly time passes! It doesn’t seem that long since Planetarium for a RPA meeting. There were tronomy. We do “all live under one sky!” Baton Rouge was selected as the 2012 confer- more than 50 representatives from Russia, Ka- The minutes of the 2011 Council meeting ence site at our Council meeting in Toulouse, zakhstan, Ukraine and other countries. They will appear in a future issue of the Planetari- France. In March, I made a site visit to Baton met for two days, concurrent with the Coun- an and most of the affiliate and committee re- (Continues on Page 8)

6 Planetarian September 2011 September 2011 Planetarian 7 Letters to the Editor To the Editor:

I sent the following letter to the Board of Di- On top of this, Chris Janssen is co-founder planetarium vzw as extremely painful, be- rectors of the Europlanetarium in Genk, Bel- of PLANed, the International Planetarium So- cause the board has jettisoned decennia of gium. I would like to share this letter with the ciety affiliate for the Dutch-speaking planetar- years of experience in education and the pop- planetarium community. ia. This is a very useful means of sharing ideas, ularisation of astronomy and linked sciences. To the Board of Directors, Kattevennen-Eu- exchanging experiences and formally/infor- We fear that this experience will be lost. roplanetarium vzw: mally talking with colleagues from planetar- The decision taken by that board of direc- With uttermost dismay, we receive the ia in our little part of the world. tors not only has repercussions on the daily news that M. Chris Janssen has been dismissed Chris was honored during the last IPS con- work of Kattevennen-Europlanetarium vzw, as director of the Europlanetarium in Genk. ference in Alaxandria by being named a Fel- but also on PLANed, as Chris is the financial In the last thirteen years, Chris Janssen, as low of IPS, one of the highest honors that IPS representative of ADSP. Our association has al- director of the Europlanetarium, has done his bestows. This award is an appreciation given ways relied on his years of experience. uttermost in the promotion and popularisa- by planetarium professionals from around We can’t judge an internal decision on mat- tion of astronomy and linked sciences to the the world to people who, by means of plane- ters concerning employees. But we still have lay public and to schoolchildren. tarium techniques, have distinguished them- the impression that this is a serious threat to Together with M. Lode Vanhoutte, he was selves in the popularisation of astronomy and the popularisation of astronomy and related one of the founders of the Limburgse Volkss- related sciences. This is an honour that could sciences in Genk. Keep in mind that the Euro- terrenwacht (public observatory of Limburg, have been used by the city council of Genk to planetarium is a site that has always been re- Belgium). In this same public observatory he promote the city. garded as top notch in astronomy education served for years as a volunteer to guide visitors We, as PLANed (ADSP- Association of Dutch in Europe. into the realm of stars and planets and to share Speaking Planetaria), consider the decision of Eddy Pirotte, President ADSP (PLANed) his enthusiasm for the starry sky. the Board of Directors of Kattevennen-Euro- Beisbroek Planetarium, Brugge, Belgium

(continued from Page 6) Rouge to meet our hosts and see the confer- of previous editors to make the Planetarian ing to his life after he was afflicted with pe- ence site. The Louisiana Art & Science Muse- what it is today. ripheral neuropathy and had to learn how to um, the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium and Please remember that it is your journal. I en- walk again at age 21. the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Vis- courage each member of IPS to work on mak- Andy realized that he needed to appreciate itors Bureau really rolled out the red carpet. ing it even better. One way you can do so is to the simple things of life and to give back to They are extremely excited and eager to wel- share news of what’s going on in your facility people. He organized a charity for people af- come all of us to the city next year. with your regional news editor. flicted with that condition and raised 1.2 mil- The theme of the conference is “Bridge to Another very important way to contribute lion pounds. New Beginnings.” Host Jon Elvert writes that is to write an article for the journal. You may Three years ago, after watching a documen- it will “showcase the latest advances in astron- not think that what you are doing is worth tary about the aurora borealis on the BBC, he omy, planetarium technologies, data visual- writing about, but you’d be surprised to find traveled to Norway to photograph what he ization, and education.” Visit the conference how much others could learn from your ex- calls “the children of the night.” He writes: website at ips2012.com to find more informa- perience. “Photography really did help me to get tion about the venues, hotels, and schedule. through everything. In essence, it provided a Our Society can certainly be proud of the For the love of aurora safe harbor in a very stormy sea and, without quality of our journal, the Planetarian. We As I conclude, I want to write about Andy doubt, it provided a very positive distraction, thank our editor, Sharon Shanks, for all of the Keen, a resident of Wales, who passionately which, in turn, aided my recovery. I am ex- work that she does to produce such a profes- pursues his love for the aurora borealis. That tremely passionate about the aurora borealis, sional publication. She has built on the work passion helped him recover and gave mean- so much so that I would go as far as to say that I don’t think that I could live without them.” You can read more about his inspiring work and see some of his Alex Cherman PARTYcles wonderful pictures in a recent article published in Asian Photography We are a Hydrogen A Helium atom Most atoms atom. But there is is a gathering and Imaging, aurorahunters.com/ are like us. a minority of of six particles: wp-content/uploads/2009/12/au- Helium atoms. 2 protons, 2 rora.pdf and at the Aurora Hunters neutrons e 2 website aurorahunters.com. electrons… I plan to see some of you at regional conferences, either in person or through a Skype session, One proton and hopefully at our meeting next and one Helium?!? year in Baton Rouge. Until then, electron… How What’s that? indecent! as Andy Keen would say, Carpe Diem-Seize the Day! I

8 Planetarian September 2011 September 2011 Planetarian 9 Keeping astronomy in

science education istockphoto.com

The United States planetariums’ regional response to the current science standards revision

Abstract: The United States is currently revising the 15-year-old national science standards used by many schools to design curriculum. In the spring of 2010, the Great Lakes Planetarium Association (GLPA) formed a committee to provide input and guidance into that process and that resulted in a consortium of all the United States IPS affiliates joining forces for a unified voice in this revision. The resulting 15-page document lists not only minimum concepts, but also a scope and sequence of concepts by grade level.

Gary Tomlinson, Chair GLPA National Standards Committee Chaffee Planetarium, Retired Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA [email protected]

10 Planetarian September 2011 To talk about how standards are used in the rooms. After Sputnik, things were beginning United States, first we have to explore how ed- to look up for astronomy instruction. ucation is set up and operates here. Then, in 1989, the American Association Science reform, In the U.S., what students learn in kinder- for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) pub- garten through high school (referred to as lished the book Science for All Americans as by the books K-12) rests in the hands of thousands of elected part of its Project 2061. school boards composed, often, of concerned This led to the AAAS’s Benchmarks for Sci- parents and citizens and not professional ed- ence Literacy in 1993, followed by the National The Commit- ucators. Research Council’s (NRC) National Science Ed- tee of Ten Each school board determines the curricu- ucation Standards in 1995.Now, 15 years later, was a working lum and standards for their own school dis- these standards are being revised. group of educators that, in trict. As such, it is extremely difficult to have When the National Science Education Stan- 1892, recom- consistency across school districts, let alone dards came about in 1995, it started a multi- mended the within one state. year process of improving science education standardiza- This method of operation is known as local and, at the same time, reduced the quantity of tion of Ameri- can high school control and is very important to U.S. citizens. astronomy instruction in K-12 education once curriculum. Therefore, in this country, it is easy to make again. One goal of the standards was to reduce laws and procedures that are different from the number of topics covered. one region or state to another and difficult to Planetarium groups were not involved in make them the same. But, as far as science ed- the planning and implementation of those ucation is concerned, that is slowly changing. standards, but other science groups were. 1989: Science Although most states have “state stan- They fought for their disciplines and had a for All Ameri- dards,” until recently local school districts did voice in the standards. In the meantime, fund- cans, a publica- not need to follow any set curriculum. Now ing for U.S. planetarium experiences has been tion from the many states hold local districts accountable reduced, domes closed, and field trip money American Asso- ciation for the for student performance via state funding, so and time eliminated. Advancement local districts are trying to adhere to the state On April 7, 2010, Jim Beaber, formerly with of Science’s standards—and most state standards are based the Jefferson County (Colorado) School Dis- Project 2061, on national standards. trict’s Robert H. Johnson Planetarium, suggest- a long-term If history repeats itself in the current revi- ed on the planetarium listserve, Dome-L, that AAAS initiative to advance lit- sion process, after the new national science the recent closures of planetariums across the eracy in Sci- standards are completed, each state will de- U.S. could be the result of the current nation- ence, Math- vise its own set of standards, hopefully closely al science standards not having strong astron- ematics, and modeling the national standards. Then many omy requirements. Technology local districts will take the state standards and Upon further investigation he discovered construct local standards. that the NRC was at that moment involved Note that it wasn’t until the 1990’s that U.S. in revising the current science standards and 1995: Nation- national science standards formally existed. were close to producing a document listing al Science Ed- broad concepts that the revised standards ucation Stan- dards How astronomy has fared would be based upon. from the National Acad- Now that we know a little bit about how This framework, as it is called, was just re- emy of Sci- education works in the U.S., we need to ex- leased in its final form as this article was being ences, took plore how astronomy was previously treat- written (July 18, 2011). the question ed in this country and what is currently be- Titled A Framework for K-12 Science Educa- a step further by promulgat- ing done in U.S. science education standards tion: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core ing science revision. Ideas, it is the first part of a two-pronged pro- standards for In 1898 a group called the Committee of cess to develop the next generation of stan- all students Ten examined the courses taught in U.S. high dards. schools and made recommendations for the topics to be covered in each. Astronomy, pre- Essential concepts: the document viously an important subject in academic It was shortly after Beaber’s posting that the 2011: A Frame- schools, was declared unnecessary for admit- United States regional planetarium associa- work for K-12 tance to college, setting the stage for a dramat- tions, all affiliates of IPS, decided to join forc- Science Educa- tion from the ic decline in the number of schools that of- es and get involved by producing a document National Acad- fered astronomy. that was eventually titled “Astronomy Litera- emy of Scienc- Schools did not teach it, students did not cy: Essential Concepts for a K-12 Curriculum.” es, redesigns learn it, and teachers eventually had no back- This 15-page document not only lists rea- when and what ground to offer astronomy topics even to el- sons to teach astronomy and why planetar- science should be taught ementary students. Although other factors iums are important; it also provides a grade- may have influenced schools to drop astron- specific list of astronomy concepts—a scope omy, the Committee of Ten’s decision was ex- and sequence if you will. Actually, it is almost tremely influential in the decline. “everything you wanted to know about what An advance pre-publication pdf is avail- The space age was the impetus to reverse and when to teach astronomy but were afraid able at no charge from National Academies this 50-year absence of astronomy in U.S. class- to ask.” Press, www.nap.edu.

September 2011 Planetarian 11 Schools did not teach it, students did not learn it, and teachers eventually had no background to offer astronomy topics even to elementary students.

We constructed this paper not only to act as al times before and did not know if it was by 4th core idea, thus leaving less room for the a basis for input into the framework and the design or by chance. other disciplines. next generation science standards, but also to In fact, the committee putting together the However, at first glance, the framework ap- provide the classroom teacher with a tremen- framework had to request special permission pears to be an impressive document that will, dous resource. We wanted to be proactive, not from the NRC just to have public comment hopefully, help to positively shape U.S. sci- reactive, as we were when the first set of stan- on the draft version. ence education for years to come. dards was constructed. The most serious problem of all was timing. The current revision of the national stan- Our goal was to increase the quantity of as- The committee putting together “Astronomy dards is being directed by the National Acad- tronomy in an attempt to rectify the lack of Literacy: Essential Concepts for a K-12 Curric- emies of Science’s National Research Council, astronomy in the current set of standards. ulum,” as well as the consortium of U.S. plan- the American Association for the Advance- Unfortunately, one of the charges of the etarium regional associations, worked fever- ment of Science, and the National Science NRC’s Framework Committee was to produce ously to complete the document and, by July, Teachers Association. It is now being spear- “fewer, higher, clearer” standards. This meant had a fairly complete draft. headed by Achieve, the second prong in the that there must be fewer overall standards Then the draft framework came out at the process to improve science. than in the previous set—and this previous set same time. In some respects we were lucky, did not have a lot of astronomy to begin with. as it was suppose to be released a few months The second prong of the process This does not bode well for us to achieve earlier, before the consortium even got a good Achieve was created in 1996 by the nation’s our goal of increasing astronomy in the K-12 start. governors and corporate leaders. It is an inde- curriculum—that by “missing the boat” back We were unlucky in that NRC only allowed pendent, bipartisan, non-profit education re- in the 1990’s, we may have doomed our three weeks to get comments back and they form organization. Achieve, with input from schools to continued under representation of had to be on a form supplied by the NRC, educators, scientists, the states, and business astronomy in its curriculum. which was not in the format we had pro- leaders, will form a 30-member writing team duced. Given that we were unsure of when to create draft standards aligned with the A presidential ally? the draft framework would be released and to- framework “and will do so in a process that We may, however, have an ally in our quest tally unaware of the short turnaround time takes into account feedback from states and to actually increase astronomy content in the for responses, (and by that time all the com- stakeholders.”1 new standards. On the September 27, 2010 mittee members were on vacation and not Although Achieve states that the writing broadcast of NBC’s Today Show, U.S. President available to rework our document into the team “will have expertise in cognitive, life, Barack Obama stated that the U.S. was 21st in NRC’s format) we were unable to provide in- earth, and physical sciences and engineering” science and that we needed to increase stan- put in the format required. (note the specific lack of mention of space dards. The President’s Secretary of Education, In an act of desperation, on behalf of GLPA, science), it also states that there will be state Arne Duncan, has also stated we must not I sent our draft document along with a note teams in place to provide feedback. It will be dumb down our standards. explaining our position to key players in the up to the individual states whether or not to However, several problems presented framework’s construction, as well as attaching adopt the next generation standards. themselves along the way. One problem was it to the NRC’s form in the hopes it would be Perhaps the most important statement for that the planetarium community, for the useful and have an impact on the final draft. planetariums is “States are encouraged to in- most part, did not find out about the revision The NRC contacted over 40 groups to ask volve representation of the K-12 education, process until Beaber’s posting. By that time, all for feedback. None were planetarium asso- education policy, scientific, post-second- three of the public presentations on the revi- ciations. Over 2,000 responses were received ary education, and informal science commu- sion had already taken place and the initial in- during the three-week feedback time inter- nities.” (emphasis added). Although not all of put stage into the framework document was val (hopefully the U.S. planetarium regionals our planetariums are in informal education over. were one of them, although none are listed). settings—many are in formal K-12 settings—it Another problem was that, at least to me, They did get a lot of responses concerning appears that the nation’s educational leaders the whole revision process seemed mysteri- the Earth & Space Science section, most say- have lumped us into the “informal education ous, guarded and secretive. When I mentioned ing there were too many ideas included. Even this to several people more closely associated though the framework was supposed to pro- 1 This and subsequent quotes from www.achieve. with the revision, they agreed with me, often duce “fewer, higher, clearer” standards, the org/next-generation-science-standards, Next Gen- eration Science Standards.pdf; accessed August 8, stating they had heard that observation sever- NRC added engineering and technology as a 2011

12 Planetarian September 2011 Astronomy Literacy: Essential Concepts for a K-12 Curriculum A document prepared collaboratively by the United States Planetarium Affiliates

In the 1990s, science education in the Why learn astronomy? the moon exhibits phases and why eclips- United States underwent dramatic reform, The study of astronomy is an important ex- es occur, describe the motion of the plan- prompted by the book Science for all Ameri- perience that has far-reaching implications ets relative to both the Earth and the sun, cans. Ultimately, a set of national science ed- for many curricular areas. “Astronomy liter- and take note of the star patterns in either ucation standards were developed. acy” implies not only knowledge and under- a planetarium or outdoor setting with their Today, those standards are undergoing revi- standing of the Earth and its interaction with eyes. In other words, no expensive laborato- sion and the result, at presstime, is the prepub- other celestial objects, but also an understand- ry equipment is needed for students to gain lication edition of A Framework for K-12 Sci- ing of the scientific process used to produce an understanding of many fundamental ence Education: Practices,Crosscutting Concepts, those concepts. motions of the day or night sky. and Core Ideas, the first step in a two-part ref- Astronomy is a high-interest subject that at- •• Our perspective on our place in the uni- ormation process. tracts a wide range of students. The motiva- verse is constantly changing as we learn To assist curriculum developers, classroom tional nature of astronomy promotes science about such things as the existence of extra- teachers and other members of the K-12 ed- literacy, and astronomy learning may encour- solar planets that orbit stars other than our ucational community, the U.S. planetarium age students to pursue future careers in sci- sun, dark matter and dark energy. We recog- associations identified the following set of ence, technology, engineering, or math. nize that new information prompts scien- essential astronomy concepts for a K-12 cur- A successful astronomy and space-science tists to re-examine theories as both new dis- riculum as well as justifications for including curriculum ultimately strives to produce cit- coveries are made and technology enables astronomy in a well-rounded curriculum. izens who think critically so that they can us to explore new ideas. make responsible decisions about society’s •• Realization that comets and asteroids have Why planetarium educators? role in caring for the planet on which we live. hit Earth in the past are concepts that illus- Why are planetarium educators well suited Other reasons why the study of astronomy trate both the scientific method and the for identifying astronomical curriculum con- is important include: need to understand more about our uni- tent? •• Nearly all life depends on the workings of verse. This understanding may save our spe- Planetarium educators typically teach our sun. The production of energy by this cies from a global catastrophe and encour- thousands of K-12 students each year. Fre- star makes life possible. age the development of new technologies quently, they serve as resource master astron- •• Almost all of the atoms that we interact for human research and exploration omy teachers for both their local and area with daily (including those that are found •• Astronomy permeates our lives in many school districts. They see students at varying within our bodies) were created within the different ways. Every culture has an astro- grade levels throughout their school careers. interiors of stars or by the Big Bang. nomical heritage. Astronomy is the fore- Due to these diverse roles, planetarium educa- •• Students can observe the effects of the runner of all of our sciences. Clock time, tors have a unique perspective regarding the Earth’s rotation and revolution, the mo- calendar time, effects of the seasons, and ef- astronomy concepts appropriate for K-12 stu- tions of our moon, and gravitational effects fects of Earth’s place in space all impact our dents and the sequence in which these con- of the moon and sun on our planet. In addi- lives on a daily basis. Without adequate as- cepts should be taught. tion, students can observe and explain why tronomy education, it is likely that many students (and adults) will develop miscon- ceptions about the universe. community.” Informal or not, we have a door- Next Generation Science Standards. •• Astronomy is an observational science with way to the review process. Therefore, while it would be best to view a long history. Science is based on the scaf- Achieve expects to spend a year in writing it in its latest version (at www.glpaweb.org/ folding of knowledge achieved through in- and reviewing the next generation standards, k12concepts.htm), we have reprinted it here sight from careful observations; confirmed including two chances for public comment for IPS members who do not have access to through evidence from tests and experi- (at six and nine months from now). We have the Internet. ments; refined by publication, dissemina- the opportunity now to be heard in this sec- Our next step is to see how we can assist tion, and replication by many individuals ond part of the process. We can check with Achieve and have input into the Next Gener- and teams in many countries. our state boards of education to find out who ation Science Standards. As stated previously, •• The universe can be used as a laboratory to is on their review teams and if we can become “Astronomy Literacy: Essential Concepts for a explore nature in ways we simply cannot a part of the process, and/or if we can submit K-12 Curriculum” was a team effort by all the do on Earth. our essential concepts document. U.S. Regional Planetarium Associations (see •• Astronomy is multidisciplinary in scope “Astronomy Literacy: Essential Concepts listing at the end of the document), and I am which illustrates the connectedness of the for a K-12 Curriculum” will be an evolving very grateful for their input and guidance as sciences. document. It will be aligned now with the well as the primary authors and reviewers who •• Basic questions about the cosmos and its frameworks and, when it is completed, the are also listed in the document proper. I components help answer profound ques-

September 2011 Planetarian 13 tions about the origins of the universe and vational possibilities allowing views from any than classrooms or lab rooms using com- about life itself. position in space. puter equipment and smartboards. •• The observational aspects of astronomy This planetarium experience helps stu- •• The planetarium’s ability to accelerate sharpen one’s ability to observe in all as- dents to better understand our place in space time, change location locally and remote- pects of our lives. and how it relates to the larger universe. ly, and travel in time both into the past •• Recording astronomical observations re- The component of observation, so critical and into the future provides a powerful and fines our ability to document and analyze to astronomy learning, can be conducted ef- compelling reason to teach in these envi- events around us. ficiently in a planetarium. Long spans of time ronments. •• Astronomy is the science with the longest can be simulated in a few moments. •• The delivery of content by planetarium and most carefully documented history, so For example, in just minutes, students specialists allows other school staff to focus studying it provides insight on how society can view a day of the sun’s apparent mo- their attention on additional required curri- learns, how its collective knowledge grows, tion, a starry night where constellations cir- cula and student assessment. changes, and improves as well as how to ap- cle around the North Star, a month of moon •• The planetarium represents a segue to learn- proach unsolved problems in other fields, phases, a year of seasons, and much more. ing by virtual and futuristic realities. including technology. Fundamental ideas that represent the cy- •• The environment of a planetarium ful- The value of the planetarium clical nature of astronomy such as rotation, fills a societal need as a family gathering Observations are essential to astronomy. a month, or a year can be easily demonstrat- place where children and parents can have Planetarium lessons are invaluable for pro- ed within a single class period. Concept- shared experiences in the learning process. viding these observational opportunities. based lessons incorporating discovery/inqui- The planetarium is a unique classroom envi- ry methods, active participation, and critical Essential understandings ronment which accurately represents both thinking in a planetarium allow students to The following concepts were derived from the day and night sky at different times of understand the Earth-based view of the sky in the collective expertise and experience of the day, month, and year from anywhere on the a rapid, memorable, and accurate way. In ad- planetarium professionals and associations Earth’s surface and beyond. dition: listed at the end of his document as well as the This three-dimensional planetarium learn- •• Planetariums can provide a “wow” factor most up-to-date research using the cited re- ing environment allows students to grasp so not easily duplicated in a traditional class- sources at the end of this document. much more about the Earth-based view of room. These are the broad overview concepts that space bodies than film, video, computer im- •• These domed environments represent a led to the more extensive grade level concepts age, or textbook illustration. In many plane- shared technology resource that is less cost- listed in the following section. tariums, new technology extends these obser- ly to operate and maintain over its life cycle

Essential Concepts for a K-12 Curriculum

I. Our view of space III. Stars and galaxies •• Some things in the sky are close and some are distant. Although •• At present our Sun is halfway through its long period of stable stars and other sky objects appear attached to a sphere of the life. Our Sun is classified as a stable star because its size has re- same radius, they are at different distances from Earth. mained fairly constant and has produced energy at a fairly con- •• Our view of faint celestial objects is hampered when the Sun or stant rate for most of its lifetime. the Moon is in the sky, or when light pollution is present. Our •• Nuclear fusion within stars produces energy and most of the el- atmosphere limits our ability to see things sharply and blocks ements of the universe. out certain wavelengths of light. •• Stars begin as rotating gas clouds that start to shine when their •• Constellation patterns were created by early civilizations and interior temperatures become hot enough for nuclear fusion. have been used for thousands of years as navigation and calen- After long periods of stable life, stars end their lives in a manner dar aids. that is dependent on their mass. •• Galaxies are collections of billions of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter held together by gravity. These galaxies sometimes col- II. The Earth in space •• The Earth rotates, causing celestial objects to appear to move in lide or pass near each other. These encounters can cause epi- the sky as time passes. sodes of star formation, and even reshape the structure of a gal- •• The Earth revolves around the Sun on an inclined axis, caus- axy. ing seasonal changes in the Sun’s apparent daily path and the •• Scientific evidence shows that our universe was created in the amount of energy that a localized region on Earth receives thus Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago. The expansion of the uni- causing temperatures to rise or fall with each season. verse causes galaxies (on a cosmic scale) to move apart from one •• Our planet Earth has certain characteristics that make life pos- another. An effect labeled “dark energy” is causing the expan- sible. sion to occur at an ever-increasing rate. •• The Solar System, including one average-size star (the Sun) and our planet Earth with its natural satellite (the Moon), is a group IV. Processes of objects separated from other stars and their planets by very •• Astronomers use science and mathematics and apply the scien- large distances. tific method to observations made with telescopes, spacecraft, •• Our Solar System is located about half way out from the center and other tools. of the Milky Way Galaxy. •• Almost everything we know about the universe is derived from analyzing electromagnetic radiation emitted by distant matter.

14 Planetarian September 2011 made up a long time ago. These Appropriate Astronomical Concepts star patterns are called constellations. byThe Grade planetarium Level community considers the following to be the es- •• There are four seasons which re- sential set of concepts to be covered in a K-12 curriculum by grade lev- peat. The seasons are a time cy- el. Since there are big differences in cognitive levels from one grade to cle. the next, especially in young children, the concepts are separated more •• The Sun’s daily path in the sky in the early grades than in the later grades. is longer and higher in summer, giving us more energy. The Of course, students who are gifted/talented have the ability to learn Sun’s path is shorter and lower in winter, giving us less energy. concepts of grade levels higher than the indicated chronological age, •• It gets light earlier in the summer than in the winter. It gets dark and students with learning disabilities may not be able to understand later in the summer than in the winter. many ideas at the given normative grade level. Each level’s concepts are building blocks for higher levels. Each lev- Grade 2 el’s listed concepts should be reviewed in subsequent years. Teachers Here ideas of Rotation and Moon Revolution and what happens dai- should refer to the blocks of lower-level concepts as they teach those ly and monthly in the sky are covered. Most students will be unable to for their own grade level. match Earth-based vs. space-based views for cause and effect. A concept that seems too difficult or unconnected for the students •• The Sun is a star and like all stars, it is round, not pointed like may be due to their not learning some previous-block concepts. In art-drawn stars. such circumstances, the previous-block concepts should be reviewed. •• Gravity pulls the Earth, the Sun, other stars, and the Moon into round balls. •• The stars we see at night are a lot farther away than the Sun. Kindergarten •• The Sun, Moon, and stars are far away in space. Clouds, birds, The Sun is bright because it is much closer than nighttime stars. and rain are in the air. •• On a clear, dark night we can see about 2500 stars at any giv- •• Clouds often block our view of the Sun, Moon, and stars. en time with just the eye (not just a hundred and not millions). •• We live on the surface of the Earth. The Earth has air surround- •• Lights in cities make the sky light up, washing out the stars. ing it. •• With a telescope one can see many faint stars not visible with •• The Sun is in the day sky and is a hot, round ball of gas that pro- eyes alone. duces energy and light. •• The Earth rotates about an imaginary line between the North •• One should not stare at the Sun because it gives off energy that Pole and the South Pole, the axis. Rotation causes day and night. hurts the eyes. (Learn this as a fact, but true understanding is difficult at this •• Hours go by as the Sun moves across the sky. The Sun seems to grade level.) A cycle of day and night takes 24 hours. On Earth at move from near East to near West every day. night, stars near the North Star appear to move in circles around •• The Moon cycles through different repeating shapes in our sky. it. Sometimes you can see the Moon during the day. •• The North Star is not a bright star. The North Star is important •• The stars seem to move very slowly during the night. because we can use it to find the north direction. Star patterns •• Lights from houses, cars, and streetlights make our night sky (constellations) help us find the North Star. When you can see lighter, making it harder to see faint objects like stars. the North Star (on a clear night), you can find north. If you can •• Stars have different brightnesses. find north, you can find south, east, and west. •• Not all stars seem to have the same space between them in the •• The Moon is a round ball. The Moon gets its light from the Sun sky. and half of the Moon ball is always lit. Sometimes we can see •• People imagine patterns in the sky. If one imagines a star pat- the lit side of the Moon and sometimes we cannot. tern, like the Big Dipper, there are no lines between stars—you •• The Moon moves in an orbit around the Earth. Each night/day imagine them like connecting numbers dot-to-dot. the Moon seems to have a slightly different shape in the sky. We call these different shapes phases. Moon phases repeat on a regular basis. Moon phases are a time cycle. Grade 1 •• The Sun makes energy that makes plants grow and life on Earth •• Each night/day the Moon is found in a different place in the possible. The Earth gets its energy from the Sun. sky. •• Day and night repeat. This is a time cycle. •• There is no air on the Moon. Without air, there is no weather •• Shadows happen when light is blocked by an object. Shadows on the Moon. are long when the Sun is low. •• Without air, no plants can grow on the Moon. •• The Earth is a round ball with air all around it. •• The Moon is the closest space body to the Earth (except mete- •• Streetlights and building lights make the sky bright so it is hard ors). to see the stars at night. •• Astronauts have walked on the Moon and returned to Earth •• Different Moon shapes in our sky give different amounts of with Moon rocks. No people have ever gone further from Earth light. When the Moon is bright, it is possible to see more things than the Moon. on the Earth at night, but then it is harder to see the stars. His- •• The Earth, Moon, and planets all have gravity (Learn as a fact) torically activities like farming and hunting were done using •• The Earth, Moon, and planets shine in the sky because sunlight bright moonlight. bounces or reflects off them. •• When the Moon is not in the evening sky, the sky is dark and we can see stars better. Grades 3-4 (the solar system) •• Stars shine in the day sky as well as the night sky, but we don’t •• Planets are round (or almost round) and revolve around the see stars in the daytime because the Sun is too bright. Sun. Planets get their light from the Sun. We see them because •• Long ago people imagined patterns made of stars and told sto- sunlight bounces or reflects off them. ries about the stars. Today we still can find the star patterns •• The Earth is one of eight planets in the Solar System. Pluto is

September 2011 Planetarian 15 called a dwarf planet. •• The planets appear to move through the zodiac constellations. •• Each planet has different characteristics. Some planets have •• The zodiac constellations, first important in astronomy, were many moons (natural satellites). adopted by the superstition (pseudoscience) of astrology. •• The Earth has only one Moon (natural satellite), but hundreds •• Different cultures have used different constellations for hunt- of artificial satellites. Artificial (built by people) satellites re- ing, farming, navigation, and religious ceremonies. This links volve (orbit) around the Earth above Earth’s atmosphere. Some well with social studies standards. of these help us predict the weather, watch television shows, •• The Earth’s atmosphere is responsible for many effects, includ- find our location, or talk to each other around the world. ing clouds, rainbows, aurora, meteors, twinkling stars, and the •• Planets farther from the Sun than Earth get less energy from the reddening of the Sun and the Moon when they are rising and Sun and are colder. Planets closer to the Sun than Earth get more setting. energy from the Sun and are hotter. •• Changing distance from the Sun is not the reason we have sea- •• The Earth takes one year (365 days) to revolve (orbit) around sons. Seasons happen because the Earth revolves around the the Sun. Each planet has a different revolution time. The far- Sun with an inclined (tilted) axis. Learn as a fact. ther an object is from the Sun, the longer it takes to revolve (or- •• When the Sun is higher in the sky, it gives more direct (straight bit) around the Sun. on) sunlight, which provides more energy for a given location. •• Each planet has a different rotation time. •• In spring and fall, the Sun rises due east, sets due west, and is in •• To our unaided eyes, other planets look like stars in the sky. the sky for 12 hours. In our (Northern Hemisphere) summer the With telescopes, planets look round, not pinpoint like stars. Sun rises north of east, sets north of west, and is in the sky for •• A telescope gathers light and magnifies an object. Many of the more than 12 hours. In our winter the Sun rises south of east, sets best telescope pictures of the planets and other objects were tak- south of west, and is in the sky for less than 12 hours. en with space telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope. •• In the Southern Hemisphere, seasons are reversed from those in •• Spacecraft without people (robot spacecraft) have visited all the the Northern Hemisphere. other planets. Dwarf Planet Pluto will be visited by the New Ho- •• The Moon phase cycle is 29.5 days. Moon phase months do not rizons spacecraft, July 2015. No person has ever visited anoth- match calendar months. er planet. •• The Moon phase names are waxing crescent, first quarter, wax- •• Sometimes planet pictures are shown with exaggerated colors. ing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent, This “false color” is made using technology. and new. •• Planets seem to move slowly in our sky through (in front of) the •• The Moon and Sun cause the tides. Tides have a daily and distant background of stars (constellations) because the planets monthly set of changes. are orbiting the Sun. •• When the Moon is new (i.e. directly between the Sun and Earth), •• The Solar System includes the Sun, the planets, dwarf planets, a solar eclipse is possible. Although new moon occurs about planetary satellites, Kuiper belt objects, comets, asteroids, mete- once per month, the Moon’s orbit is slightly tilted compared oroids, gas and dust. Life is found on one planet, the Earth. Sci- to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, so the Moon’s shadow does entists are searching for evidence of life on other worlds of the not always touch the Earth and a solar eclipse does not usual- Solar System. ly occur. The new Moon, Sun, and Earth must be in a straight •• “Shooting stars” (meteors) are meteoroids that collide with line and on the same level (plane) for a solar eclipse to occur. A Earth and vaporize (burn up) in the atmosphere. solar eclipse happens when the Earth moves into the Moon’s •• Meteorites are rocks from space that have hit the surface of a shadow. planet or moon. •• A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon appears to completely covers the Sun and the Moon’s shadow falls upon the Earth. The Moon can cover the Sun in our sky even though it is Grade 5 Revisit basic motions, building on earlier learning. Students’ cogni- much smaller than the Sun because it is much closer. In a solar tive level now allows the understanding of more complex concepts. eclipse, the Sun disappears on its west side first. At no time is it However, matching Earth-based vs. space-based views more complex safe to look directly at the Sun when any of its surface is visible. than rotation is not possible for most students. When the Moon totally covers the Sun, the Sun’s corona (atmo- •• A good model of the Earth, Moon, and Sun shows the true dis- sphere) is visible. When this happens—and only when this hap- tances and sizes in space. Book drawings usually do not show pens—it is safe to look at the Sun. the correct scale either by size or distance. •• When the Moon is full (i.e. on the opposite side of the Earth •• As the Earth rotates eastward, sky objects appear to rise near the from the Sun), a lunar eclipse is possible. Although full moon eastern horizon and set near the western horizon while stars in occurs about once per month, the Moon’s orbit is slightly tilt- the northern sky appear to move counterclockwise around the ed compared to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, so the Earth’s North Star (Polaris) on a daily cycle. shadow does not always touch the Moon and a lunar eclipse •• Constellations are imaginary patterns of stars made up by early does not usually occur. The full Moon, Sun, and Earth must be cultures. Constellations form a background for motions of so- in a straight line and on the same level (plane) for a lunar eclipse lar system objects such as planets and the Moon. The stars that to occur. A lunar eclipse happens when the Moon moves into make up the constellations are very far away. Earth’s shadow. In a lunar eclipse, the full Moon dims on its east •• During a month, the Moon seems to move eastward through side first. When the Moon is totally within the Earth’s shadow, the zodiac constellations. the Moon often appears red. •• Zodiac constellations are a group of star patterns centered on •• Lunar eclipses last longer than solar eclipses and can be seen the plane of the Earth’s orbit. Usually we think of 12 zodiac con- from a much larger area of the Earth’s surface. stellations, but the plane also includes a part of a 13th constellation (Ophiuchus). Grades 6-8 •• As the Earth revolves, the Sun seems to move eastward through At this level, the match of Earth-based view with space-based view the zodiac constellations on a yearly cycle. of the revolving Earth or phases seen as the Moon revolves starts to

16 Planetarian September 2011 be possible. An important determiner of whether a student will under- tant stars. stand “projective” concepts will be if the concepts listed for previous •• The Solar System is not at the cen- levels have been learned. ter of the Milky Way; it is on one •• Day and night happen because of rotation, but do not prove side, about half way out. that the Earth rotates. One proof of the Earth’s rotation is a Fou- •• The Milky Way is one of many cault pendulum, which seems to turn during the day. billions of galaxies in the universe. •• Seasons are caused by the Earth revolving around the Sun on •• It takes light millions of years to its inclined (tilted) axis. The angle at which sunlight strikes the travel from the closest large Galaxy to our Solar System in the Earth, combined with the number of hours of daytime, causes Milky Way. changes in the amount of heating observed for a given location. •• Planets have been discovered around many stars beyond the When the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is pointed toward the sun. Sun, the Northern Hemisphere experiences summer. When the •• Many stars are believed to have planets, but planets with tem- Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is pointed away from the Sun, the peratures and conditions favorable for life appear to be rare. Northern Hemisphere experiences winter. •• Although ongoing surveys search for life, no life elsewhere in •• The Earth’s orbit, while nearly circular, is an ellipse. Earth is space has been confirmed, either in our Solar System or on plan- closer to the Sun during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter. ets around other stars. •• As the Moon revolves around the Earth, the side facing the Sun •• In space, astronauts must be provided with oxygen to breathe, is light and the side facing away is dark. As the Moon revolves air pressure to balance outward body pressure, and protection we see different amounts of its lighted half; these are called from solar radiation (includes harmful radiation and tempera- phases. ture regulation). •• Only when the Moon is at its full phase does it rise at sunset and •• The amount of gravity that an object has is determined by its set at sunrise. mass. The Earth, Moon, planets, stars, and galaxies all have grav- •• The waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, and full ity. Mass and distance determine how much gravitational force Moon are visible in the early-evening sky. The full Moon, the is exerted. waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent can be seen •• The Moon is the only space body visited by people thus far. in the pre-dawn sky. •• The Moon rotates so that the same physical side (“the face”) is Grades 9-12 always facing toward the Earth. This is the result of the Moon’s Since high school learning usually is arranged by separate courses, rotation period and its revolution period (not the phase period) appropriate courses in which each concept can be taught, in addition both being 27 1/3 days in length. to an astronomy course, are indicated by the following code: Physical •• Gravity and an object’s motion (momentum or inertia) keep Science, PS; Physics, P; Chemistry, C; Biology, B; Earth Science, ES; Ge- objects in their paths (orbits). Orbits of most objects are ellips- ology, Geol; Geometry, Geom; Mathematics (general), M; Social Stud- es: planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, moons, Kuiper Belt objects, ies, SS. and artificial satellites. Some comets move in closed elliptical •• Theories use math to help us understand the universe. PS, P, C, B, orbits; others move in open orbits that do not bring them back ES, Geol, Geom, M, and SS to the Sun. •• The Earth’s diameter was calculated over 2000 years ago using •• Normal stars (called main sequence) have no solid or liquid Sun/shadow observations and geometry. PS, Geom, ES, Geol parts. •• The widespread knowledge that Earth is a rotating, revolving •• The Sun is a medium-sized star. planet is less than 500 years old. PS, P, ES, SS •• Many stars are binary (double) or multiple systems. •• Telescopes had a large role in changing the idea of Earth’s place •• The color of the star surface indicates its temperature. Blue stars from the center of the universe to a planet revolving about the have hotter surfaces than white, yellow, orange, or red stars. A Sun in a galaxy that occupies no special location in a universe star remains about the same size and same color for most of it of billions of galaxies. PS, P, ES, SS life, but every star goes through color and size changes as it ages. •• Newton’s Laws of Motion operate throughout the universe. PS, A star stays the same size if the pressure of the energy it produc- P, ES es balances its gravity. •• Our understanding of the universe is based upon scientific prin- •• The Sun is about halfway through its stable life. Late in its life ciples and natural properties that describe how nature works on the Sun will evolve to become a red giant star and then a white Earth and we assume throughout the rest of the universe. Obser- dwarf star. vations and predictions confirm this assumption. PS, P, ES •• A supernova (called type II supernova) happens when a very •• In very special situations of high mass or high speed, Newton’s massive star reaches the end of its life (stars much larger than Laws are modified, and Einstein’s Relativity applies. PS, P, ES, M our Sun). •• The orbits and trajectories of space objects all follow paths that •• Very massive stars can explode, leaving dense remnants called are defined by mathematical formulas. Geom, PS, P, ES, M neutron stars or black holes. •• Microgravity or a sensation of weightlessness is a result of con- •• Light travels faster (about 300,000 m/s) than anything else. stant falling (freefall). PS, P, ES Light waves travel through empty space, air, and transparent •• Evidence shows that the Sun and Earth are over 4.5 billion years objects. We relate distances of sky objects to the time it takes old. PS, P, ES, C, B, Geol, M their light to reach us. The Sun is 8 light-minutes away. The •• We know the age of the Solar System by using radioactivity to nearest night star is over 4 light-years away. determine the age of meteorites. PS, P, ES, C, Geol •• The Sun is one of billions of stars in our Milky Way Galaxy, a •• Electromagnetic radiation consists of many types of waves, large spiral of stars and gas. some of which we see (visible light) and most of which we do •• When we look in a dark sky (no Moon or light pollution), the not see. PS, P, ES, C Milky Way appears as a faint band of light. The Milky Way we •• The shortest electromagnetic waves have the most energy. PS, see on a dark night consists of the combined glow of very dis- P, ES, C

September 2011 Planetarian 17 •• Electromagnetic waves provide most of the information we This document was written by the following individuals who have know about the universe. PS, P, ES, C comprehensive backgrounds and experience at all levels of the educa- •• All electromagnetic waves travel through a vacuum at the tional spectrum: speed of light. PS, P, ES, C Dr. Jeanne Bishop, Planetarium Director (Licensed Teacher serving K-12 •• The Earth’s atmosphere blocks most types of electromagnetic students), Westlake Public Schools, Westlake, Ohio waves. PS, P, ES, C, Geol David DeRemer, K-12 Licensed Teacher and Planetarium Director, •• Ultraviolet energy from the Sun causes sunburn. PS, P, ES, C, B School District of Waukesha, Waukesha, Wisconsin, Great Lakes •• Telescopes in orbit above the atmosphere detect electromag- Planetarium Association Education Chair netic waves that do not reach the surface of the Earth. PS, P, ES David Leake, Associate Professor & Planetarium Director, Parkland Col- •• Magnitude is a nonlinear system of numbers describing bright- lege, Champaign, Illinois ness of sky objects. PS, P, ES, M Gary Sampson, Licensed High School Astronomy and Earth Science •• Evidence shows that the Solar System formed from a rotating Teacher and Planetarium Director (retired), Wauwatosa School Dis- cloud of gas and dust. PS, P, ES, Geol trict, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin •• Astronomers determine the composition of objects in space by Gary Tomlinson, Informal Museum Science & Planetarium Licensed analyzing their spectra. PS, P, ES, C Teacher (retired), Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, •• The elements found on Earth are the same elements found else- Michigan where in the universe. PS, P, ES, C •• Most of the normal matter in the universe is made up of the ele- Additional material, reviews and comments were provided by: ment hydrogen. Hydrogen and helium account for nearly 99% Jim Beaber, Planetarium and Observatory Director (retired), Ft. Lupton of the composition of the universe. PS, P, ES, C School District and Jefferson County School District, Colorado. Ad- •• The matter of stars, including our Sun, is in the plasma state. PS, junct Astronomy Instructor Arapahoe Community College, Little- P, ES, C ton, Colorado •• The Sun and other stars produce energy by nuclear reactions Bob Bonadurer, Planetarium Director, Milwaukee Public Museum, Mil- (fusion) and create heavier atoms or isotopes. PS, P, ES, C waukee Wisconsin •• As stars age, they produce elements and isotopes with higher Jack Dunn, Planetarium Coordinator and Licensed Teacher, Mueller atomic numbers. PS, P, ES, C Planetarium, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Ne- •• Elements heavier than iron such as uranium and other radio- braska active elements are formed only in specialized environments Jon Elvert, Planetarium Director, Pennington Planetarium at the Loui- such as supernovae. PS, P, ES, C siana Art & Science Museum, Baton Rouge, Louisiana •• The matter of the Earth and living things includes elements Rick Greenawald, Planetarium Manager, Faulkner Planetarium, Twin that formed in supernovae or in the cores of giant stars. Sci- Falls, Idaho entists conclude that supernovae explosions, planetary neb- Lee Ann Hennig, Planetarium Director and Licensed Teacher, Thomas ula explosions, and stellar winds distributed heavier elements Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Vir- into gaseous clouds or nebulae that eventually collapsed due to ginia gravity to form new stars, including the Sun and its planets. We Dr. David Hurd, Professor of Geosciences, Edinboro University of Penn- are made of “star stuff.” PS, P, ES, C, Geol sylvania, Edinboro, Pennsylvania •• The Earth’s atmosphere and oceans and other planets’ fluid Dr. Ronald Kaitchuck, Professor and Planetarium Director, Ball State parts are influenced by radiation and convection. PS, P, ES, Geol University, Muncie, Indiana •• Coal and oil resources have potential energy that came from Mitch Luman, Science Center and Planetarium Director, Evansville sunlight. PS, P, ES, Geol, C Museum, Evansville, Indiana •• Evidence shows the universe was formed in the Big Bang event. Michael Marks, President and Chief Astronomer, The Sky Connection, PS, P, ES, Geol Dedham, Massachusetts •• The universe is expanding, causing most galaxies to move away Benjamin Mendelsohn, Director, West Valley College Planetarium, from each other. PS, P, ES Saratoga, California •• Evidence shows that the Big Bang occurred about 13.7 billion Steve Mitch, Planetarium Director (retired) and Licensed Teacher, Ogle- years ago. PS, P, ES, M bay Resort, Wheeling, West Virginia •• Only a small part of the matter in the universe is normal matter Jack Northrup, Planetarium Director, Astronomy Instructor and Li- that emits electromagnetic waves. PS, P, ES, C, Geol censed Teacher, Omaha Public Schools, Omaha, Nebraska •• An effect called “dark energy” causes the expansion of the uni- Mark Reed, Planetarium Director and Licensed Science Teacher (As- verse to occur at an ever-increasing rate. PS, P, ES tronomy, Earth, and General Science), Jackson Public Schools, Jack- son, Michigan Dr. Dale Smith, Professor and Planetarium Director, Bowling Green Who constructed this document? The professional planetarium community in the United States is State University, Bowling Green, Ohio composed of seven independent regional associations. Membership Cory Stone, Planetarium Director, The Gene Roddenberry Planetari- within these associations consists of K-12 teachers, science supervisors, um, El Paso, Texas college professors, support staff, informal museum science educators, John Scala, Planetarium Director and Licensed Science Teacher, Lenape and private planetarium owners/educators from all across the United Valley Regional High School, Stanhope, New Jersey, Middle Atlantic States. Planetarium Society Education Chair The seven independent planetarium regional associations have Kim Small, Planetarium Director (serving grades K - 12), Upper Dublin united to speak with a single voice through this document. Members School District, Upper Dublin, Pennsylvania of this united group agree that this document describes what every student should know to be astronomically literate. The planetarium com- This document is endorsed by: munity concludes that students require astronomical literacy to func- •• The Great Lakes Planetarium Association tion and adapt well in an ever-changing technological world. •• The Great Plains Planetarium Association

18 Planetarian September 2011 •• The Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society Fraknoi, Andrew and Schatz, Dennis, eds. •• The Pacific Planetarium Association More Universe at Your Fingertips, Astro- •• The Rocky Mountain Planetarium Association nomical Society of the Pacific, 2000 •• The Southeastern Planetarium Association Friedman, Alan J., et al. Planetarium Activ- •• The Southwestern Association of Planetariums ities for Student Success Vol. 1: Planetari- um Educators Workshop Guide, 2nd. ed., Lawrence Hall of Science, University of References American Association for the Advancement of Science. Science For All California, Berkeley, 1990 Americans, Oxford University Press, 1989 National Research Council. National Science Education Standards, Na- American Association for the Advancement of Science, Benchmarks for tional Academy Press, 1996 Science Literacy, Oxford University Press, 1993 Pasachoff, Jay and Percy, John, eds. The Teaching of Astronomy: IAU Col- Bishop, Jeanne E. “Astronomy Learning and Student Thinking,” Mercu- loquium 105, Cambridge University Press, 1990 ry, March-April 1996, pp. 16-18 Percy, John R., ed. Astronomy Education: Current Development, Future Bishop, Jeanne. “Planetarium Methods Based on the Research of Jean Coordination, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series Piaget,” Planetarian, September 1976, pp. 3-8 Proceedings, Vol. 89, 1996 Bishop, Jeanne E. The Development and Testing of a Participatory Plane- Sadler, Philip M. “Psychometric Models of Student Conceptions in Sci- tarium Unit Emphasizing Projective Astronomy Concepts and Utilizing ence: Reconciling Qualitative Studies and Distractor-Driven Assess- the (Karplus) Learning Cycle, Student Model Manipulation, and Student ment Instruments,” Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 998, Vol Drawing with Eighth Grade Students. Ph.D. dissertation, University of 35, p. 265 Akron, Ohio, 1980 Tomlinson, Gary. “Grade Appropriate Concepts,” Planetarian, March Bishop, Jeanne E. “Focus on Education: Children’s Ideas of Space,” Plan- 1997 etarian, Spring 1980, pp. 24-27 Sonntage, Mark S. “A Rationale For the Zeilik, Michael and Bisard, Walter. “Conceptual Change in Introduc- Implementation of a Maximum Impact School Planetarium Facili- tory-Level Astronomy Courses,” Journal of College Science Teaching, ty,” Planetarian, Summer 1979, pp. 3-10 2000, Vo. 29, p. 229 Davis, Paul T. “A Study of Kindergarten Students in the Planetarium,” Zeilik, Michael and Morris, Vicky J. “An Examination of Misconcep- Planetarian, Winter 1978, pp. 3-6 tions in an Astronomy Course for Science, Mathematics, and Engi- Frankoi, Andrew, ed. The Universe at Your Fingertips, Astronomical Soci- neering Majors,” Astronomy Education Review, 2003, Vol. 2, No. 1, aer. ety of the Pacific, 1995 aas.org. Online Publication Date: 28 July 2003. I

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September 2011 Planetarian 19 Shutterstock The history and current state of school-associated planetariums in Pennsylvania

Abstract: Many more planetariums were built in Pennsylvania public schools with federal funding during the Sputnik era than currently exist today. After many attempts to contact the directors of each of the 187 planetariums found to have been built in Pennsylvania to date, one-third of the planetariums were found to be closed and only 26 responses to a survey were returned to be analyzed. Planetariums that are currently functioning tend to have similar characteristics, including sufficient funds, attention to demographics and state or national standards, overall support for the facility, and perhaps, most importantly, they employ quality directors, including others. The influence of political and physical factors on the survival of planetariums is confirmed.

The recent renewed focus on science edu- were intrigued by the unique history and lack cation reform in the United States echoes the of information on the current operation of Sputnik era push to propel the nation to the these types of facilities. What had become of forefront of science and innovation. In order the numerous facilities throughout the state Rob Webb to move forward, it can be good practice to of Pennsylvania? How were they being used, Pequea Valley School District Planetarium look back on the past. Reflecting on lessons if at all? For those planetariums still in use, Kinzers, Pennsylvania learned is one way to improve future endeav- what factors contribute to their success? [email protected] ors. To find these answers, the authors attempt- The purpose of this article is to provide ed to contact school-associated planetari- Kathleen A. Fadigan a summary of an investigation into what ums throughout the state and conduct a web- Pennsylvania State University Abington, Pennsylvania has become of school-based planetariums in based survey of their directors. [email protected] Pennsylvania built during the space race time period, as well as the factors that may contrib- School-associated planetariums ute to their continued existence. Throughout the United States, dozens of As a school-based planetarium director and school-associated planetariums were built Submitted July 20, 2011; accepted for publication August 11, 2011 a science education researcher, the authors in the late 1950s and early 1960s with feder-

20 Planetarian September 2011 September 2011 Planetarian 21 al grant money from Title III of the National part time pay for directors, legal issues, secu- Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958, an act rity, etc. passed, in part, as an effort to boost science education in response to Russia’s launch of Sput- Study methods nik. NDEA funding eventually stopped. It does In addition to the NDEA, the doubling of not take a leap of imagination to see that U.S. planetarium facilities between 1958 and without money to help build planetariums, 1964 also could be attributed to a large pub- the interest in building them waned. Likewise, lic interest in space travel and more construc- the interest in keeping them open and fund- tion of public school buildings (Sunal & Su- ing their continued operation also waned, nal, 1977). perhaps because of a perceived victory in the According to a government study of the space race by Apollo 11, thus making science act, “The immediate catalyst for the legisla- education and planetariums less of a priority tion was the Soviet Union’s launch of the than they were when Sputnik was threaten- Sputnik satellite in 1957, which directly chal- ing national pride lenged the scientific, technological, and mil- What has become of Pennsylvania’s en- itary prowess of the United States” (Flattau, thusiasm for planetariums? What is the cur- Bracken, Atta, Bandeh-Ahmadi, Cruz, & Sulli- rent state of school-associated planetariums van, 2007). in Pennsylvania? What are the characteris- The act’s Title III provisions set aside mon- tics of operational school-associated planetar- ey for new equipment, refurbished facilities, Ted Pedas, now retired, shows off the Spitz iums in Pennsylvania? What factors influence and improved cultural resources, allowing 512 at the Farrell, Pennsylvania planetarium in the continued operation of school-associated schools to build a planetarium for half of the this undated photo. The facility was named the planetariums? actual cost, and by the late 1960s more than Ted Pedas Planetarium in his honor in 1991. Used In order to address these questions, the re- with permission. 600 planetariums existed (Sunal & Sunal, 1977; search team first created a master list of all of DeVorkin, 2006). the school-associated planetariums in Penn- Ted Pedas,1 retired director of the school- longed to K-12 schools, 162 to colleges and sylvania, using information from the LNP based planetarium in the Farrell Area School universities, and 88 to museums and observa- DOME THEATER COMPENDIUM (www.loch- District (Farrell, Pennsylvania), was an active tories. Of the 421 facilities surveyed, 146 used nessproductions.com/lpco/lpco.html) and the teacher and science educator at the time of federal funds, presumably from the National IPS Directory of the World’s Planetariums, con- the NDEA, and recalls clearly many of the spe- Defense Education Act of 1958, to build their tacting Spitz, Inc.,2 and reviewing the Inter- cifics. Seeing as the money came from the De- planetarium. national Society of Planetarium Educators’ A fense Department, the NDEA of 1958 was in- Data from the International Society of Plan- Catalog of North American Planetariums. tended to be a catalyst for change in science etarium Educators’ A Catalog of North Ameri- The research team then attempted to con- education, particularly in the realm of teach- can Planetariums in 1971 found that of the 729 tact each of the schools and, in doing so, up- ing science by doing, rather than rote memo- planetariums listed, 375 (51.4%) belonged to dated the master list indicating changes in rization (Pedas, 2011). K-12 schools, 238 (32.7%) to colleges and uni- contact information and noting which facil- versities, and 102 to museums and science cen- ities were no longer in operation. Pennsylvania in the front ters. The researchers invited directors of opera- Pennsylvania was clearly the front-runner Pennsylvania now had 151 (21%) of the 729 tional planetariums to complete a web-based in planetarium adoption by claiming 69, or planetariums (Marche, 2005). By 1982, there survey concerning technical specifics, pro- roughly 16 percent, of the facilities surveyed were 1,100 planetariums in existence in the gramming, future plans for the facility, bud- for the NDEA report (Marche, 2005). Marche United States (Mallon & Bruce, 1982). get, staff, challenges faced in operating the fa- singles out Pennsylvania in discussing the So why did Pennsylvania have so many cility, and basic statistics. NDEA funding. The act specified that state planetariums? Perhaps the most pertinent rea- The researchers coded and analyzed the sur- plans had to be submitted by the states’ de- son is that there existed a mandate from the vey responses in search of trends in support of partments of education, which then had re- state that required school districts that were success in continuing to function. The survey sponsibility for oversight. building a new school or renovating to in- explored seven categories that could poten- “In one particular state (Pennsylvania), en- clude either a planetarium or observatory tially affect the success of a planetarium: tem- thusiasm for NDEA assistance ran so high (Pedas, 2011). These schools were thus able to poral, physical, political-legal, organizational, among officials that its newly implement- use Title III money to reduce the construction personal, economic, and cultural. ed earth- and space-science curricula became costs for these mandated facilities. models for education reforms initiated else- Where are they now? where. Not coincidentally, that attitude en- Baby boomers hit school age The revised master database for school-as- abled Pennsylvania to acquire more school It is also worth noting that there was sig- sociated planetariums in Pennsylvania in- planetaria than any other state, outstripping nificant growth in schools at that time, concludes a total of 187 facilities. Through vari- New York and California combined” (Marche, sidering the “baby boomer” generation was ous attempts, including phone calls and email 2005). growing up, going through school, and thus messages to schools over the course of four In 1966, NASA conducted a survey of “per- increasing school district sizes (Pedas, 2011). months, the researchers attempted to update manent-type planetarium installations” in Upon constructing and renovating in re- the database. the United States. They found that 171 be- sponse to an increasing number of students, During this time, the authors ascertained most schools opted for the planetarium, see- 1 Mr. Pedas also was a charter member of the Interna- ing multiple problems in running an observa- 2 Spitz, also located in Pennsylvania, was the manu- tional Society of Planetarium Educators, and later, in facturer of a large number of the star projectors in tory such as non-school hour use, overtime or the IPS, successor of the ISPE. the school planetariums.

22 Planetarian September 2011 Zula_DTE_addForPrint_8.5x11_Rev03.pdf 1 2/1/2011 2:44:39 PM

CMY

FULLDOME www.spitzinc.com/fulldome_shows September 2011 Planetarian SHOW DISTRIBUTION23 Contact: Mike Bruno [email protected] T: 610.459.5200 that 62 facilities (33%) were found to be not in use, non-functioning, or no longer in existence. A total of 26 directors of operational school-associated planetariums (14%) completed the survey. The status of the remaining 99 planetariums (54%) is unknown since either a response from or contact with them was not successful. Due to a limited time frame for the project, the researchers could no longer pursue the schools that did not respond. However, in the future they may resume contacting the remaining schools. It is worth noting the variety of reactions received when conducting phone calls to the schools. The research team was often surprised and amused by the responses of school staff when asked whether or not their school’s planetarium was still in operation. In particular, one school worker replied to our question with her own question, “What’s a plan- Peter Detterline (behind the console) has been director of the Boyertown (Pennsylvania) Planetarium etarium?” since 1982. The 10.1 m dome houses a Spitz 512, and is typical of the still-functioning school planetariums During another phone call, a principal of across the state. The planetarium is located at the Boyertown District’s Junior High East building. Det- an elementary school told us that he didn’t terline had a scare in the spring when the district considered transferring him to fulltime teaching, which know whether or not his school had one and would have meant closing his dome. “We survived,” he reports, and he’s back under the dome with the start of school. Photo by Gary Becker, courtesy Peter Detterline that he would check and get back to us. He never called back. Other schools told stories reserved to planetarium functions and make According to the data, these planetariums of how they sadly had just “blown-up” or torn sure that it is at least maintained, if not im- appear to be teaching the concepts that are down their planetarium. proved. more difficult to teach in a regular classroom, Those few schools still with operational making the planetarium-based content a part planetariums were eager to share their expe- Temporal Factors—Audience & Pro- of the district’s science curriculum, and align- riences. Almost all of directors completing the grams: Eighty percent of survey respondents ing themselves with state and/or national web survey indicated their willingness to talk indicated that their audiences tend to be standards, thus increasing their effectiveness to us if a follow-up interview was needed. mostly high school and elementary students. and marketability.

What do they look like today? Middle school students and the general pub- This finding confirms Bishop’s (1992) results lic are catered to less frequently, with 60% and expressing the importance of established ob- The small number of planetariums (26) in 48% of planetariums providing them with jectives (in this case, standards), and how suc- Pennsylvania that completed the web-based programming, respectively. cessful planetariums are busy planetariums. survey demonstrates a variety of characteris- More than three-quarters of the planetari- tics as well as some common trends. Presented ums claim that, given roughly 13 years to ma- Political-Legal & Organizational Fac- below are perhaps the most interesting find- triculate through their school district, the av- tors: When rating administrative support ings for fellow planetarians. erage student would visit between 3 and 15 for the planetarium on a scale from 1-10, over times from kindergarten through graduation. half of the respondents gave a high rating of 9 Physical Factors: With regard to the phys- Only one planetarium claimed zero visits and or 10, with 92% giving a rating of 5 or above. ical manifestations of the planetariums in three claimed more than 25 visits during a stu- In their comments, about half felt that they Pennsylvania that responded to the survey, 9 dent’s K-12 education. were fully supported by their administration, were built between 1958 and 1967 and 11 were The results showed no clear trend in avail- while a quarter commented in one way or an- built from 1969-1973. Only three have been able planning time. Most respondents indicat- other about possible budget issues. built in the last decade. Only 2 planetariums ed less than 5 hours per show. Since all of the planetariums surveyed here claim to have been built with NDEA funds Fourteen of 25 survey respondents claimed are functioning, it is not surprising to find that from 1958, however most (73%) of respon- to offer high school astronomy classes that overall they tend to have positive views of dents were unsure. utilize the planetarium. At least six of the 14 their administrative support. One could make The data show that planetariums in Penn- use it approximately once per week, while the assumption that if a planetarium did not sylvania that are functioning indeed have three claim to use it daily. have administrative support, they are likely functional equipment and that equipment Each planetarium has found many topics closed down, or perhaps begrudgingly funded. is fixed within a reasonable amount of time to teach using the planetarium itself, but most There was no data directly gauging the (one month). Approximately 25% of the re- popular are constellations, motions of the sky planetarians’ knowledge about their district’s sponding planetariums operate digitally. and celestial objects, and the seasons, with budgeting process, therefore it could not be The data also show that these functioning constellations the overwhelming favorite. confirmed that planetarian knowledge of planetariums are used primarily as planetar- Figure 1 demonstrates that lecture methods budget processes helps a planetarium be suc- iums, with little unrelated uses (study halls, appear to be the most broadly utilized mode cessful. storage, detention). of instruction. However, it is encouraging that Common sense would dictate that the Thus if a planetarium is looking to be suc- the majority of programs include some level more the administration of a school supports cessful, it should attempt to keep the space of audience participation. the planetarium, the more likely it would

24 Planetarian September 2011 Personal Factors: The majority of the re- FIGURE 1. Are the programs that your planetarium offers typically sponding planetariums have only one per- more lecture-based or more participatory? n=25 son on staff. Two said that there are “0 people on staff” and 7 planetariums had two or more people on staff. No trend in age of directors is Almost all participatory evident, however, there are more than twice as many male directors (18) as female direc- Mostly participatory with some tors (7). lecture included More than two- thirds of the directors hold a Masters degree. Also, almost half of the di- Roughly half lecture with half student rectors have been working with their plane- verbal/physical participation tarium less than 10 years. All but three of the Mostly lecture with some student respondents indicated that the main occupa- physical participation tion of the director is that of a teacher, presumably a science teacher. Mostly lecture with some student verbal participation Economic Factors: Figure 2 shows that there are clearly two extremes when it comes Almost all lecture to planetarium staff budget. Forty percent of respondents claimed that more than $10,000 is spent per year on staff, while 52% claimed 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% their planetarium is staffed either by unpaid volunteers, or that less than $100 is spent per year on staff. FIGURE 2. What is the approximate annual budget for Spending on other parts of the planetari- planetarium staff? n=25 um varies, with 44% responding with $0-$500, 24% with $500-$3,000, and 32% with more more than $10,000 than $3,000. Thirteen (56%) planetariums are included in their science department budgets, $5,000-$10,000 three are in their building budget, and five are $3,000-$5,000 line items in the district’s overall budget. One planetarium even raises its own funds. $1,000-$3,000 Of the 24 planetarians who provided budget information, 15 reported not experiencing $500-$1,000 a cut in their budget programming, however more than a third of the facilities that re- $100-$500 sponded have experienced a cut in program- less than $100 ming, budget, or both. The wide range in budgets and personnel Staff constists of volunteer(s) demonstrates that you can have a successful planetarium without a lot of money. On the 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 other hand, perhaps it was a lack of funding that led to the closing of many school-associ- Responses ated planetariums. Planetariums may not necessarily require money for programming or be to remain open. However, the only two ment. Perhaps the state and national stan- staff, but they all require money for mainte- ways to measure the administrative support dards stand in for goals and missions specific nance. through this survey is to look at the mon- to a planetarium. ey appropriated to the planetarium and how These planetariums that are functional Cultural Factors: All in all, the planetari- the planetarium directors rate their adminis- tend to use state or national standards in their ums surveyed reported good support from all trative support. There does not seem to be a programming, even though they may not entities (public, parents, students, administra- correlation between the two, since some very have written goals or a mission statement for tion). This may come from the great effective- high budget planetariums claimed little ad- their planetarium. ness that planetariums have in teaching dif- ministrative support while some of the lowest If a planetarium wants to be successful, it ficult concepts, or the “wow factor” during a budgeted planetariums claimed high adminis- must teach those topics that are likely to be field trip. trative support. tested on standardized test scores. Science However, even with a lot of support, even The goal of a planetarium that wants to re- teachers now find it necessary to “cut the good planetariums can’t always stay open. main functional is likely to be to get their ad- fluff” of their curriculum and focus on what Most likely, as evidenced by survey responses, ministration on board, but not necessarily to is going to be tested, since these test scores funding is the main issue. get as much money as possible. Making sure will influence the money that their school re- Planetarians were asked how they respond the administration holds a positive view of ceives from the state government. when asked “Is it worth it to have a planetar- the planetarium is likely beneficial. Perhaps planetarium directors should also ium?” All of the responses were positive, nine Surprising, perhaps, is that most planetari- lobby to make sure that space science topics of them specifically using the word “absolute- ums do not have clear goals or a mission state- are included in state and national standards. (Continues on Page 34)

September 2011 Planetarian 25 Bridge to New Beginnings

22–26 July, 2012

Jon W. Elvert, Director Irene Pennington Planetarium Louisiana Art & Science Museum Baton Rouge, Louisiana USA

The staff of the Pennington Planetarium at brace our profession’s desire to bridge diversi- The River Center convention facility, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum warmly ty among our domes, to reach over to poten- across the street from the planetarium, will be invites all members of the International Plan- tial venues by bringing in related industries the primary site for all paper/workshop/pan- etarium Society to participate in next year’s worldwide, to bridge alliances between our el sessions and for all exhibitors and vendors. conference in Baton Rouge. Preparations are domes and technologies, and to provide a vir- The River Center has 19 classroom- size meet- well underway to welcome you from Sunday, tual bridge connecting non-attending mem- ing rooms and exhibit space totaling 6,500 22 July through Thursday, 26 July, 2012. bers to online conference sessions. square meters (nearly 60,000 square feet), all Baton Rouge, located along the banks of Our keynote speakers are industry profes- equipped with high-speed fiber data network. the Mississippi River, is the capital city of sionals who will showcase the latest advanc- The exhibit area will include an open space Louisiana with a metropolitan population of es and discoveries in astronomy, planetarium for setting up a “dome village”—as many as 15 800,000. The city lies 100 km (60 miles) north education, and data visualization. portable domes clustered together. Near the of New Orleans and is the center of the state’s convention center is the Shaw Center for the government and university system. Host Facilities Performing Arts and the Old State Capitol, It is renowned for distinctive French and The Irene W. Pennington Planetarium each of which offers a 200+ seat auditorium Spanish architecture, nearby historic planta- opened in 2003 at the Louisiana Art & Science equipped with audio-visual needs and Inter- tions, and lush landscape. The downtown cen- Museum after moving from a previous loca- net connection. ter of Baton Rouge offers the convenience of tion that housed a Zeiss IV instrument. Our hotels, a convention center, the planetarium, theater seats 172 under an 18-m (60-ft), 14-de- Accommodations museums, and entertainment, all within easy gree tilted dome. With the latest technologies, Our official conference hotel is the Baton walking distance from each other, creating a the theater provides unprecedented immer- Rouge Hilton, a four-diamond hotel located campus-like environment for our conference. sive experiences. a very short walking distance from the plane- It is a great privilege to be hosting the 21st The museum also has a 200-seat flat-screen tarium. Within the hotel are eight multifunc- biennial conference, and we have planned a auditorium fully equipped with audio-visual tion conference and meeting rooms, each one number of special activities that reflect the and Internet connections, and an open atrium with Internet access. uniqueness of our location. The conference that can comfortably host 500+ people for a The opening ceremonies and keynote theme, Bridge to New Beginnings, will em- reception. speaker will be presented in the hotel’s spa-

26 Planetarian September 2011 The first company to bring giant screen films to fulldome has the world’s largest library of films. And we’re just getting started.

September 2011 www.es.com Planetarian 27 [email protected]

Giant Screen Film Choices AD.indd 1 7/14/2011 4:57:11 PM Page 26: The Louisiana Art & Science Museum and the Mis- sissippi River (courtesy of Da- vid Kors), with the Pennington Planetarium at night (courtesy of David Kors and Mike Smail) and an aerial view of the conference venues (courtesy of City of Baton Rouge and Mike Smail)

This Page, Top: the Shaw Cen- ter for the Arts (courtesy of Visit Baton Rouge); Center: the LASM Houmas House in the fog (courtesy of Houmas House Plantation and Gar- dens), and Bottom: the Ba- cious first-floor ballroom, which ton Rouge River Center at can easily accommodate 600+ peo- night (courtesy of Visit Baton ple. The Hilton’s top floor, over- Rouge) looking the Mississippi River and downtown, will provide the setting for meals and meeting space. Although the Hilton will not be the primary site for vendor exhibits, the hotel can conveniently accommodate the Council meeting, IPS business meetings, regional affiliate meetings, and opportunities for meetings of special interest groups, workshops, and panel discussions. plantations. The banquet The Hilton’s room rate is set at US $149.00 fee is $80.00 and includes plus taxes per night. The Belle of Baton Rouge bus transportation. Hotel (US $119.00 plus tax) and Hotel Indi- All downtown hotel go (US $149.00 plus tax) are secondary hotels, rooms will offer the con- both within a few minutes’ walk of the Hilton ference rate for those wish- and planetarium. ing to extend their stay All hotels offer free shuttle service from the before or after the confer- Baton Rouge airport. Outside the downtown ence. area are several other hotel accommodations, For IPS members un- including budget hotels. We have arranged able to attend IPS2012, the opening ceremo- a special conference discount with United ny, business meetings, and paper/panel ses- and Continental Airlines on flights into Ba- sions will be streamed live over the Internet. 2) The Louisiana Immersive Technologies ton Rouge. The Louis Armstrong New Orleans The Pennington Planetarium will also host a Enterprise (LITE), the world’s largest 3-D visu- International Airport is approximately one juried fulldome summit for those wishing to alization facility, is also within an hour’s drive hour from Baton Rouge by car. stay an extra day to preview fulldome con- and features one of the only six-sided immer- tent. Further information regarding this full- sive CAVEs in the world in addition to a 175- Conference Programs and Fees dome summit will be released early next year. seat stereoscopic theater. The conference registration fee is US $400, 3) New Orleans, of course, would be an op- which includes the opening reception, key- Optional Tours portunity for you to explore the notoriety note speakers, all planetarium showcase dem- You may select one of three optional tours and charm of the French Quarter. onstrations, exhibit hall access, all sessions, a the afternoon of Tuesday, 24 July, to enhance Family members visiting for the conference conference bag and materials, and all breaks your stay in Baton Rouge. For each tour, the will receive directions to visit the numerous and meals excluding the banquet. bus fee is $35 and includes a box lunch. 19th century southern plantations, a popular The conference opening reception will be 1) The Laser Interferometer Gravitational- tourist attraction. There are several fine exam- held at the museum, followed by vendor dem- Wave Observatory (LIGO), one of two such ples nearby that reflect the culture and life of onstrations in both the planetarium and au- observatories in the United States measur- that era. ditorium. Two additional vendor evenings in ing cosmic gravitational waves for scientif- the planetarium are tentatively planned. ic research, is within an hour’s drive of Baton Post-Conference Tour Entertainment will showcase our region’s Rouge. LIGO’s Science Education Center has A post-conference tour will begin in Hous- renowned Dixieland jazz music, and the con- an exhibit hall with light- and gravity-relat- ton, Texas, and include a visit to the NASA ference banquet will be held at the Houmas ed exhibits designed by the Exploratorium in Johnson Space Center, the Houston Space House, one of Louisiana’s finest antebellum San Francisco, California. (Continues on Page 34)

28 Planetarian September 2011 Fulldome programs

ASTRONOMY

3000 YEARS OF STARGAZING

Tour the major astronomical milestones of the last 3,000 years. 34 minutes.

The Birth of the Solar System

Take your audiences on a trip to the very beginning of the Solar System. 22 minutes.

Chronicle of a Journey to Earth

Discover the planets through the eyes of an intergalactic traveler. 20 minutes.

English adaptations and sound tracks Watch trailers and full-length previews on line by Loch Ness Productions www.antares-fulldome.com

Contact:September Alexander 2011 Zaragoza - [email protected] - tel. (+34) 933 323 000 - Barcelona,29 Spain Oceans In Space The search for life extends from Earth’s oceans You Already Know Us for the to the stars. Educational content: astronomy, Earth, space, and marine sciences. 30:15 Popular Shows We Create... Narrated by Avery Brooks Sky Quest HUBBLE Vision 2 A young girl’s quest to become an astronomer leads A fascinating tour of the cosmos from Earth orbit! her on a journey to explore the night sky. Educational Educational content: objects observed by Hubble content: astronomy, stargazing, Earth and space sciences. Space Telescope and the processes that shape Narrated by Roxann Dawson 24:30 full and 20:00 edit the cosmos. 30:00 The Cowboy Astronomer Light Years From Andromeda A unique take on astronomy from a cowboy who roams A journey between two galaxies spans human the sky while riding the range. Educational content: history and the depths of space. Educational astronomy, stargazing, history of science. 37:00 content: astronomy, light, light-years, science as Narrated by Baxter Black. a human endeavor. 30:02 Narrated by Michael Dorn The Voyager Encounters Larry Cat In Space Relive the Voyager missions to the outer planets. Take off on a lunar adventure with a curious Educational content: planetary science and space stowaway cat! Educational content: the Moon, exploration. 42:30 its relationship to Earth, space science, and science Narrated by Patrick Stewart as a human endeavor. 29:40

MAGELLAN: Report from Venus Season of Light An elegant, sophisticated non-denominational presentation A documentary look at cloud-shrouded Venus and the for the winter holiday season. Educational content: Magellan radar mapping mission. Educational content: stargazing, astronomically related cultural themes. 35:17 planetary and space science, history of Venus Narrated by Noah Adams exploration, science as a human endeavor. 29:00

Seasonal STARGAZING MarsQuest 8 mini– and 8 full-length night sky constellation identification A tour of the Red Planet and humanity’s fascination shows. A new take on the venerable green-arrow show, painting with it. Educational content: planetary science, the dome with choreographed circles and colorful constellation astronomy, and history of science. 40:26 lines. Audiences of all ages see and hear star names and constellations, Narrated by Patrick Stewart and learn to star-hop for popular deep-sky objects. Educational content: astronomy, stargazing. ~7:00 mini, ~14:00 full

30 Previews, trailers and online Planetarianordering at: www.LochNessProductions.comSeptember 2011 P. O. Box 924 Nederland, Colorado 80466 USA + 1 303 642 7250 1-888-4-NESSIE

Ad.indd 2-3 7/20/11 10:52 AM Oceans In Space The search for life extends from Earth’s oceans You Already Know Us for the to the stars. Educational content: astronomy, Earth, space, and marine sciences. 30:15 Popular Shows We Create... Narrated by Avery Brooks Sky Quest HUBBLE Vision 2 A young girl’s quest to become an astronomer leads A fascinating tour of the cosmos from Earth orbit! her on a journey to explore the night sky. Educational Educational content: objects observed by Hubble content: astronomy, stargazing, Earth and space sciences. Space Telescope and the processes that shape Narrated by Roxann Dawson 24:30 full and 20:00 edit the cosmos. 30:00 The Cowboy Astronomer Light Years From Andromeda A unique take on astronomy from a cowboy who roams A journey between two galaxies spans human the sky while riding the range. Educational content: history and the depths of space. Educational astronomy, stargazing, history of science. 37:00 content: astronomy, light, light-years, science as Narrated by Baxter Black. a human endeavor. 30:02 Narrated by Michael Dorn The Voyager Encounters Larry Cat In Space Relive the Voyager missions to the outer planets. Take off on a lunar adventure with a curious Educational content: planetary science and space stowaway cat! Educational content: the Moon, exploration. 42:30 its relationship to Earth, space science, and science Narrated by Patrick Stewart as a human endeavor. 29:40

Previews, trailers and online ordering at: www.LochNessProductions.com September 2011 P. O. Box 924 Nederland, ColoradoPlanetarian 80466 USA + 1 303 642 7250 1-888-4-NESSIE 31

Ad.indd 2-3 7/20/11 10:52 AM Astronomy: 3000 The Birth of the Years of Stargazing Solar System ...Now Get to Know Us for the Take an historical odyssey to learn Witness the dramatic collisions that about our oldest science! 33:42 shaped the planets and moons! 21:12 English script adaptation, narration and English script adaptation, narration and Other Shows We Distribute soundtrack by Loch Ness Productions. soundtrack by Loch Ness Productions. From Antares FullDome Productions From Antares FullDome Productions One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure Chronicle of a MOLES: What Is From China to America, a brilliant spectacle of light and color! Journey to Earth Out There? Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Elmo and their friend from China, Travel to a unique planet — to call You have never seen a cuter mole! Hu Hu Zhu, explore the night sky! 27:00 your home! 20:21 35:00 (2 x 17 minutes) From Adler Planetarium English script adaptation, narration and From Antares FullDome Productions soundtrack by Loch Ness Productions. TimeSpace From Antares FullDome Productions Take an adventure through time, as we explore the past and imagine the future of the cosmos. Witness the birth of the Natural Selection universe, the doom of the dinosaurs, and be there for the first Dawn of the landing on the Moon! 28:00 Darwin’s mystery of mysteries. Join Space Age From Adler Planetarium Charles Darwin on an adventurous voyage of exploration circum- Relive the excitement of the early navigating the world with the HMS days of space exploration! 41:00 Beagle. 41:30 From Mirage3D IBEX: Search for the Edge of From Mirage3D the Solar System Join scientists who are investigating the boundary between the solar system and the rest of our galaxy! 27:00 Origins of Life From Adler Planetarium Molecularium: Riding Snowflakes An inspirational journey through time — and a celebration of life Everything is made of atoms! on Earth. 23:00 23:04 SpacePark360: Geodesium Edition From Mirage3D From the Molecularium Project An out-of-this-world theme park, with a thrill ride at every planet in the solar system! Custom music by Geodesium! Available as a 38:52 show, and/or ~4:30 individual rides From Dome 3D Legends of the The Little Star Night Sky: Perseus That Could and Andromeda Sometimes, being average can AVI’s popular laser show now in also be special. 35:54 fulldome! 18:12 From Audio Visual Imagineering From Audio Visual Imagineering

32 Previews, trailers and online Planetarianordering at: www.LochNessProductions.comSeptember 2011 P. O. Box 924 Nederland, Colorado 80466 USA + 1 303 642 7250 1-888-4-NESSIE

Ad.indd 4-5 7/20/11 10:52 AM Astronomy: 3000 The Birth of the Years of Stargazing Solar System ...Now Get to Know Us for the Take an historical odyssey to learn Witness the dramatic collisions that about our oldest science! 33:42 shaped the planets and moons! 21:12 English script adaptation, narration and English script adaptation, narration and Other Shows We Distribute soundtrack by Loch Ness Productions. soundtrack by Loch Ness Productions. From Antares FullDome Productions From Antares FullDome Productions One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure Chronicle of a MOLES: What Is From China to America, a brilliant spectacle of light and color! Journey to Earth Out There? Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Elmo and their friend from China, Travel to a unique planet — to call You have never seen a cuter mole! Hu Hu Zhu, explore the night sky! 27:00 your home! 20:21 35:00 (2 x 17 minutes) From Adler Planetarium English script adaptation, narration and From Antares FullDome Productions soundtrack by Loch Ness Productions. TimeSpace From Antares FullDome Productions Take an adventure through time, as we explore the past and imagine the future of the cosmos. Witness the birth of the Natural Selection universe, the doom of the dinosaurs, and be there for the first Dawn of the landing on the Moon! 28:00 Darwin’s mystery of mysteries. Join Space Age From Adler Planetarium Charles Darwin on an adventurous voyage of exploration circum- Relive the excitement of the early navigating the world with the HMS days of space exploration! 41:00 Beagle. 41:30 From Mirage3D IBEX: Search for the Edge of From Mirage3D the Solar System Join scientists who are investigating the boundary between the solar system and the rest of our galaxy! 27:00 Origins of Life From Adler Planetarium Molecularium: Riding Snowflakes An inspirational journey through time — and a celebration of life Everything is made of atoms! on Earth. 23:00 23:04 SpacePark360: Geodesium Edition From Mirage3D From the Molecularium Project An out-of-this-world theme park, with a thrill ride at every planet in the solar system! Custom music by Geodesium! Available as a 38:52 show, and/or ~4:30 individual rides From Dome 3D Legends of the The Little Star Night Sky: Perseus That Could and Andromeda Sometimes, being average can AVI’s popular laser show now in also be special. 35:54 fulldome! 18:12 From Audio Visual Imagineering From Audio Visual Imagineering

Previews, trailers and online ordering at: www.LochNessProductions.com September 2011 P. O. Box 924 Nederland, ColoradoPlanetarian 80466 USA + 1 303 642 7250 1-888-4-NESSIE 33

Ad.indd 4-5 7/20/11 10:52 AM (Pennsylvania, continued from Page 25) such as kinesthetic, participatory, or activ- of some of the more difficult science concepts ity-based learning, in addition to or in com- called for in the standards. ly,” with a few making note of the difficulty bination with lecture. The researchers hope to continue investi- in justifying the cost, depending on the situ- •• Their facility is used only as a planetarium. gating the fate of the rest of the school-asso- ation. •• They have support from their administra- ciated planetariums on the list. More research Even with this overwhelming response, al- tion, public, parents, and students. through interviews of people closely linked most half (48%) of the planetariums surveyed to non-functioning planetariums, would help have experienced a threat to its operations. Implications determine which factors are most responsible Most cited budgetary concerns as the prime The survival of the remaining school-asso- for a planetarium closing down. This may also factor, with loss of popularity, loss of interest, ciated planetariums across the United States help determine with more clarity what type and minimal amount of astronomy on state may be impacted by many of the same fac- of programming is most effective. tests as secondary influences. tors identified in this study. Although this When asked about what changes in pro- research did not attempt to determine the Selected references gramming have occurred since they started strength of existing programs, it provides a Bishop, J. (1992). The Educational Value of the directing the planetarium, the only clear pat- broad view of the various factors influencing Planetarium. In U. Nations, Planetarium: A tern in the responses was a slight increase in overall operations. Challenge for Educators (pp. 103-110). New the number of shows, with three sites refer- Having a dedicated quality director is likely York: United Nations. encing mechanical upgrades. the most influential factor in keeping a plan- DeVorkin, D. H. (2006, 23-March). Theaters etarium functional, since they can influence of Time and Space: American Planetariums, Discussion the other factors that can help their programs. 1930-1970. Wiley InterScience , pp. 569-571. What is the state of planetariums in Penn- A director can establish successful teaching Flattau, P. E., Bracken, J., Atta, R. V., Bandeh- sylvania schools? techniques, follow standards and curriculum, Ahmadi, A., Cruz, R. d., & Sullivan, K. (2007). Based upon the numbers of defunct and op- write programs for many demographics, rally The National Defense Education Act of 1958: erational facilities and the data collected in funds and support, and put forth the overall Selected Outcomes. Washington, D.C.: Sci- this study, it seems safe to say that school-as- effort necessary to keep a planetarium alive. ence and Technology Policy Institute. sociated planetariums are struggling or have It also became clear that administrative Mallon, G. L., & Bruce, M. H. (1982). Student struggled in the past to survive. It is also fair to support is another important factor influ- Achievement and Attitudes in Astronomy: say that the following are likely characteris- encing the success of school-associated plan- An Experimental Comparison of Two Plan- tics of successful, or at least surviving, school- etariums. Adequate funding is closely tied to etarium Programs. Journal of Research in Sci- based planetariums: support, but as evident from the data, many ence Teaching , 19 (1), 53-61. •• They have a quality director. planetariums get by with a minimal amount Marche, J. D. (2005). Theaters of Time and Space: •• They have sufficient funds. of funding. American Planetaria, 1930-1970. New Bruns- •• They follow state and or national standards. In order to increase administrative support, wick: Rutgers University Press. •• They cater to many demographics. directors can stress how planetarium pro- Pedas, Ted. Telephone interview. 8 August •• They focus on topics that are the strong suit grams reinforce the science content called for 2011. of a planetarium. in the state and national standards across all Sunal, D. W., & Sunal, C. S. (1977). The Planetar- •• They are incorporated into their district’s of the grade levels. Beyond the wow factor, di- ium In The American School Experience. curriculum. rectors can emphasize the unique ability of School Science and Mathematics , 203-213. I •• They use successful teaching techniques, the planetarium to facilitate student learning

(IPS, continued from Page 28) Center, and the Burke Baker Planetarium and evening, and Space Center Houston on Sun- profession and literally depend upon your Challenger Learning Center of the Houston day. The cost of this package will depend on participation to make them successful. Museum of Natural Science (HMNS). the number of participants. More details will They are opportunities for professional The Houston Museum of Natural Science be provided as they become available. growth, occasions to share meaningful con- will provide three options for the post-confer- The IPS2012 conference hotels, planetari- tent and hear invited guest speakers, and a ence visit: um, and conference center are integrated with chance where we are given not only an oppor- 1) an online packet of information for other city attractions that include fine art and tunity to meet new colleagues and reconnect those who wish to drive from Baton Rouge to history museums, restaurants, cafés, bars, and with familiar acquaintances, but to learn and Houston and tour on their own. This will be jazz club nightlife entertainment. experience what is new or what is going on in provided at no charge. Also, only those attending the conference planetariums throughout the world. 2) A Friday tour of the Johnson Space Cen- will be offered a 22-minute, fulldome plane- We eagerly anticipate seeing you at IPS2012 ter for U.S. citizens on Friday afternoon. Par- tarium show funded by a NASA grant that fo- and presenting a forward-looking conference ticipants must be in Houston or at the George cuses on possible post-shuttle-era earth orbit that will help envision the future of the plan- Bush Houston/Intercontinental Airport by and lunar missions. The cost for this show will etarium field. noon on Friday. The tour will include meet- be a pixel transfer fee based on your delivery Our city and people offer a unique, friendly ing an astronaut and visiting the moon rock/ system. experience that will make you feel welcome meteorite/Stardust lab. There will be no to Baton Rouge. charge for this visit except for transportation Time to start planning Refer to our conference web site, www. as needed. I encourage you to begin planning to at- ips2012.com, for updated information and the 3) A weekend tour of the HMNS that intend this conference and consider presenting latest details, or follow us on Facebook (face- cludes the museum, planetarium, Rice Space a paper or participating in a workshop. These book.com/ips2012) and Twitter (twitter.com/ Institute, the George Observatory on Saturday biennial conferences are the highlight of our ips2012). See you next year in Baton Rouge! I

34 Planetarian September 2011 September 2011 Planetarian 35 Programs to help you with video, or “How do I get that cool YouTube clip onto my dome?”

Jack Dunn, IPS Technology Committee Mueller Planetarium University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 USA

The computer is our friend, but sometimes Also, I’m not going to pick one program and you know how your friends can cause you to say it is “best.” There are too many variations, want to pull your hair out? This often is the such as Mac or PC, and your own preferences. case with trying to use that nifty video you Explore what I suggest and pick what you like. software, stick your newly-acquired video just saw on a NASA sit in your planetarium. I’ve found that Firefox has the best free ex- into a window and keep it downsized to its The Internet has so much to offer. Cool vid- tensions. I’m not going to get into browser ar- original resolution. eos are posted on many sites—videos you’d guments; you can still continue to use Inter- The good news on the resolution front is like to use in some sort of presentation. Unfor- net Explorer, Google Chrome, or even Opera. that high-definition videos are out there to be tunately, many, even some of NASA’s videos, But what I’m going to discuss are certain free downloaded. With a number of NASA videos, don’t offer a simple way to download them. extensions you can get for Firefox that are you might have to contact the archives or li- So what do you do when right-clicking the cross platform. That means you can get them brarians at NASA to get something in higher video (or control-clicking on a Mac) doesn’t and they’ll work on either your PC or your resolution. In that case, you need to know ex- open that magic window that lets you down- Mac. actly what you want. load? Or, put it another away, what do you do I’m also going to suggest that maybe you I ran into this when putting together some when the video is embedded? want more than one of these extension ap- information on the Apollo 11 anniversary two There are ways. plications. Some play better with certain sites years ago. There are extensive files online doc- than others. The more tools you have, the bet- umenting the missions, but they are all at low Remember: just say no ter chance you have to get those cool videos. resolution for the web. Higher-resolution vid- First I want you to repeat the following: eos are available, but you have to ask for them. “Just Say No.” Make it your mantra. Take note of resolution I’m going to assume that you have found There are some great free programs or add- I also have a word of caution about the res- good video on the web and it is available at a ons to browsers that will allow you to get olution of videos. Naturally, you want the resolution you can use. The first step is to find those videos. But in the world of the net, free highest resolution you can get. Sometimes a your add-on. You can go directly to the Mozil- isn’t always free. Many programs like to install site will only offer one resolution and you are la add-on site at addons.mozilla.org/en-US/ a new toolbar, sign you up for advertising lists, stuck with that. firefox/extensions, where you’ll find a num- or even install other software you don’t need A Google search might help you locate an- ber of them that suggest they can aid in down- and don’t want. other copy of it at higher resolution. loading of videos. So, as you try out some of these methods, re- Don’t assume that you can download any Another is to go directly through the member to “Just Say No” if the program or ex- old video and blow it up to fulldome size and Firefox browser by clicking on tools, then tension asks you if you want to install that ex- it will automatically look good. Even the stan- add-ons, and then get add-ons. A search box tra bit or sign up to get e-mails. (Also be wary dard video resolution of 640 x 480 isn’t capa- allows you to find more than are listed in the of some programs that simply install extras, ble of being spread over fulldome with much drop-down menu; simply “video download” like a search engine on your taskbar, without success. will do the trick. asking your permission.) If you plan to use your fulldome system’s Look at the ratings One of the highest rated is Flash® Video DISCLAIMER: This article is a product of the IPS Technology Committee, and, as such, is Downloader. It downloads HD in flash as well only addressing the technological issue of how you can download video from the Internet. as saving in .avi format (AVI, or Audio Video Neither the committee nor IPS encourage you to break copyright laws. Anything beyond that is your responsibility to observe good practices. (Continues on Page 42)

36 Planetarian September 2011 Full-Size De niti Theater Capabilities To Go

The PD Is Back: Same Power, Smaller Package

The portable planetarium that doesn’t But the best option is what you can’t see from Integrated Cove EX Now Even Smaller. compromise on capabilities is back. It’s big the outside: the PD III runs DigitalSky. With all LED lighting. The PD III folds to a compact theater power in a portable package and we’ve the classic planetarium features, the PD III is size for transport. Durable shrunk it even further. In fact, we’ve taught it Upgradable with an fully capable of exploring the world with our exposed design. travel case is included. how to crouch: only 356mm (14”) tall when GIS data, discovering other galaxies in extreme folded, and 787mm (31”) ready for a show. The realism, or playing back any of more than 80 PD III stays cool with an exposed design, has shows from our distribution catalog. The new De niti PD III: it’s big theater capabilities to go. integrated Cove EX lighting, and it’s upgradable with room for future projection options. Learn more at SkySkan.com/PD.

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™ 38 WePlanetarian can take you there September 2011 S11-a11-01 Sky-Skan Exclusive

A Worldwide Phenomenon Now Available

Since its debut, the beloved Magic Tree House® book series has been a perennial best-seller. Published in more than 30 countries and 29 languages, the series focusing on the exploits of the brother-sister team of Jack and Annie has sold more than 70 million books in North America alone. Now, UNC Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, in partnership with authors Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne, brings the blockbuster Magic Tree House® franchise to fulldome theaters for the fi rst time ever. In Magic Tree House® Space Mission, a mysterious “M” sends the intrepid Jack and Annie on a fun-fi lled journey to discover the secrets of the Sun, Moon, planets, space travel and more. Aligned with early elementary information skills learning objectives, this beautifully-produced show is a winner with Magic Tree House® fans of all ages and school audiences alike. Audiences age 5-10. Running Time: 30 minutes. An original UNC Morehead Planetarium and Science Center production, written by Will Osborne, co-author of Space, the non-fi ction companion and research guide to the Magic Tree House® book Midnight on the Moon.

Magic Tree House® Space Mission is available exclusively from Sky-Skan distribution. To view a show preview or receive pricing information, visit SkySkan.com/shows or call +1 603-880-8500 or e-mail [email protected].

September 2011 Planetarian 39 National Geographic Films

Four Shows For Fulldome From The Giant Screen Solar Storms Available in 2D and 3D stereo. Take advantage of stunning giant screen quality with these films formatted for fulldome. Length: 20 minutes. Sea Monsters, Forces of Nature, and Bugs! were digitally scanned and reformatted for the A Melrae Pictures production in association with K2 dome using Sky-Skan’s flat-screen to dome transformation process. Solar For Storms, Communications. Developed with the assistance of NASA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Sky-Skan accessed the original animation files, adding spherical stereo cameras and Fulldome Version Produced and Distributed re-rendering each scene to take full advantage of the fulldome environment. We’re Exclusively By Sky-Skan. proud to provide quality titles that both excite and educate. Sea Monsters Request Your Preview DVD Today! Available in 2D and 3D stereo. Length: 40 minutes. Transformed from giant-screen film by Sky-Skan. Produced by National Geographic. Transform coverage is truncated from fulldome. Forces of Nature Length: 40 minutes. Transformed from giant-screen film by Sky-Skan. Previewing these shows is easy! Just request a DVD by sending an e-mail to Produced by National Geographic and Graphic Films, Inc. [email protected] with the shows you’d like to see and your mailing address. If you’d Transform coverage is truncated from fulldome. like pricing, then please include your annual attendance, approximate number of seats, and dome size. Bugs! Available in 2D and 3D stereo. View Our Complete Catalog On-line Length: 23 or 40 minute versions. Transformed from giant-screen film by Sky-Skan. Sky-Skan’s distribution catalog now has over 80 titles! You can browse them online and Produced by Principal Large Format and SK Films. watch preview videos for many of the shows at our website: SkySkan.com/shows. Transform coverage is truncated from fulldome.

40 SkySkan.com | Americas/Pacific tel +1 603-880-8500, [email protected] | Europe tel +49 89-6428-9231, [email protected] | Australia/Asia tel +61 3-9372-6444,September [email protected] 2011 S11-a08-01 Planetario Arcadio Poveda Ricalde Mérida, Yucatán, México [email protected] [email protected] www.merida.gob.mx/planetario

the new system’s requirements . It is worth mentioning the support we had from the Yucatan enterprise , Bepensa, to cover around 70% of the Digistar 3 projection system. As responsible for the project, my biggest satisfaction is to have participated in the project since 2001 and had it restructured until the installation and equipment were completed. The seating location and orientation were redefined, corrections were made to the dome interior, the electrical system was restructured, and there were minor adaptations to host the Digistar 3P system and for the 5.1 sound system. While supervising the last details of the system installation, Ing. Barrera said something that meant a lot to me: “ Well Juan José , I delivered the child, now it is your turn to feed him….”

Planetarium characteristics The dome has a diameter of 10.4 meters, with a floor to ceiling height of 6.47 meters. The site was originally designed as a cellar, and the place where the opto-mechanical system was to be installed is currently my office. It has 75 seats, with a north orientation to the front of the Plane- The staff of Planetario Arcadio Poveda Ricalde. Standing, from left: tarium, distributed in 6 rows as a half moon. At the time it was the Ivette Galaz, Juan José Durán-Nájera, Carolina Acevedo y Cocom; kneel- ing, from left: Fredy Ramos Púlido and Larry Canche Ancona. The plane- first Planetarium in Mexico with a 100% digital system and, appar- tarium’s dome appears above. Photos courtesy of the author. ently, in Latin America as well. The projection system is located in the Planetarium center and, in the extreme south, behind the seats, is the operation cabin. By Juan José Durán-Nájera, Director The Arcadio Poveda Ricalde Planetarium is a member of the Aso- The Arcadio Poveda Ricalde Planetarium is located within the ciación Mexicana de Planetarios, A.C. , AMPAC . Olimpo, Merida´s Cultural Center, Colonia Centro, Mérida, Yucatán, The visiting public is quite varied: families, groups of friends of México, administered by the Mérida town council. It opened on Sep- various ages, social groups, and mainly school groups, from kin- tember 28, 2003. dergarden to university students, attending one of the shows from In the early stages, the planetarium project was part of a larg- Tuesday to Friday, in the morning. er project, the construction of the Olimpo Cultural Center, which For better service, we ask schools and social groups to program and opened on January 6, 1999. reserve their visit. Although the entrance has a cost, we offer public The Planetarium was originally projected to host an opto-me- schools and social groups a minimum rate ($2.00 MXN=$0.16 US) and chanical GOTO or Zeiss. However, due to the cost, the project had courtesies to public charity organizations. to wait. At the end of 2001, I was appointed to develop a project to We schedule daily morning and afternoon programs. Each show equip it and set it in operation. has three sections, the first one named “The Stars Tonight” or “Didac- After consulting with various planetarium collegues and science tic Astronomy,” where constellations, planets, and phenomena like disseminators, I found the Evans & Sutherland Digistar 3. I proposed star showers of the corresponding month are shown to the public. the idea to my cultural director, who was able to obtain authoriza- We update and change this show monthly. tion for us to visit E&S in Salt Lake City. The second section of the show is a program according to what The system seemed optimum regarding costs and the operational the school group asks for, such as New Horizons, Universe, Savage Fu- advantages to implement it in Mérida. After a laborious task of con- ture, Force 5, or Micro Cosmos. During the third section, we perform vincing authorities (said easy , but wasn´t so), at the time Municipal- demos of Digistar 3 to which we have added music, which we call ity Cultural Director Ing. Jaime Barrera and Mayoress C.P. Ana Rosa “Virtual Geometry.” Each show lasts approximately 45 minutes. Payán and the members of Merida´s town council , the project was We receive support from youngsters doing social service at the approved and we had to restructure the Planetarium to adapt it to Planetarium, where they are trained in the management and opera-

September 2011 Planetarian 41 tion of the projection system, the handling of telescopes, and gen- d) Yearly Participation in the National Science and Technology eral astronomy. Week, organized by CONACYT, the National Science and Technol- The Planetarium, besides the daily schedule, performs other free ogy Council. activities: e) Participation, since 2004, in the summer cultural program •• Two times a year, on Saturdays, for a period of three months, we organized by the National Fine Arts Institute INBA and Nation- offer a Basic Astronomy Course, transmitted via internet by the al Council for Science and Culture, CONACULTA. (www.promo- Sonora University astronomy area, offering assistance and prac- ciondeverano2011.bellasartes.gob.mx ) tice sessions to those attending the Planetarium. (www.astro. f) In an area next to the Planetarium, what used to be a passage, uson.mx/CBA). we have had the chance on several occasions to turn it into a small •• Two Saturdays a month we offer a talk called “Astronomy Dif- temporary exhibition gallery which we call “Caracol: A Space for fusing Talks” on diverse astronomy topics. Along with these Science and Technology Diffussion” to show exhibits made by us. talks, weather permitting, we offer the public a telescope session, g) In 2010, we signed an agreement with the Chabot Space and showing some astronomical object, anecdotes and curiosities, Science Center in Oakland, California, to assess, with the right for within the program The Universe for You to Discover. license use for 6 months, the show Tales of the Mayan Skies that was •• We support a web page where we monthly update the infor- much enjoyed by our audiences. (www.mayaskies.org) mation, especially the sections “Exploring the Universe” and My greatest challenge is to maintain the planetarium and keep it “Month Ephemerides.” It is noteworthy that we have undertak- operational. We would like to add a solar H-alpha telescope to im- en the task of remembering those researchers or persons who plement a program about the star we have closest to us, the sun, have contributed to astronomy in Mexico and in other Latin for the children visiting us during the morning hours and school American countries. (www.merida.gob.mx/planetario) groups from the municipalities and surrounding towns of the city We also collaborate in coordination with other institutions in of Mérida. diverse programs and projects, such as: One of the planetarium projects that I consider important is to a) Organization of Star Night 2009, 2010 and 2011, an annual implement a small observatory that operates as a solar telescope in event with over 30 sites in Mexico (we are the Yucatan Commit- daytime and at night for the general public. tee coordinators). One of our greatest satisfactions is the surprise on the faces of b) Mexico Challenge 2009: On October 24, 2009, when a Guin- the children and youngsters, and admiration on the faces of the ness record was sought to gather the largest number of people aim- adults, for having observed for the first time through a telescope ing their telescopes at the same object, at the same time, the wonder- the moon or a planet like Saturn. They can´t believe their eyes! ful October moon. (institutodeastronomia.blogspot.com/2009/08/ Thanks to the many activities we have developed, numerous reto-mexico-2009.html) and we have programmed it again for No- people have turned their wondering eyes towards the sky. vember 2011 and will try to break our own record. One of my biggest wishes is that science education reaches every c) Tele Astronomy, where, thanks to an invitation and support small town surrounding the city of Merida. from the National Astro Physics, Optics and Astronomy Institute Although similar to other planetariums, we have a very low (INAOE) , together with six other science centers and planetari- budget; therefore, we try to establish agreements with diverse in- ums, we had the opportunity to hold an internet session with the stitutions and researchers or individuals to implement programs Teide Observatory of the Canarias Astrophysics Institute on June and projects for the benefit of children, youngsters, and adults 24, 2011. (www.iac.es/teleastronomia/calendar.html) We are ready visiting us, while participating in the astronomy-related activi- for next session to be held in 2012! ties we offer. I

(Video, continued from Page 36) Interleave). And not that you would do this use what seems the most comfortable for you. koyotesoft.com or download.cnet.com and for your planetarium, but you also can down- Often it is good to have more than one, as not enter FLV Crunch in the software finder. load games. Note that once you add the ex- every site works with every extension. The Internet evolves all the time and in the tension to Firefox, it gives you a screen with Finally, there is NetVideo Hunter. It lets you future these extensions may change or disap- something else to download. Remember the choose which video you want if different res- pear and new ones may take their place. Just mantra. Don’t do it. You already have the ex- olutions are available, but automatically goes remember to “Just Say No” to downloading or tension. for the one with the highest resolution. installing things you don’t want. Another recommended add-on is Easy You- Please keep the issue of copyright in mind. Tube Video Downloader, suggested by PC Changing the format Most NASA videos are for use copyright free; World. Now that you’ve downloaded your video, here’s a good site to get you started: www.nasa. There also is Download Helper. Since what do you do if it’s in the wrong format? gov/multimedia/hd. version 3.1 you can setup the extension It might be Flash® (Adobe) format, or per- Some videos posted by other major space to automatically convert the download- haps MP4 and thus doesn’t work with a lot of agencies and some observatories also are avail- ed movies to your preferred video format. video editing programs. Some of the exten- able copyright free, but be sure to look close When you are on a page containing links to sions I’ve suggested will convert the files as at use rights or copyright statements to see if images or movies, you can download some or they download. But if you have a Flash video there are usage restrictions. all of them at once. Moving the mouse over and need to convert it with a stand-alone pro- Likewise, videos that just appear on You- the items in the menu will highlights the links gram, for PCs I suggest Free FLV converter. Tube are not automatically ok to use in pub- directly in the page to make sure they are the I suggest converting to .avi format, and no- lic performance. Check and see who posted ones you want to pick up. tice in that program you can select different the videos or the source before putting them Here’s another extension: Fast Video Down- resolutions for output and, of course, you al- in your program. loader. My point in suggesting all these differ- ways want the highest. For Macs you want Happy downloading! I ent programs is that you should try and then FLV Crunch for Mac. You get them at www.

42 Planetarian September 2011 September 2011 Planetarian 43 Using today’s tools for science diffusion

Melissa Gil, Coordinator Communication Department Rio de Janeiro Planetarium Foundation Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 22451-070

In scientific institutions communication ported an experience about the dif- has always been seen as a great challenge, not ficulty of working in scientific orga- only by media professionals —i.e., journalists, nizations. publicists or public relations agents—but also “Once, I attended a meeting held by scientists who have a real concern for not by NASA to improve communica- transmitting wrong concepts as, for example, tions. Besides NASA’s administrator, in astronomy. there were various bureaucrats, a doz- In his article “From Science Diffusion to en scientists, a few professors, science Communication,” Jorge Duarte tells us that writers, but except for myself and an- Jon Lomberg, an artist cooperating in the other artist/astronomer, there was no publicity of projects in space industry, has re- expert in visual presentation of science, no museum designer, no magazine art director, no film producer nor photographer, no TV producer, no wizard of special effects, no genius in graphic computer. Just by looking at the list of participants, it was clear what was NASA’s problem concerning communications. And this is not just a NASA’s problem.” In fact, this problem occurs not only within NASA. Even with specialized teams On the other hand, we have the Brazilian and adequate structure, there is still a lack of social condition, which leads the population understanding not only with regards to the to spend a very small amount of money on role and demands, but also about the poten- culture and science. tial of the use of communications to help sci- It is in this context that communication ence institutions defining and reaching their will act as a catalyst, in the sense of awaken- objectives. ing dormant feelings, to receive in an enter- This paradigm has been broken in the Rio taining, attractive and funny way the trans- de Janeiro Planetarium, since we could reach mission of knowledge. a synergy among the administrative, scientific, and communications departments. With Moveholders and social networks such synergy we managed to reach the under- The new social order is formed by “move- standing that a scientific institution has a spe- holders.” These are interested parties which cific social responsibility, not only regarding group themselves in social networks, blogs, accountability, but also by contributing with flash mobs and the like, using digital and hy- the development of a more equitable society. brid communication methods that are not At a time when technological advanc- fully understood by older-generation PR pro- es load society with information, it becomes fessionals, as is the case of the stakeholders, a more difficult to call attention to something concept which was defined by R.E. Edward Fifth-grader “Little Yuri” missed school and that, until it is shared, is not very interesting Freeman in the last century. drove with his mother 30 km for a chance to to the public. This dilemma tends to increase Considering this, the Rio de Janeiro Plane- meet real cosmonauts. He is photographed here with Pavel Vinogradov, a veteran of Mir on account of the Y and Millennium genera- tarium Communication Department went and the International Space Station. Photo pro- tions, a globalized group being pulled by en- deep into cyberspace sites and social net- vided by Rio de Janeiro Planetarium Foundation tertainment far away from the sciences. (Continues on Page 54)

44 Planetarian September 2011 September 2011 Planetarian 45 lum.” I suggested that standards are much less Educational Horizons intimidating if you treat them as organizational tools. Jack L. Northrup I know that I like the organization and log- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planetarium ical progression that they provide. This is be- King Science and Technology Magnet Center cause, over the years, I have come to recognize 3720 Florence Blvd., Omaha, Nebraska 68110 USA that I am a very random person. My students +1 402-557-4494 call it “ooh shiny.” They know this because [email protected] they witnessed a presentation on fusion pro- gressing to string theory through strings, loops, and branes, leading to what happens I have pulled several topics off the wall of ple you have the most contact with outside when membranes collide. It was all started by post-its to guide this edition’s article. Actual- your facility? Three of my five are educators, a question, “What is smaller than an atom?” ly, the topics that nearly jumped off the wall with the others having skill areas in graphic and it was a bit more than a fifth grade class include professionalism, the U.S. Science Edu- media and research. Did I subconsciously seek could handle. cation Framework, and breaking up the tradi- out other educators at a conference’s hospital- If I were to look at that lesson and map it to tional planetarium activities. ity suite or people who understand the true the standards framework, it would be all over meaning of boredom (it is detention supervi- the place. Planetarium professionalism sion)? I don’t know. So when I was asked to look at “Astronomy The first topic of planetarium profession- I do know that I have been trying to diver- Literacy: Essential Concepts for K-12 Curric- alism is something that I have gotten a few sify my skill set and graphics and media are ar- ulum” (see Gary Tomlinson’s article on page emails about lately, and, interestingly, none eas that I have felt could use some develop- 10) for the National Science Academy’s frame- of them came from planetarians. The people ment. Will that mean that I will only attend work for K-12 science, I jumped at it. had other titles: astronomy educator, princi- workshops dealing with graphics and media? Essential Concepts is written as a grade-by- pal, educator, curator, and outreach coordina- No. grade progression of astronomy topics, and tor, all either directly operating or overseeing As I told the people who emailed me, a plan- the National Research Council’s newly-re- the planetarium at their facility. etarian is a professional who uses a planetari- leased A Framework for K-12 Science Education I was asked about professional develop- um as a tool and environment to provide an is written as four multi-grade bands (K-2, 3-5, ment opportunities that they could partici- audience with a memorable and engaging ex- 6-8, and 9-12). pate in to improve their knowledge of operat- perience, an experience that covers educa- I read Framework and took the section dealing a planetarium. I did not want to tell them tional content to entertainment material. ing with astronomy (titled Earth and Space about classes, workshops, and conferences If you focus on one part of your label, you Science) and interpreted one of the topic that they already were aware of, so I had them may be denying yourself a wide breadth of groups, Earth’s Place in the Universe, into a reply with a list that they had heard about experiences. If all you know is using a chisel table so you can see the progression of topics and which ones they had attended. to paint watercolors, then imagine the amaz- and difficultly. (See facing page.) It was interesting to see how many astron- ing things you will do when you learn to use Earth and Space Science is a bit of a catch all omy and planetarium activities they knew a brush. for astronomy, geology, hydrology, and me- of but had never attended. The workshops at- Many of you are nodding your heads, and teorology content, but is nice to have them tended list was very heavy in general science others are composing messages to me about grouped together. and education topics. how my ideas are completely in left field (jl- The frameworks are useful tools to cre- This got me thinking that their titles meant [email protected]); be aware that I will take ate focused and developmentally-appropri- something else. One of the topics in education off points for spelling and grammatical errors. ate content for audiences. Make sure to take that acts as a lightning rod of opinions is la- However, I believe that if you take a mo- some time and read Astronomy Literacy: Es- bels, but we need to look at how we label our- ment you can think of a planetarian who has sential Concepts (www.glpaweb.org/k12con- selves to get a new perspective on our profes- fallen off the radar or maybe never attended cepts.htm) to see some grade by grade exam- sional nature. Do we apply labels to ourselves a conference. Do you know why this has hap- ples of content and concepts. through our titles? Do you see yourself as an pened? If this planetarian is close by, set up a educator, giving priority to education confer- meeting (dinner is generally harmless) to talk Lesson of the month ences and workshops? Or, as a curator, do you about what you are doing in your planetari- Well, let’s do a step away from frameworks see the planetarium as just another exhibit? um. and standards to think about an experiment These self-assigned labels have a powerful Ask if they heard about a conference or that I ran with a couple of our visiting class focusing effect to a single section of the pro- meeting, and open those lines of communica- groups. fessional development spectrum, and it unfor- tion. Tell them about a conference or meeting The school part of King Science Center uses tunately weakens the planetarian communi- you attended, “Cindy, I went to this meeting 84- and 40-minute block schedules, so when I ty as a whole. on standards this spring, and it was very eye teach astronomy we have 84 minutes to do a As we are looking to prepare and foster the opening.” planetarium experience and a lab. My visiting next generation of planetarians, we are draw- classes, however, are normally about 50 min- ing them from a wide variety of backgrounds Standards, revisited (again) utes. and degrees. However, a pattern is emerging Standards (insert gasp and faint) are really This summer I had a group fourth graders that prevents us from tapping into that diver- not that scary. visit who were focusing on the sun and were sified skill base with cross-discipline network- This spring I was fortunate to be asked to interested in a longer visit because of the trav- ing at conferences and workshops. present at the MAPS conference on the top- el time to the planetarium. I created the fol- Think about your professional contacts; ic of science standards through “Astronomy lowing sequence for the students by using our what are the backgrounds for the five peo- Literacy: Essential Concepts for K-12 Curricu- school’s 84-minute block.

46 Planetarian September 2011 ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe

Grade Bands/Topics Universe and Stars (ESS1.A) Earth and the Solar System (ESS1.B) The History of Planet Earth (ESS1.C) End of Grade 2 Observe, describe, and predict mo- Observe, describe, and predict seasonal patterns in the sun- Earth’s cycles have different tions of the sun, moon, and stars. rise and sunset. time scales. Observing with a telescope allows you to see more stars and more details on objects. End of Grade 5 The sun is a star, a very near star. Stars Earth orbits the sun, the moon orbits the earth, and Earth Earth changes over time, fo- are different sizes and distances. rotates on an axis. This causes day/night, seasonal shadow cusing on weathering and changes, phases of the moon, observed positional changes erosion. in the sun, moon and stars throughout the day, month, year. Other planets orbit the sun also and are not always visible from Earth. Stars make up constellations that move across the sky because of Earth’s rotation. End of Grade 8 Use models to observe, describe, and The solar system is made up of objects; planets, moons, as- Geologic time, using strat- predict motions of the sun, moon, and teroids, that orbit the sun by the effects of gravity. This ification and the fossil re- stars. The universe began with a Big model explains tides, eclipses, and the observable motions of cord to find relative dates Bang. Earth is part of the solar system, the planets. of events. which is in turn part of the Milky Way Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted and fixed resulting in seasons galaxy, that is part of the universe. by differential heating. End of Grade 12 The sun has a life cycle. The sun is part Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion. Forces that can change Measuring geologic time. of the Milky Way. Galaxies are made of orbital shapes and the reaction to these changes. Using other objects in the stars. The universe has billions of gal- solar system to interpret axies. what the ancient Earth was Spectrum from stars can be used to like. find composition, motion and distance.

(U.S. Frameworks, ESS1.B Grade 5) cation of the sun with one of the markers and ters; on each telescope table is a shape that Schedule then collaborate to predict where it will be in matches the nametags. This mixes the stu- 10:00 a.m. Arrive and get students off buses one hour and mark that spot with the other dents into new groups. 10:05 a.m. Hand out supplies marker. With one of our groups we had to manage 10:10 a.m. Giant sundials on the football field Using the meterstick, have the students a loud debate on if a spot was a sunspot or de- 10:20 a.m. Solar observations with Sunspotter measure and record on the plate the length fect on the paper. Have the students mark the 10:40 a.m. Solar show in planetarium of the shadow. This measuring step will also plates with T at the top of the image and B at 11:10 a.m. Giant sundials on the football field be repeated in one hour so they can see the the bottom. 11:24 a.m. Board the buses change in the length and angle of the shadow. Solar Planetarium Show Supplies for students (5 groups) Solar Observations Select whatever sun show that you have Color/shape grouping tags (5 colors in red, yel- Sunspotter™ Telescope or other safe solar ob- that works best. Mine mentions differential low, green, blue, purple in 3 shapes) serving device rotation and the students mark which sun- Medium size paper plates (1 per student or per Using the round depression on the plate as spots will cross the sun the fastest based on group, based on your resources) and a template for the sun, have the students draw their latitude. They will need to know the top Golf pencil (or similar small pencil) the location of any visible sunspots. and bottom of the sun image to do this, thus For crowd management we use 3 Sunspot- the method to my madness. I Lab preparations Giant sundials X Planetarium - totally read that as X Panet- 5 wooden stakes (1 meter in length) from Mario Di Maggio tiere at first, haha. 5 sheets of colored paper (1 each of red, yellow, “now we planetarium status, flicking ashes green, blue, purple) Just left the Planetarium. Put a bunch of in the big dipper, u ain’t as high as me mister....” haaa.. spittta 5 metersticks things in perspective for me. Its Mind blowing how vast our universe is. I’m just leaving the planetarium. I was 10 traffic cones or bean bags to serve as mark- planetarium is pretty tight knocked out!!! Mouth ajar!!! SMH ers (2 per group) Sitting in the dark dome of the planetarium, This planetarium is TOO cold.. Gahh dammit fighting against sleep. Plaigiarism Does Not Equal Planetarium A budgerigar rides a horse past the plane- Insert the stakes in the lawn or football In the planetarium. These chairs are comfy Woo, gonna go to Pauly’s uncle’s Cham- tarium field (make sure you don’t hit a sprinkler line) pagne thingy tomorrow. :D or maybe planetar- Was just enjoying the natural planetarium- at about 20-m intervals to be the gnomons ium. (: like beauty of the night sky during winter. of the sundials. Attach one sheet of paper per the planetarium was uber BORINGG!! I told my friend I wanted to go to the plan- stake as a flag; it also will make the shadow I just heard someone very important to me etarium and he looked at me like I was a weir- do. What gives? easier to see if it is slightly overcast. say, “I love the Planetarium because you do”. It’s working, I’m changing the world! I wish the planetarium computer room was Divide the students by the color of their Soooo orgasmically happy that the heater in open 24/7. I love it. name tags and have them go to the matching the planetarium is on full blast. I just want to At a planetarium lol. That sound so educat- station. The students will mark the current lo- live here... ed aha!

September 2011 Planetarian 47 48 Planetarian September 2011 co-founder Dan Neafus will be a member of the JHWFF fulldome judging panel. IMERSA News The 2011 award winners will be selected pri- or to the October conference and announced on October 6. Judith Rubin More info: www.jhfestival.org. Communications Director, IMERSA.org [email protected] And Next February … Mark your calendars for the 3rd IMERSA Fulldome Summit, scheduled for February 3-5, 2012 at the Denver (Colorado) Museum of Na- on the Giant Screen” demo. In September … ture & Science. A special focus of this event Focusing on the unique needs of dome the- The Themed Entertainment Association will be IMERSA’s ongoing work to establish aters, GSCA Dome Day follows at the Fort (TEA) is taking notice of fulldome’s unique fulldome industry standards. Worth Museum of Science & History on Sept properties as a storytelling medium by includ- There will also be screenings, showcases 23. IMERSA is working with GSCA to provide ing it as a topic at its 5th annual SATE (Sto- and sessions on technology and business de- some of the presentation content for Dome rytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experi- velopment. This will be IMERSA’s first stand- Day. More info: www.giantscreencinema.com. ence) conference. alone Fulldome Summit. The conference, under the theme The Pow- The first was held immediately following er of Story, is scheduled September 22-23 in In October … IPS 2008 in Chicago and the second was in- Sky-Skan and Evans & Sutherland will each Orlando, Florida. IMERSA founders Dan Nea- tegrated into the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film present a digital planetarium demo on Octo- fus (Gates Planetarium, Denver Museum of Festival Symposium in 2010. We’re aiming ber 17 at the Maryland Science Center as part Nature & Science) and Ryan Wyatt (Califor- to make it annual, and we need volunteers. of the annual conference of the Association of nia Academy of Sciences, San Francisco) will If you’re interested in joining IMERSA’s Full- Science-Technology Centers (October 15-18). join panelists Mark Rhodes (Universal Cre- dome Summit team, please contact Dan Nea- The event is scheduled from 3:00-7:30 pm. ative), Markus Beyr (Kraftwerk Living Tech- fus, [email protected]. nologies), Martin Howe (Global Immersion) Watch for details at www.conference.astc. and Cecil Magpuri (Falcon’s Treehouse) in dis- org. Note: In the past this event has sometimes New IMERSA Advisors required separate advance registration. cussing Digital Dome Stories. IMERSA welcomes The session will look at pioneering exam- two new people to ad- ples of the digital dome, including entertain- Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival visory roles in the asso- This year the JHWFF, scheduled October 3-7 ment projects such as Dragon’s Treasure at the ciation: Markus Beyr, in Jackson, Wyoming, made a point of solicit- Bubble Theatre at City of Dreams in Macau chief executive offi- ing fulldome entries for its film competition and the Simpsons and the new Harry Potter cer of Kraftwerk Liv- and received enough of them to warrant cre- rides at Universal Studios, as well as innova- ing Technologies, and ating a separate category. tive examples within the planetarium com- Gene Jeffers, executive Finalist have already been selected in the munity. director of the Themed Content and Program Categories, and the More information: www.teaconnect.org. Entertainment Asso- three finalist in the Best Fulldome Program ciation. Both recent- are: GSCA in September in Austin ly stepped up to work , by Norrkopings Visualiserings- Markus Beyr Science centers continue to move away All We Are with the Board of Di- center & Norrkoping; from giant screen film systems and adopt im- rectors to help IMERSA , from the California mersive digital systems for their dome and flat Life: A Cosmic Story grow and serve its business community. Academy of Sciences; and screen theaters and as they do, business mar- Based in Austria, Markus Beyr is a prolific , from NSC Creative. kets and communities continue to converge. We Are Astronomers developer of special venue theater attractions Recognition of this kind from such a pres- The Giant Screen Cinema Association in Asia and Europe, a number of which use tigious, mainstream festival is huge and we (GSCA) conference, scheduled September 20- digital dome video. Recent examples include commend JHWFF for its ability to stay current 22 in Austin, Texas, includes a meeting of the Marvel Superheroes 4D for Madame Tussauds and fresh in its outlook and offerings. IMERSA Giant Dome Theater Consortium and a “4K (Continues on Page 54)

Inside the Bubble Theater at the City of Dreams in Macau. More than 2 million people have visited the City of Dreams since June 2009. Images courtesy City of Dreams.

September 2011 Planetarian 49 Between Chicago, Moscow and San Diego, Global Immersion’s Martin Howe has a lot to talk about

By Judith Rubin

Two noteworthy recent examples of growth and creative development in fulldome and immersive digital cinema are the Martin Howe Adler Planetarium’s (Chicago) 8K Grainger Sky Theater and the renovated Moscow Plan- etarium, which both opened this summer. them, either film based or opto-mechanical— Astronomical Institute, who was one of the A third to watch is the Reuben H. Fleet Sci- and, of course, these digital systems are also so main speakers. ence Center (San Diego), which has embarked much more powerful and flexible. The planetarium had just received a new on a major digital dome upgrade. Q: You attended the June 12 re-opening of artifact, and it was sitting at the front door: These three projects all use systems from the Moscow Planetarium. It must have been a vintage Vosktok 3KA-2 space capsule that UK-based Global Immersion. Here’s a recent a dramatic event after having been closed 17 had flown unmanned 20 days before Yuri interview with the company’s chief execu- years for a comprehensive redesign and up- Gagarin’s historic 1961 launch. It seems that tive, Martin Howe, excerpted from InPark grade. this test capsule carried a life-size mannequin Magazine (www.inparkmagazine.com) and re- MH: It was a big day for everybody. What nicknamed Ivan Ivanovich and a dog called printed with permission. had been a construction site for a long time Zvezdochka (“little star” in Russian), and, ac- Q: Yours is not the only company that’s was now immaculately clean. There were lots cording to the Russian news service RIA No- been busy with new digital video installa- of TV and press, happy people, and happy cus- vosti, both the dog and the mannequin came tions in the planetarium and science center tomers. People have worked very hard to get back down safely. market. What are the factors that are prompt- this planetarium back on its feet. This historic spacecraft was recently auc- ing so many facilities to undertake these com- The event was held to coincide with Rus- tioned at Sotheby’s in New York; a Russian prehensive projects? sia Day, the national holiday of the Russia businessman, Evgeny Yurchenko, bid nearly Martin Howe: Partly because the technol- Federation. I was there helping to greet VIPs, $2.9 million for it and generously donated it ogy is maturing. That’s not to say it’s mature; who included Russian cosmonaut Sergei Kon- to the planetarium. there are still many challenges that we have to stantinovich Krikalev and Professor Ana- The planetarium is centrally located on overcome. But these high-performance visual tol Cherepashchuk, director of the Sternberg one of the main ring roads in busy down- systems are now affordable, especially when compared to the technologies that preceded

The newly-refurbished Moscow Planetarium (below) and its three theaters: (clockwise from top) the 25-m Star Hall, the smaller 4D theater, and the mini-dome for production work. All photos courtesy Global Immersion

50 Planetarian September 2011 YOURCOMING FULLDOME SOON AND FOR PLANETARIUM THEATER! Discover the Legend Written in the Stars...

A New Fulldome Show From Evans & Sutherland Digital Theater Productions and the eugenides foundation planetarium

Digital Theater September 2011 Planetarian 51 www.es.com [email protected] mark in immersive theater layout and also a new standard in planetarium systems. The project realizes the vision of Adler president Dr. Paul Knappenberger for a new entry experience, designed to provide a transition from the outside world. The Adler has a truly wonderful collection of artifacts and the theater is there to get visitors in the right state of mind for exploration. It gives them inspira- tion and information to make decisions about what to do/see in the rest of their visit. Previously, visitors would come into the main hall, where they would decide what to do/ see, purchase tickets and make their way around the museum. The new entry experience, Deep Space Adventure, begins for all visitors in a welcome gallery, and then continues in Above: The new portal at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, an en- the Grainger Sky Theater try experience to transition from the outside world; Right, a scene from Deep Space Adventure. with the show The Search- er. There is also an updated ticketing system. town Moscow, not far from the Kremlin and amount of technology packed into it. We in- Q: Was that the same Red Square and next to the Moscow Zoo. This tegrated LED and 3D fulldome projection sys- starball for which the Adler had sought a fed- will put Russia back on the map for having a tems, plus 11 custom motion seats from our eral grant to replace, and which then-presi- world-class science center. Canadian motion seating partner, D-BOX. dential candidate John McCain referred to as Q: Give us some details about the six projec- an “overhead projector”? tion systems in three theaters that Global Im- Off to Chicago MH: Yes it was. I’d like to give him a tour of mersion provided and how they help to con- Q: The Adler Planetarium was one of the the universe with it one day. fer contemporary “world class” status on the first to install a permanent digital dome or updated planetarium. “fulldome” theater in the 1990s, which it up- Now to San Diego MH: They are, by far, the most comprehen- graded 3 years ago (now the Sky-Skan Defin- Q: The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center is a sive and powerful systems we’ve installed and iti Space Theater on the lower level). That very high profile example of a giant-screen they facilitate presenting a wide range of edu- makes the Global Immersion system in the theater expanding its options by adding dig- cational and entertaining content. 21.6-m Grainger Sky Theater (openrf to the ital projection. In the 1970s it was the home of First theater: The centerpiece venue is the public July 8) the third generation of digital the first permanent IMAX dome installation. Star Hall, which features three digital display dome video projection that Adler has adopt- To upgrade the theater, Fleet Director Dr. Jef- systems. As a 25-m planetarium, it’s said to be ed. What particularly distinguishes this new frey Kirsch conducted an exhaustive shop- the biggest in Europe and can seat 364. installation? ping trip that lasted for several years and was The first integrated system is our Fideli- MH: The Grainger Sky Theater at the Adler highly visible within the visitor attractions ty Bright™ and comprises 14 high resolution stands out on two fronts: technology and visi- industry. and brightness projectors. It is really punchy, tor experience. Both reflect the client’s vision, MH: It is a very exciting project that stands bright, colorful and resolute, and ready to as it emerged and was shaped during the con- to set a new quality benchmark for digital show almost anything—we even designed a cept stage and the ensuing design/build pro- dome video. The Fleet recently upgraded the custom lens to meet the client’s specifications. cess. screen (Spitz NanoSeam™) and engaged Glob- Also in the Star Hall are a giant-screen ste- We call it the “world’s first digital starball” al Immersion to provide fulldome technol- reoscopic 3D theater display and a panoram- because the upgrade included removing the ogy, working with Jeff Kirsch’s very experi- ic multi-channel display that wraps around old opto-mechanical starball and replacing enced team of display technologists, staff and the dome periphery and works in synchroni- it with our Fidelity Black 8K™ system, with a advisors. zation with the new Zeiss starball projector. 20-channel hyper-array of Zorro® projectors They will work with us on every compo- It’s effectively a planetarium system within a from Rockwell Collins in a custom configu- nent of the system from projectors to lenses, planetarium system. ration with custom-built lenses. It has enough from servers to configuration to control soft- Second theater: In addition to the Star Hall, contrast and resolution to compete with the ware. For each and every component they are the facility’s new Space Center features a 47- contrast and clarity of a starball while provid- looking for the best possible performance and seat, 4D theater integrated with our propri- ing all the advantages of digital. specifications within the budget. They’ve set etary Intensity® multi-dimensional cinema We believe the Grainger Sky Theater is now very clear performance metrics and we are us- experience, which includes a whole range of the highest resolution digital theater in the ing our CAD modeling tools to accurately pre- effects from ticklers and motion to snow and world. It’s not a stereoscopic system, but it dict the performance of the theater and its scent. feels very 3D with the configuration and the systems, and enable us to go quickly from the The third theater is a 4.6-m mini-dome for high contrast. There is a lot more to 3D than design stage to the building process. They are in-house production testing and show pro- just stereovision—I’ve written a few papers on putting us through our paces and we are on gramming for younger visitors. It has a serious the subject. I like to think it sets a new bench- board with that: we want it to be the best. I

52 Planetarian September 2011 September 2011 Planetarian 53 (Science diffusion, continued from Page 44) works, and found rich possibilities for deal- cation in synergy with science. But a concrete tion will have a fundamental role, as normal- ing with the new public which, although ac- result among others, that we can mention, ly stated on speeches, when it is integrated to quainted with traditional media, has migrated was the visit to the Rio Planetarium of two processes of making and disclosing science, to these new niches of information exchange. Russian cosmonauts, Pavel Vinogradov and from the project design research to integra- The Rio Planetarium is on Twitter, on Face- Oleg Kotov, on April 20, 2011. They talked to tion of results in the fabric of society.” book, on FlickR, on Orkut, and, of course, as the children and visitors and told them about José Reis, deceased in 2002, was known as a website—www.planetariodorio.com.br. We the experience of a space trip. the greatest scientific propagandist of our also have a blog focused on children’s’ con- The visit of the two astronauts was part of time in Brazil. He conceived and encouraged tent. The result of the measurement of social Yuri Gagarin´s 50th space trip anniversary cel- the creation of clubs, fairs, competitions and networking influence made by Tweetreach, ebration, and a special moment was due to science prizes, translated books and wrote a social media reporting tool, showed that on Yuri, a 10-year-old Brazilian boy who wants to pamphlets. He was a “science traveler clerk,” as July 25, the contents generated by 50 posts on be an astronaut and has a great passion for as- the title of an article described him, published Twitter reached about 120 thousand social tronomy. by the Brazilian edition of Scientific American, networking users. The cosmonauts’ visit could have passed July 2, 2002. unnoticed by Yuri, if his mother had not read Not only communicators, but also institu- The results and “Little Yuri” an article published on the newspaper O DIA. tions should act as science “salesmen,” he said. Efficient communication led by scientif- Yuri missed classes that day (he is in the 5th This is what we have been trying to achieve, ic institutions can reduce the distances be- grade) to go with his mother to the planetar- and I believe we have succeeded, by joining tween knowledge producers and society by ium, which is 30 km from his home through astronomical sciences with communication helping people to access, to discuss, and to heavy traffic to be sure he could be photo- at the Rio de Janeiro Planetarium. get involved with science, instead of simply graphed with the cosmonauts. knowing that science exists and is constant- “I dream of being an astronaut because I’ve Reference ly advancing. always liked space travelling,” said Yuri at the Duarte, Jorge. “From Science Difusion to Com- This fact alone represents an important re- end of the visit. munication.” Brazilian Association of Sci- sult pointing out the efficiency of communi- As expressed by Duarte, “Communica- entific Journalism. www.abjc.org.br I

(IMERSA, continued from Page 49) in London; Arthur: The 4D Adventure at Fu- standards goals. IMERSA founder Ed Lantz this industry works, every institution that turoscope, Poitiers, France; and Dragon’s Trea- comments, “Currently the 4k x 4k dome mas- wants to be ‘the best’ will now likely shoot sure at City of Dreams, Macau. He will help ter is the de facto industry standard for high- for 8K. Fortunately, 8K capability does not re- IMERSA build its international base and gain definition domes. However, the eye is hun- quire that all content be produced in 8K. Go- exposure for fulldome across entertainment gry for pixels. Surrounding an audience with ing with higher resolution may actually pro- and education markets. eye-limited resolution in a hemispheric the- vide a “future proof” system should producers Gene Jeffers’ organization, TEA, is the world- ater takes well over 100 million pixels. These eventually move towards higher resolution. wide nonprofit trade alliance representing the 8k systems fall short of eye-limited resolution, And real-time systems have no trouble cre- creators of compelling places and experienc- yet they produce imagery that rivals large-for- ating stars in 8K using multiple render pipe- es. He has 40 years’ experience building con- mat film in clarity. lines.” nections and relations, communications and “Given the extreme difficulty of creat- IMERSA is pursuing its standards creation analysis at local, national and international ing, storing and serving 64 million pixels at process with the intention of a deliverable levels. As an advisor to IMERSA, he will help 30 frames per second or more, we will likely specification in the near future. To that end, the association to set priorities, form benefi- not see higher resolution systems take hold all stakeholders are invited to participate in cial alliances and stay in the black. for quite some time. 6K resolution is an all- the dialog. If you get a survey from us, please In addition, Paul Fraser of Blaze Digital Cin- around more practical and a better place for be sure to respond to it. If you would like to ema Works continues in his role as a valued the industry to hang its hat at this time. participate on the Fulldome Standards Com- IMERSA Advisor. “However, the 8K gauntlet has been thrown mittee, please contact an IMERSA Board mem- down and, based on past observations of how ber. www.imersa.org. I Fulldome Standards Initiative IMERSA continues to press forward with a core goal: to establish workable standards for To touch the moon fulldome that can be applied to the full range Dr. David Hurd, professor and planetarium director of theaters (roughly 800 worldwide, including at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in Edinboro, is portable domes). Standards need to support the author of a newly-released book for the blind and the present and future of the industry and visually impaired. Hurd and tactile engineer John Ma- are best founded on de facto standards and telock have been created tactile astronomy aids for a practices already in the field. IMERSA and its number of years. members have already initiated and produced Getting a Feel for Lunar Craters was created with the a range of studies, surveys and specifications NASA Lunar Science Institute and features tactile dia- that can be viewed at IMERSA.org. grams of the moon’s surface. New ultra-high definition fulldome sys- To find out more, go to lunarsscience.nasa.gov. I tems at high-profile venues may influence

54 Planetarian September 2011 SATURN: JEWEL OF THE HEAVENS

BLACK HOLES

EXTREME PLANETS

HUBBLE HAS NOTHING ON US.

SECRET OF THE CARBOARD ROCKET

The imagination and creativity of our original digital dome productions are so fantastic, you’ll think our animators actually live in space. Or at least get to borrow the keys to the Hubble on the weekends. Talk to us about what these productions will do for your planetarium. Contact Mike Murray at [email protected] • 801-456-4949 • clarkplanetarium.org/distribution September 2011 Planetarian 55

3429-1_HubbleHasNothing_Planetarium_8.5x11_F.indd 1 1/13/11 11:09:50 AM Association of French-Speaking International News Planetariums Lars Broman The 27th APLF Conference in the Palais de Teknoland and Strömstad Academy l’Univers et des Sciences (PLUS) in Cappelle- Stångtjärnsv 132 La-Grande, near Dunkerque, north of France, SE 791 74 Falun, Sweden took place 2-7 June. +46 2310 177 About 120 planetarium people came from [email protected], [email protected] the across France, and also from Belgium, Swit- www.teknoland.se, www.stromstadakademi.se zerland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Romania, Swe- den, USA, and Japan. A superb program was Editing this column began after I had spent Anyone who wants to contribute news prepared by Jérôme Cerotti and Didier Sch- three nice and interesting days in the beauti- from parts of the world where IPS has no As- reiner. ful Russian city Nizhny Novgorod, the first sociation (see page 3) is welcome to send it to During the APLF General Assembly, a new two days with IPS Council and then one day Martin George, [email protected]. Council was elected for 3 years. Didier Ma- with the Russian Planetarium Association thieu (director of Epinal Planetarium) is the meeting. Association of Brazilian new APLF president. Our hosts, Vadim Belov, Zinaida Sitkova, Planetariums Local personalities visited us, in particular, Alexander Serber and their colleagues, treat- The Galileo Galilei dome at Rio de Janeiro’s Roger Gouvart (major of Cappelle-La-Grande), ed planetarians from all over world excellent- Planetarium reopened in August after being who installed the first RSA planetarium in his ly. In the foyer of Nizhny Novgorod Planetar- closed for 15 months for a total renovation. city in 1989. Some 20 years later he initiat- ium was a large bust of Yuri Gagarin, the first The dome screen, air conditioning, sound sys- ed the PLUS project. This pioneer refuses the man in space in 1961 and a major Russian hero. tem and floor were all replaced. Standing by the bust among photograph- The old Zeiss Spacemaster ing planetarians, I could tell them that I met projector, which is now be- Gagarin during a meeting at Chalmers Uni- ing exhibited in the hall of versity of Technology in Göteborg, Sweden the planetarium, is replaced a few years after his epoch-making space trip. by a digital system with Bar- People seemed very happy, and a typical com- co projectors and Sky Explor- ment was “Wow—I know someone who has er software from RSACosmos. met Gagarin!” Now Rio de Janeiro is getting The International News column is depen- its second digital dome in a dent on contributions from IPS Affiliate As- totally renovated room with sociations all over the world. Many thanks to 100 unidirectional seats. Agnès Acker, Vadim Belov, Bart Benjamin, Ig- An interesting coinci- nacio Castro, Alex Delivorias, Sandro Gomes, dence is that both Santa Ma- John Hare, Eddy Pirotte, Loris Ramponi, Alex- ria and Rio de Janeiro plane- ander Serber, and Scott Young for your con- tariums first opened in 1970, tributions. and now, 41 years later, they Upcoming deadlines are 1 October for Plan- are going digital at the same BP: Zeiss Spacemaster at the Rio de Janeiro’s Planetarium Hall. etarian 4/2011 and 1 January 2012 for 1/2012. time. Photo by Filipe Jose Mourão Pereira

Association of Dutch-Speaking Planetariums/PLANed

On Monday 27 June 2011, the message was received that Chris Pirotte have decided to react on this dismissal from the PLANed Janssen, one of the founding members of PLANed, the Association platform. of Dutch-Speaking Planetariums, was fired immediately as director In their letter to PLANed members, they wrote: of the Europlanetarium in Genk (Belgium). Eddy Pirotte, president Why from PLANed? of PLANed, got the astonishing news from Janssen himself. •• Because the Europlanetarium is one of the founding members; Planetarians in the region are flabbergasted because Janssen is •• Because we think that a reaction coming from an international or- enormously appreciated as colleague and think this action is hard- ganisation is a better means of expressing the group feeling; and ly justified. •• Because we found immediate response with other IPS affiliates. Janssen has told that his dismissal by the board of directors (VZW Despite his dismissal, Chris went to the IPS Council meeting in Nizh- Kattevennen-Europlanetarium) is based on their decision of him ny Novgorod. IPS decided to react to the decision of the board of direc- “being incompatible in the views of the board.” tors. APLF and ADP are thinking about a reaction as well. The city council of Genk has a majority of 51% on the board of The president of ADSP (PLANed) has sent a letter to the board of di- directors. They have future plans with Kattevennen and thus the rectors of VZW Kattevennen- Europlanetarium and copied it to the gov- Europlanetarium-Cosmodrome other than the educational science ernment and an important local newspaper. popularisation future that Janssen had in mind. In this letter we don’t express a judgement on internal affairs, but Disputes have had a long history and have been repeatedly dis- state our fear for the future of astronomy education in Limburg (East- cussed by the board of directors. As colleagues of Janssen, and be- ern part of Belgium). cause the Europlanetarium plays a crucial and inspiring role in the When you want to give Chris a mental boost, you can contact him at Dutch speaking planetarium field, Anne-Lize Kochuyt and Eddy [email protected].

56 Planetarian September 2011 preciated by the APLF. It seems urgent to help the public to understand correctly scientific facts and words (big bang, prebiotic matter, and more). Other productions featured included Life, a Cosmic Story from California Academy of Sciences (USA), Realm of Light from Softma- chine (Germany), and show trailers from Ev- ans & Sutherland.

Association of Italian Planetaria Planetarium Pythagoras in Reggio Calabria has collaborated for over 20 years with the provincial and local administrations to promote cultural policies and to promote the natural and cultural resources of Calabria. This effort has shown its effectiveness in the dissemination and rejuvenation of local traditions. The activities are not only for students, but for all the community, especially the dis- abled and the elderly. AFP: (Top) The 27th APLF con- In order to put these policies into effect, ference was held in the Pal- an agreement was made with the Province of ais de l’Univers et des Scienc- es (PLUS), Cappelle-la-Grande. Reggio Calabria for the management of the In the middle, Michel Delebarre, provincial planetarium with the town of Sti- president of the CUD, with Ag- lo in order to establish a center of study in an nes Acker, APLF-founder and elegant restored building from the 12th cen- past-president (right) and Di- tury. From 2005 to date, the SAIT association dier Mathieu, APLF-president (left) with Jerôme Cerotti, PLUS director (at his left). Courtesy of Christian Merlen/CUD (Right) The has been using this structure as the National PLUS : Palais de l’Univers et des Sciences. Courtesy of PLUS School of Astronomy Summer Campus. Their activities follow these themes: 1. Teacher training sessions: Three cours- idea of a divertissement planetarium, and he software Uniview, and Digitalis Education es serve to promote night sky observation argues eloquently for an educational tool for news were presented for the first time at an as a cultural treasure. Themes include the disseminating scientific knowledge. APLF conference. myths of stars and constellations, the study Several new projects have been listed. In Small structures were installed by Immer- of the apparent motion of planets in the so- Lausanne, in the French-speaking part of Swit- sive Adventure (Spain) with inflatable domes lar system, the realization of calendars and zerland, a 12-m planetarium will be installed from Quim Guixà Mini-shows and workshops the building of sundials as well as the rela- 2013 inside La Porte des Etoiles, a huge project were organized inside, using the French LSS tionship between the sky and the measure- directed by Georges Meylan, astrophysicist of fulldome 1K digital projector. APLF will in- ment and passing of time. the Lausanne University. clude portable planetariums activities in the 2. Training courses for students. Near Grenoble, Jean Lilenstein and Xavier framework of its national projects. 3. Training sessions for small planetariums. Delfosse, university professors, conduct the For the third time, RSA awarded a portable 4. Training courses for the general public. project L’opéra de l’Univers et le Moulin Arts- device, Cosmodyssee IV (projector and dome). 5. Public observation events using optical in- Sciences, including a planetarium, for 2014. The happy winner is Michel Favret, working struments. La Coupole in St-Omer (north of France), in the Aquitaine southwest part of France. 6. Seminars and conferences. a gigantic underground bunker designed for Various films in production were pre- 7. Yearly training courses for media operators. the construction of the V2 by the Nazis in viewed. The Sky Seen from the Earth (Point du Scientific and philosophical dissemination 1943-1944, has been converted into a museum Jour Production for 2012) tells the story of the requires competences that are not usually partially devoted since 2000 to space research wonderful gigapixel Milky Way performed part of newly graduated background. The and the planets. It will install a planetarium by Serge Brunier, with perfect panoramas real- aim of this crash course is to endow the par- in 2012, and the Centre d’Astronomie wishes ized with a revolutionary camera by Totalvi- ticipants with the basic knowledge that to install a hybrid system in a new building sion. is essential in both exact sciences and the in 2013. Water, A Cosmic Story is a film which will communication skills. Spectacular events were provided by the be produced for 2012 by APLF (realized by the 2010, the year after the International Year double presentation of opto-mechanic starry French MasterFilms society), with the partner- of Astronomy, Ravenna Planetarium has con- nights offered by the Pandia projector from ship of the European Southern Observatory firmed the great number of people attend- GOTO associated to synchronized digital full- and Hamburg Planetarium (Thomas Kraupe), ing. It has been a very interesting year, main- dome projections by RSA InSpaceSystem, and and the help of private sponsorships. ly for schools. They have worked a lot in the by the new ZKP4 with LEDs from Zeiss (who A FullDome film festival was presented, fea- area of workshops in which students do prac- can provide the Powerdome Velvet). turing Hayabusa: Back to the Earth, being dis- tical work. Sky-Skan presented perfect stereoscopic an- tributed by GOTO, Planets from Astronef (St. The challenge for 2011 is open: after a 2010 imations and their latest developments were Etienne, France), and Experience the Aurora with few astronomical events and anniversa- shown by Evans & Sutherland. The Konica- from Evans & Sutherland. These three films ries, 2011 brings both solar and lunar eclips- Minolta planetarium, the 3D astronomical with scientific content were very much ap-

September 2011 Planetarian 57 es, Saturn coming back way that students, teachers with its rings, the 50th and citizens have the possi- Anniversary of Yuri bility to make a choice and Gagarin’s first human decide where and how to get space flight and, for Ital- information on astronomical ian people, the celebra- science. tion of the 150th Anni- versary of the Union of Association of Italy. Mexican Planetariums The Day of Planetaria An exhibition with 20 AM- has been involving Ital- PAC 3D planetarium imag- ian planetariums since es, along with a 3D NASA and 1991 and will take place UNAM Mars and astronom- next on 18 March 2012. It ical images exhibition, have is an important opportu- been assembled and they will nity for an international be available to planetariums collaboration that aims later this year. to promote the knowl- Just for numbers, the previ- edge of planetariums ously-reported February Stars to the public more and Night event was held in 40 more. For information, Mexican cities. Some 150,000 see www.dayofplanetar- people attended, 10 planetaria.org. iums participated, and 70,000 The next Italian con- star wheels designed by the ference will be held in Torreon Planetarium were April 2012, together with AIP: (Top) The distributed. The event was the II Full Dome Festival. inflatable dome supported by the Nation- in the Sofos base The digital inflatable courtyard, Bo- al Science and Technology planetarium of INAF, logna. Courtesy Council, the National Acad- the Astronomical Obser- of Sofos. (Left) emy of Sciences, and UNAM vatory in Bologna, start- The planetarium Astronomy Institute. located in the ed the summer season The Chiapas Planetarium Natural History for outreach activities Museum of the has been involved in a series by the Cultural Associa- Mediterranean, of exhibitions and movie re- tion Sofos. Livorno. Photo leases, fostering not only sci- Since the end of by Francesca Ma- ence but art as well. nenti May and continuing The new Chetumal Plane- throughout September, tarium Yook Ol Kaab (which shows in the planetari- means Our Universe in Ma- um are being brought to yan language) is under construction. It will Bologna and North Italy have a 12-m dome housing a Digistar 4 sys- at street fairs organized tem with two peripheral projectors. The plan- by the ASCOM association of companies. The taria and, since then, its activities have strong- etarium features an astronomical observatory 4-m dome comfortably contains about 20 ly increased. with a 16-inch telescope, and will be inaugu- people. Every month different scripts are used, Starting from 2004, this planetarium has rated in October 2011. illustrating the constellations and the most coordinated a number of events dedicated to The Torreon Planetarium is in charge of the interesting non-stellar objects of the period. the diffusion of the astronomical science in specialized installation operations supervi- Particular attention is given to the Earth’s ax- the Livorno territory, especially during the sion and of training the personnel. The Quin- ial precession, to explain why there are dis- period of the International Day of Planetar- tana Roo Science and Technology Council is crepancies between the astronomical and asia. The city of Livorno is a peculiar case be- collaborating in this project. trological zodiacs. cause three planetariums are active there. One The budget has been authorized for the Instead of the usual summer in-dome con- is located in the Istituto Nautico Cappellini, modernization and refurbishing of the Mexi- ferences, this year the association base offers a the nautical school; one is placed in the Na- can Astronomical Society Planetarium. It will week of meetings aimed at children, Un cortile val Academy of Livorno; and the third is sit- house a Digitalis Education fisheye projection di Scienza (Science Courtyard), with 5 themes, uated in the MSNML. These institutions have system in its 10-m dome. Sponsoring this proj- one each day: water, air, sun, light, and stars, had separate histories and activities before ect are the Mexico City Federal District Sci- corresponding with 4 hands-on physics lab- 2006 but, thanks to the strong efforts of the ence and Technology Institute and the Mex- oratories and, on the final evening, with the MSNML, now all of them are parts of a provin- ican Astronomical Society. planetarium show. Everything was free. cial net, active in the field of scientific com- The Torreon Planetarium is being con- Il Planetario di Livorno is located in the munication. structed thanks to the Torreon Municipality, Natural History Museum of the Mediterra- Each year, the Astronomical Section of the the Coahuila State Government and private nean, Livorno (MSNML). The planetarium, MSNML continues to organize and coordinate sponsorship on a 10,000-square-meter site, which has a 5-m dome, was inaugurated on 6 events that take place in these three locations, where it will house not only the planetarium November 2004. In 2006, the MSNML plane- including conferences, teaching labs, lessons, but also an astronomical observatory with a tarium joined the Association of Italian Plane- and shows. All of them are coordinated in a half-meter Ritchie-Chretien (the largest Mex-

58 Planetarian September 2011 ican telescope open to the public), an open Groupe Decarel is handling the construc- European/Mediterranean area for events, cafeteria, commercial spac- tion. The planetarium will be built to the Planetarium Association es, etc. The project is being carried out by the plans and specifications drawn up by the con- In May, physics students of the Aristotle Torreon Planetarium. sortium led by Cardin Ramirez Julien, the University of Thessaloniki, taking observa- In Ciudad Obregon, in the state of Sonora, Montréal firm that won the international ar- tional astronomy as one of their subjects, en- the Tlaxcala Planetarium, Sonora Universi- chitecture competition in 2009. joyed a different lecture from what they have ty and the Torreon Planetarium are updating Meanwhile, the old Planétarium de Montré- been used to! The setting was provided by the the Otsimuri Children’s Park Planetarium by al, located downtown, will be closing its doors planetarium of the Science Center and Tech- installing a digital spherical mirror projector on 10 October 2011, after more than 45 years nology Museum-Noesis in Thessaloniki. John for its 7-m dome, replacing its opto-mechan- of service to the Montréal community and as- Seiradakis, astronomy professor of the Aristo- ical star projector. tronomy enthusiasts all over the Province of tle University of Thessaloniki, with the help Québec. The staff will be relocated to tempo- of the Noesis Planetarium Uniview Theatre, British Association of rary headquarters, just a few minutes’ walk lectured his students on the topic of celestial Planetariums from the construction site, thus enabling key cartography before embarking on a fascinat- The BAP Conference dates are 9-10 Septem- personnel to oversee the various construction ing journey through space and time, present- ber. This year the conference takes place in stages and installation of equipment. ing the evolution of the universe. Liverpool, right at the heart of the UK and a The next entry in this column should con- On the evening of the same day, Thanasis vibrant city (it’s where the Beatles came from). tain the name of the company that will be Economou, senior scientist in the Laborato- More information is available from BAP Presi- chosen to install the projection equipment in ry for Astrophysics and Space Research of the dent Shaaron Leverment, president@planetar- the (two!) twin 18-m theatres, one hybrid and University of Chicago, gave a popular lecture ia.org.uk one fulldome. Information: Pierre Chastenay, on the NASA space mission Stardust to comets [email protected]. Wild-2 and Tempel-1. Canadian Association of Science Sudbury. After just under two years in op- A native of Greece, Thanasis Economou Centres eration, the digital planetarium has proven has been building instruments for interplan- Calgary. As planned, after 44 years of ser- to be a successful addition to Science North’s etary spacecraft since the mid-1960s and has vice to the public, the facility that started life as the Cal- gary Centennial Planetarium in 1967 closed its doors on June 27 this year. Over the decades the planetarium evolved into the TELUS World of Science and outgrew its confines at the old building. The new TELUS World of Science, a $160 million complex at a new site near the popular Calgary Zoo, opens 29 October this year. CASC: The architec’s vision for the new Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan in Montréal. Construction has begun The new digital dome theatre, equipped as of presstime and is expected to be completed in 2013. The planetarium, along with the Biodôme, In- with Digistar 4, opens in spring 2012, will fea- sectarium and Botanical Garden, make up the Space for Life, largest natural science museum complex in ture a mix of live, interactive planetarium Canada. Image courtesy Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan shows and recorded fulldome documentaries from a variety of suppliers. family of four attractions. June has been par- been actively involved in the Stardust mis- The old science centre ended with a bang, ticularly busy with almost 2,000 students at- sion. Economou not only captivated his au- attracting record attendance in the final week- tending educational planetarium shows in dience with his eloquent story-telling and end of operation. For many city residents it the intimate, 36-seat venue. deep knowledge of the subject, but also donat- was a sad moment to see a facility they had With Evan and Sutherland’s newest up- ed two specialized space spectrographs, con- grown up with close its doors, but the pros- grade to Digistar 4, the planetarium will be structed by him, to the Noesis Planetarium. pect of a new science centre certainly has the working throughout the summer to revamp They now adorn its main entrance. town talking. Contact and information: Alan its live programs and take advantage of these On 15 June the Noesis Planetarium and Dyer at [email protected] great new features. Contact: Bryen McGuire, Thessaloniki’s amateur astronomers associ- Montreal At the time of this writing, [email protected]. ation, Friends of Astronomy, had scheduled ground breaking for the construction of the Winnipeg. The Manitoba Planetarium live observation of the lunar eclipse. Unfortu- new Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan in Montréal helped host the General Assembly of the Roy- nately, cloudy skies prevented a disappointed is planned for the end of August! There should al Astronomical Society of Canada in June, in audience from observing the phenomenon. be an official ceremony, with representatives celebration of the Winnipeg Centre’s 100th Visitors were compensated with a re-enact- of La Ville de Montréal, Le Gouvernement du anniversary. Laser shows have returned for ment of the eclipse in the planetarium dome, Québec, the Government of Canada, and Rio a second engagement this summer through with a live transmission of the progress of Tinto Alcan at a date to be announced. If all a partnership with Nth Degree Creative and the eclipse through the internet, and with a goes according to plan, the new building and Heck Industries, with both evening music lecture by Stavros Avgoloupis, astronomer its state-of-the-art equipment should be ready programs and content-based matinee shows. at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, to greet guests and showcase a brand new sky Contact and information: Scott Young, scy- who explained the physics behind the moon over Montréal by 2013. [email protected]. eclipse and presented the summer night sky September 2011 Planetarian 59 of Greece. Public attendance was so great that For the second year in a row, the Cernan shows, everyone was then invited to the plan- the whole presentation had to be repeated 3 Earth & Space Center at Triton College sus- etarium’s roof-top observation deck to see the times. pended its weekend public shows for much wonders of the heavens through telescopes. Also in May, the Noesis Planetarium inau- of the summer, with the exception of three Ohio. Jeanne Bishop reports that the West- gurated the Observers of Time astrophotogra- “Super Saturday” dates, which featured a chil- lake Schools Planetarium has been under phy exhibition by Greek photographer Xaris dren’s show, the Cernan Center’s own Month- threat of closure due to drastically reduced Hapsis. Observers of Time is a stellar journey ly Skywatch, and a laser concert. funds to the school district from the state. Al- to the land of Moai, the monolithic human Indiana. The Merrillville Community though initial recommendations had been to figures carved from rock on the Polynesian Planetarium was renovated this summer. The close the planetarium after this year, it now Easter Island. All the exhibition photos were Spitz 512 projector and control console and appears that it will remain open for a limited taken in July 2010, before, during and after the the existing seats were removed. The star pro- number of programs. total solar eclipse of 11 July. jector elevator pit was covered and The Eugenides Planetarium in Athens cele- new seats were arranged around a brated the summer solstice in June by inviting much narrower center aisle. A new its audience on a tour to some of the coldest control console was built for the places on Earth, where the stunning display of digital fulldome system and a new the aurora captivates the hearts and minds of control system for lighting and those lucky enough to witness what is argu- sound was added. ably the most beautiful natural phenomenon. The exhibit SkyLore by Dayle The planetarium’s invited guest was Ter- Brown was on display during June ence Murtagh, general manager of Evans & at Spencer Gallery within the P-H-M Sutherland, who introduced to the audience library in Mishawaka. This provid- his latest planetarium production Experienc- ed a great opportunity to see Day- ing the Aurora. It is the first ever attempt to le’s original artwork that comprises capture the Aurora in all its glory and in a the illustrations for her book Sky- manner suitable for the large dome of a plane- lore from Planet Earth: Stories from tarium. The public was thrilled and, in fact, at- around the World. tendance was so great that instead of the three During the last week of April, all shows which had been scheduled for the eve- 680 Kennedy Academy students in ning, a total of six were finally screened and South Bend came through the plan- a very exciting day concluded around mid- etarium to learn about NASA astro- night. naut Michael J. Foreman. On 2 May In between the second and the third screen- Mike Foreman presented a fine pro- ing of the show, Dr. Ioannis Daglis, director of gram at the school, hosted by the the Institute for Space Applications and Re- planetarium. mote Sensing of the National Observatory of Michigan. The Cranbrook Insti- Athens, made his own introduction to the au- tute of Science in Bloomfield Hills rora. reports they are upgrading both their planetarium and observatory Great Lakes Planetarium over the next two years. The plan- Association etarium will upgrade to a Digistar 4 Illinois. After closing for renovations in with a new surround sound system September 2010, Adler Planetarium’s 81-year and LED lighting in the fall. The old sky theater—now named the Grainger Sky observatory will follow a year lat- Theater—underwent a complete transforma- er with a new dome and new tele- tion and opened again to the public on July scopes. 8. Adler Planetarium contracted Global Im- In Battle Creek, the Kingman Mu- mersion for the integration of a Fidelity Black seum joined the Kalamazoo Astro- 8K digital theater into the newly installed 71- nomical Society and Kalamazoo GLPA: The Ritter Planetarium at the University of Toledo, ft dome. Valley Museum for an awesome As- Ohio, is renovating both inside and out; the planetarium’s Peoria’s Lakeview Museum Planetarium tronomy Day. Approximately 200 dome before and after a new coat of paint. Photos by Nan- hosted its 11th running of the Interplanetary people attended the event, which cy Morrison 5K this past April, and had nearly double the culminated with a keynote address participants of last year. by Dr. Mike Brown, author of How I Killed Plu- Jim Gavio reports that the Erie Planetari- Construction of the Peoria Riverfront Mu- to and Why it had it Coming. um has received a grant and has been build- seum is moving forward on schedule. Open- The Exhibit Museum Planetarium of Ann ing a convex mirror fulldome system as well ing day is scheduled for 20 October 2012. Arbor is making plans for its fall grand open- as purchasing a portable planetarium to take The William M. Staerkel Planetarium at ing of Natural Selection. on the road. Jim and family were invited to be Parkland College reduced its schedule this The Delta College Planetarium in Bay City launch guests for the liftoff of STS-134 by their summer for Parkland’s summer session. The declared May as Astronomy Month at the astronaut friend Mike Fincke, who flew on the staff hosted their sixth wedding in June. Show planetarium, in conjunction with Interna- next-to-last Shuttle mission. creator Waylena McCully continues to work tional Astronomy Day and the anniversary of Alex Mak reports that the University of To- on Cosmic Colors for GLPA while Dave Leake Alan Shepard’s first flight on 5 May 1961. ledo’s Ritter Planetarium has been shut down and Carolyn Martin are deep into planning Visitors were treated to a live tour of the from late May so that they can remove their for GLPA’s annual conference in October. evening sky in the theater. After the evening Spitz A3P and various other projectors and re-

60 Planetarian September 2011 place them with a SciDome livered a variety of spe- XD from Spitz. Reopening is cial events dedicated to the scheduled for early October. 50th anniversary of the first Ritter will be the first manned spaceflight within planetarium to have this the framework of the cur- system installed. rent Russian Cosmonautics This summer, Ritter also Year. welcomed Dr. Michael Perm Planetarium orga- Cushing from the Jet Pro- nized two contests for the pulsion Laboratory as its best exhibition of children’s new Director. painting and the best vid- At the Sidney Frohman eo clip on cosmonautics ti- Planetarium in Sandusky, tled, after the words of the Lois Wolf has been using famous Soviet song, “Dusty the images and stories from pathways of remote planets Dayle Brown’s books for a will be marked by our foot- program titled Legends in prints.” the Autumn Skies. An unusual exhibition At the Bowling Green of children’s art has been State University Planetari- held by Planet LLC in St. Pe- um, Dale Smith continued tersburg. Six domes of var- running BG Fest 2011, fea- ious diameters have been turing programs he has cre- mounted on a large area and ated over the years that connected with each oth- show the connection be- er. This ensemble hosted in- tween astronomy and ev- teresting pieces of children’s eryday life. Allen Helfen, art offered to public. a BGSU 2011 graduate, was A fulldome show was awarded the 2011-2012 in- demonstrated and the re- ternship at Florida’s Buehler sults of the art contest were Planetarium. announced under a 10-m Wisconsin/Minneso- dome. Over 3,000 school- ta. The Minnesota Planetar- children from St. Petersburg ium Society’s ExploraDome participated in the contest. reached a milestone in April: Ufa Planetarium, the only 100,000 visitors! At approxi- planetarium in Bashkorto- mately 25 visitors at a time, stan Republic, organized that amounts to 4,000 in- children and youth con- dividual shows in just over tests in various categories, four years. Their summer such as art, space music, lit- schedule is filled with many erary activity, and comput- more appearances. RPA: (Top) Scale model of the Big Moscow Planetarium in the planetarium museum. Photo er graphics. by Vadim Belov. (Bottom) Big Moscow Planetarium reopening. Left to right: Chief archi- The UW-Milwaukee Plan- tect Sergey Anisimov, architect Olga Semenova, Chair of the RPA Board Zinaida Sitkova, Nizhny Novgorod Plane- etarium took advantage of and Secretary of the RPA Board Vadim Belov. Photo by Tamara Ushakova. tarium delivered a number the Harry Potter excitement of festive events to celebrate this summer with a pro- the 50th anniversary of the gram titled Starry Potter, which highlighted children’s programming and Time Bandits for first manned spaceflight. They including a the astronomical connections with the char- the general public. balloon launch by many dozens of school- acters in J. K. Rowling’s famous world of mag- After 43 years as an educator and 33 years children at the exact time of Yuri Gagarin’s ic and wizardry. teaching at Como Planetarium, Denny Brink- launch, a unique exhibition of Soviet post- Over the summer, the Gary E. Samp- man retired on 15 June. As Denny reflects, “Be- ers of 1950s-1970s dedicated to space explo- son Planetarium in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin ing a teacher in a planetarium has been one of ration, a ceremonial meeting of former Bai- worked on preparing New Horizons: Bridge to the highlights of my life.” konur launch site employees living in the city the Beginning and conducted one planetari- and region, and a wonderful amateur sing- um session per week for each of the summer Nordic Planetarium Association er concert called 108 Minutes: Songs by Space school astronomy classes in the Wauwatosa The biennial NPA Conference took place Explorers, lasting the same time as the space- School District. for the second time in a Baltic country. In flight by Gagarin and consisting of songs sung This summer, the Soref Planetarium in 2003 it was held in Tartu, Estonia. Now Nor- by famous Russian cosmonauts during their Milwaukee presented Morehead Planetari- dic and Baltic planetarians met in Riga, Latvia. spaceflights. um’s Earth, Moon & Sun, as well as the Hubble More information about the conference will The Moscow Planetarium has finally been IMAX film. be given in Planetarian 4/2011. opened after a long-term reconstruction on Also this summer, the Charles Horwitz 12 June. It had been closed since 1994. Former Planetarium in Waukesha, Wisconsin pre- Russian Planetarium Association Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov noted the sented Wish Upon a Star for Saturday morning On 12 April, all planetariums in Russia de- newly-constructed Nizhny Novgorod Plane-

September 2011 Planetarian 61 not very large area, the tablished several years ago and is intended to planetarium building furnish stipends for SEPA members not able has been supplement- to attend otherwise. Ten percent of all ven- ed by a few basement dor sponsorships are designated for the fund, levels, while the 25-m as are proceeds from the annual silent auc- concrete dome has tion. One item of note that was auctioned was been lifted by 6 meters. a Members Only jacket worn regularly by the The refurbished Big late Jack Horkheimer on his syndicated show, Moscow Planetarium is Star Gazer. currently Europe’s—or The 2012 SEPA conference will take place in maybe even world’s— Baton Rouge immediately prior to the IPS con- best equipped plane- ference. SEPA is planning a day of activities on tarium and one of the 22 June and a banquet that evening. More ac- most expensive. tivities may happen on Sunday, where an evening reception kicks off the IPS conference. Southeastern Because of the shortened schedule of the SEPA Planetarium conference due to IPS, SEPA will underwrite Association the meeting and banquet costs. Participants will be expected to cover their hotel costs. RPA: Exhibition of children art held by Planet LLC in St. Petersburg. Black The 2011 SEPA con- dome is the planetarium. Photo by Valery Yasimovich. ference held in Young Jacksonville, Florida was selected as the site Harris, Georgia was at- for the 2013 SEPA conference. The confer- tarium in 2007 during his visit to the city of tended by over 90 delegates and vendors. The ence dates are tentatively set for 18-22 June. Nizhny Novgorod and then decided to boost “on-time” conference was organized and mar- The host planetarium is currently under ren- reconstruction of the Big Moscow Planetari- shaled by planetarium director Steve Morgan ovation. This will mark the second time Jack- um to open it as soon as possible. with a little help from his friends. sonville has hosted a SEPA conference, the last However, it took over 3 years of intense Nearby Brasstown resort furnished accom- being in 1999. Full conference details will be work, including the insolvency processing of modations, vendor booths, meeting rooms, available in early 2013. the former planetarium owner and allocation and beautiful views of the high north Georgia Further information regarding SEPA is of additional large sum of money to complete mountains. The SEPA scholarship fund under- available at the website sepadomes.org. I the reconstruction. As a result, using the same wrote some conference costs. The fund was es-

In memory of Konstantin Alekseevich Porcevsky (4.09.1922 – 27.03.2011)

Konstantin A. Porcevsky was a man of an could tell simply, interestingly and clearly In 1979. because of amazing fate. Going through the war and cap- about something complicated and incompre- its 50th anniversary, tivity, he had a very interesting and impres- hensible, Porcevsky showed himself not only the planetarium was sive life when he had hard times, but Konstan- in lectures, but in articles and books about as- rewarded with Order tin Alekseevich acquired a strong character. tronomy. Being a person of a huge creative in- of Labour Red Ban- From early childhood Kostya was interest- dividuality, he possessed a magnetic charm. ner, and Porcevsky Konstantin Porcevsky ed in astronomy. In 1941 he finished school Porcevsky’s main work was in the chil- received the status and was called out up for military service. In dren’s astronomy study groups. Later, when of Honoured Worker 1942 in Kharkov he was taken prisoner. In he was a deputy director of science, he didn’t of Culture of the Russian Federation. With his 1943 he organized an escape and with 8 com- leave his students and followed their success. name we have the association of years of de- rades ran into a guerrilla band, where he con- In 1960 the future cosmonauts came to the velopment. tinued to fight. In May 1944 the partisan de- Moscow planetarium. In Stellar Hall Porcev- Konstantin Porcevsky had an occasion to tachments were dissolved. The senior sergeant sky held lectures about the astronavigation read lectures for a lot of significant and impor- Porcevsky commanded the platoon of subma- with their first team, which included a then tant guests. Indira Gandhi made a decision to chine gunners and came up to Berlin. Demo- unknown Yuri Gagarin. build a planetarium in India after visiting the bilized in October 1945, he then entered Mos- In 1972 Konstantin Porcevsky became the Moscow Planetarium. In 1987 the IX Interna- cow State University. director of Moscow Planetarium. He visited tional Congress of directors of planetariums In 1950 Porcevsky graduated from the as- the best planetariums of the world and adopt- took place with great success in Moscow Plan- tronomic department. He was a young speed practices and implemented cutting-edge etarium. cialist who came to Moscow planetarium to projection technology. In repertoire there ap- One more planetarium was opened with work as a guide, and he never left. Soon he peared new automated audiovisual programs. the help of Porcevsky. It is in a small town started reading the lectures in Stellar Hall. He In 1977 new equipment was installed in Stellar Trubchevsk in Bryanskaya region, where Kon- was a very talented lecturer, a broad-mind- Hall, a Karl Zeiss apparatus of the sixth gener- stantin was born in a family of a forester and ed person and who had really encyclopedic ation, which was the first from the line of op- a teacher. knowledge. His lectures were notable for great tic apparatus with automated control system. Very soon in Moscow Planetarium there skill and artistry. They were always on a top At that time Moscow Planetarium became will be an exhibition: “A Starry Man of the level and they were good examples for the the most attended place in the world—one World—Konstantin Alekseevich Porcevsky.” first-time lecturers. Being a popularizer who million visitors per year! - From the Moscow Planetarium

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Digital Theater September 2011 Planetarian www.es.com 63 [email protected] 64 Planetarian September 2011 that “His project Treasures of the Sky in the Mobile News mobile planetarium—it’s not just a show, (it’s) educational policy aimed at achieving the important goal: raising aspirations for knowledge of the unknown...” Susan Reynolds Button Alexey Shustrov, one of Nick’s former stu- Quarks to Clusters dents, is now general director of the company, 8793 Horseshoe Lane and two other former students also are em- Chittenango, New York 13037 USA ployed there: Andrew Fesenko, who is planetarium lecturer, and Dmitry Matsnev, who is +1 315-687-5371 chief programmer, computer graphics design- [email protected], [email protected] er and animator. Nick told me that his mission is not only to The Russian Experience ing the Council meeting, as is always the case. preserve astronomical exactness in the popu- At the end of June, my husband Tom and I This essential coming together of the affiliate larization of astronomy, but also to develop traveled to Russia for three reasons: representatives with the officers is the most and encourage exceptional teachers of astron- •• So that I could attend the IPS Council meet- productive way to get business done effec- omy. He wants these teachers to be passionate, ing as proxy representative for the Pacif- tively. but also to accurately teach the science. ic Planetarium Association (unfortunately, And as you know, from our president, we Currently the company has seven teams their IPS representative, Gail Chaid, was un- now have a new affiliate and a host site for composed of a driver who set up the plane- able to make the trip) and as chair of the IPS 2014. This decision-making process absolute- tarium and act as operator and a lecturer. The Portable Planetarium Committee. ly required this precious “face to face” time as two main lecturers are N.V. Mamun and An- •• So that we could attend the Russian Plan- we asked questions, expressed opinions, and drew Fesenko, who teach 6-10 classes every etarium Association conference, network voted. day, even on weekends, with only one day with colleagues from planetariums in that During the Russian Planetarium Associa- off each week if they are lucky. They travel to country, to see some old friends and to tion conference, which we attended at the schools, camps for children, and even the cir- make new friends. beautiful newly-renovated Nizhny Novgorod cus in and around Moscow. •• So that we could enjoy a small part of a Planetarium after the Council meeting, I de- Although they have expanded to some oth- beautiful country and some historic sites as livered a paper about the IPS Portable Plane- er cities in Russia and the Ukraine, their main tourists! tarium Committee and as a result was fortu- work currently is at the Polytechnical Muse- And what an awesome trip it turned out to nate to meet some people who are responsible um. be, just as we had anticipated! We first visit- for some of the recently expanding work of All the lessons are live. Nick says, “Our speed St. Petersburg, the Venice of Northern Rus- portable planetariums in Russia. cialization—astronomy—is the cornerstone of sia, and soaked up the beauty and history of all science.” He feels that in recent years this its parks, monuments, art, cathedrals, muse- Компания “Мобильные планетарии” subject has been undeservedly forgotten in ums, palaces, river and canals, the food and (“Mobile Planetarium”) his country and this company is out to recti- the friendly helpful people. First I was introduced to Nickolay Mamoo- fy that situation. Ironically, we ended up taking a tour with na (aka Nickolay Mamun, aka Nick), and then They do everything themselves. They de- some folks we met on the plane from Chicago. Alexey Shustrov. Nick is an astronomer and signed the dome and configure their own pro- They were a family of a 90-year-old father, Bo- was a distinguished lecturer at the Moscow jectors. They use Sony video projectors with ris Kacel, and his two grown children. The fa- Planetarium until it closed for 16 years. (The either their original fisheye lens or a mirror. ther was taking his children to visit Latvia, the grand reopening occurred country of his and his wife’s birth, after visit- just in time for us to visit!) ing St. Petersburg. Prior to 2002, he was the He had moved to the USA after surviving author and presenter of ra- the camps during World War II and had not dio programs called “Un- returned since, yet he remembered how to usual Astronomy,” “Star- converse in Russian and was able to keep up gazer” and “Archimedes,” as with the rest of us while carrying his big cam- well as television programs era and packages of items he purchased along aimed at amateur astrono- the way. mers. We discovered he had written a book about When the Moscow Plan- his experiences during the war, called From etarium closed and then Hell to Redemption, and I intend to get a copy while it was being renovat- for my next read. ed, Nick dreamed of how to We took the night train to Nizhny continue the planetarium’s Novgorod and were met at the train station tradition of excellence in by our wonderful host, Alexander Serber (aka education and to share his Sasha), who took us to our hotel and arranged passion for astronomy. a tour of the city for Council members, guests About 4 years ago, Mo- and families later that afternoon. This gra- bile Planetarium was creat- Nickolay Mamoona, Susan Button and Alexey Shustrov. You would never guess, from the serious faces, how dynamic these two gentle- cious hospitality and excellent organization ed, with Nick as the scien- men are! But you can tell how serious they are about their mission. I tific project manager. The continued for the rest of our stay in Russia. felt an immediate sense that they were kindred spirits. Photo provid- Much work was accomplished for IPS dur- Moscow newspaper stated ed by Susan Button

September 2011 Planetarian 65 (Left) The 5m dome in the hall of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia during the 2nd Moscow Festival of Science. October 9, 2009. Students entering the dome. The leftmost person in front of the dome is Nick. Photo by Tatiana Saenko (Right) The 6.5m dome in front of the State Museum of Cosmonautics during the First All-Russian Theoretical and Practical Conference of the School Museums of Cosmonautics on April 20, 2011. Photo by Vladimir Trifonov

When they use the mirror system only one Nick told me that they also do their own translation program online, I translated the person is needed to take the system to a venue. artwork, so I asked, by email, to further ex- following interesting show descriptions They have contracted with local factories plain what this meant. Dmitry replied, “After that are advertised on the Mobile Planetari- to produce the domes and fisheye lenses; this obtaining some experience with both spher- um website. Please excuse my poetic license keeps the cost reasonable. Dmitry Matsnev ex- ical mirror and fisheye types of projection, in this translation; I did not place quotation plains, “Our goal was not to financially wreck we’ve totally migrated to Nightshade.1 marks around the translation because it is not our customers. Our goal is to make a com- “We’re using both Windows and Linux ver- word for word. I just want you to get an idea of prehensive and feasible contribution to the sions of it. As constellation art now we’re us- the programs being offered. (An English ver- growth of the planetarium movement (not ing mixed images from the most beautiful at- sion of the website is in progress at eng.mob- only mobile ones), keeping the good tradi- lases in one set. But right now I’m working on ileplanetarium.ru.) tions of the more then 80-years of planetari- our own set of the constellation images. What •• A Walk through the Starry Sky um lecturers for schools in our country, pop- about all another graphics we’re using in our “If there was only one place on earth where ularization of astronomy, promotion of the shows? We’re doing almost all of images (ex- you could watch the stars, then people would formation of a scientific world outlook of ju- cept some astronomical photos which are in have flocked there to contemplate the won- nior and senior schoolchildren through nu- the public domain) by ourselves (2D and 3D ders of the sky and admire them,” so wrote the merous educational projects, etc. graphics).” Roman philosopher Seneca. “So when designing our lens we were acting During the first year of business, this com- But modern people living in cities, filled on the premise that our lens must be at a rea- pany developed several lessons. Using a free with electric lights at night, cannot enjoy the sonable price for the most potential custom- view of the sky. The best chance is in the win- ers in our country.” 1 Nightshade is free, open source astronomy simula- ter, during the long frosty nights; the big dip- tion and visualization software for teaching and ex- They are also working to improve the qual- per and Orion’s belt (which points brightest ploring astronomy, Earth science, and related topics. ity of the mirror that is used in some of their Nightshade is a fork of Stellarium software, but tai- star in the night sky, Sirius) and the Pleiades projection systems. Their biggest dome is 8 lored for planetarium and educator use. Nightshade can be found in the sky. meters and it can be used indoors or out. is a trademark of Digitalis Education Solutions, Inc. Briefly, the audience takes a round trip For more: www.nightshadesoftware.org.

The artwork of Dmitry Matsnev, from left: Jupiter from Io; inside the International Space Station; and the skies of Arcturus. All images courtesy Dmitry Matsnev

66 Planetarian September 2011 across the sky of Earth, from the latitude of both stationary and Moscow to the Southern Hemisphere and portable. Southern Cross, then all the way to the North They manufacture Pole. equipment for full- •• The Sun and Its Family dome and 3D projec- This lecture-demonstration visits each of tions (mirror system) the planets known since ancient times (as and develop fulldome well as Uranus and Neptune), and travels to content and organize the Kuiper Belt to discuss why Pluto was re- lectures in preschool cently attributed to the small bodies of the so- and educational insti- lar system. tutions. They manu- •• Myths about the Night Sky facture their own 5-m The first and one of the most popular plane- to 15-m domes, which tarium themes was associated with the myths are constructed with of ancient peoples of the sky. The first cos- a complex network of monauts, who studied the starry sky in the triangles. Moscow Planetarium, said that these myths While speaking helped them to memorize the location and with Mikhail, at the fi- relative position of stars and constellations in nal dinner of the Rus- the sky. sian Planetarium Con- •• Star Trek Humanity ference, I mentioned The first artificial Earth satellite was sent that one of my con- Chuhas (left) and Mikhail (right) and I had a difficult time conversing due to to outer space on October 4, 1957. A new era cerns is that many peo- the raucous karaoke singing at dinner! We did exchange contact informa- began in human history, the Space Age. But ple who purchase por- tion and will keep in touch. Photo provided by Susan Button the road to space was long and difficult and table planetariums just there were victims of tragedy. “Earth is the show movies and they do not have the expe- gies Planetarium at the Ontario Science Cen- cradle of humanity, but one cannot eternal- rience or educational background to provide ter, Toronto, Canada. ly live in the cradle.” These words of Konstan- accurate and effective educational lessons. He told me that they have created what tin Tsiolkovsky became one of the tenets of I suggested that they think about develop- has proven to be a very popular 20-minute the space age. ing some opportunities for professional de- program for children ages 1-5 and their par- •• Legends of the Zodiac velopment for their clients, maybe through ents. The only two objectives of the program Since ancient times, people noticed that the the Russian Planetarium Association. Mikhail are that the children become comfortable be- sun, moon and planets move against the back- said they were already thinking of starting a ing in the dark and that they are inspired to ground of the same stars. Subsequently, con- users group. I hope to hear more about their look up! The presenter’s assistant is a light up stellations were generated from these stars creative efforts to make progress on this in the moon-faced puppet. and they were called the Zodiac. The Zodiacal near future. I looked this program up on their website constellations reflect the cultural traditions of Contact information: [email protected] and loved their first statement, “Visit Toron- ancient Egypt, Babylonia, Greece and Rome. or [email protected]; website at en.ooo- to’s only public planetarium. This state-of- The website reports that a variety of new planeta.ru. the-art facility features a live presenter, mak- programs are in production with such titles as ing every presentation unique and out of this In the Depths of the Universe (a program about Eurodome-Sweden world!” deep space) and Stars Over Middle-Earth (star While chatting with my long-time friend Here is their program description: symbols in the works of JRR Tolkien). Lars Broman, representative for the Nordic Eyes on the Skies: “Our new planetarium pro- In his email, Dmitry told me that they have Planetarium Association, after the Council gram for children under the age of 5! Inspir- also obtained the status of official E-Planetar- meeting I discovered that his brother (Per) is ing young children and their caregivers to ium distributors just recently so they haven’t now selling a semi-permanent dome called look up at the night sky together. This one-of- had enough time for any real sales of E-Plane- the Eurodome. a-kind lively program introduces pre-school tarium so far. The Eurodome is a lightweight, low-cost children to the night-time sky through sing- But they are selling their own shows (both fabric dome mounted on a freely-standing ing, connect-the-stars constellations and a as a Nightshade script with graphics and as a frame in 16 or more sections. It comes in sizes journey to the moon. The program was de- video); they plan to sell their own fisheye lens- from 5 to 7.5 m and can accommodate 20-60 signed especially for our youngest visitors and es; and they are also working on their first in- people respectively. I hope to have more de- lasts no longer than 20 minutes to accommo- ternational (in Russian and English) fulldome tails about how it is being used when I get a date wandering minds and little feet.” show! Contact Information: mail@mobplan. chance to contact Per directly. Ian told me that a formal evaluation of this ru, mobileplanetarium.ru. Contact information: [email protected]; program is being conducted and their find- websites at www.planetarium.se and www. ings will be presented at the IPS 2012 Confer- LLC Planeta bakgard.se. ence in Baton Rouge. Website: ontarioscience- It was also a pleasure to meet Chuhas Dmi- centre.ca. try, general director, and Mikhail Vasilyevich, Toronto’s only public planetarium astronomer, of a company called LLC Planeta. During discussion with another long-time Signing Off: The Planeta website states that the compa- friend, Ian C. McLennan, representative for Well, that is all for this time. I hope to have ny was established in 2005 and its mission is the Canadian Association of Science Centres, I more information from Russia and elsewhere the revival of planetariums in general. They learned about an interesting presentation that for the next column; please send news and/or specialize in digital fulldome planetariums, was developed at the mobile CA Technolo- questions! I

September 2011 Planetarian 67 than this volume. As Seager puts it, “When Book Reviews asked about which planet or discovery is my favorite one, I like to reply that it is the next one, because in exoplanets, the best is yet to come.”

April S. Whitt Nature’s Blueprint: Fernbank Science Center Supersymmetry and the Search 156 Heaton Park Drive NE for a Unified Theory of Matter Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA and Force [email protected] Dan Hooper, published by Smithsonian Books/HarperCollins Publishers, 2008, ISBN Exoplanets pects in these fields. The chapters on forma- 978-0061448368. Sara Seager, ed., University of Arizona Press, tion include statistical studies of the types of Reviewed by Francine Jackson, Universi- 2010, ISBN 978-0816529452. planetary systems we might expect to form. ty of Rhode Island Planetarium, Providence, Reviewed by Christopher G. De Pree, Brad- The chapters on protoplanetary disk forma- Rhode Island, USA. ley Observatory, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, tion and evolution include recent observa- Georgia, USA. tional work. For someone wanting a book that introduc- The final section, on interiors and atmo- es a subject such as supersymmetry, Nature’s Published by the University of Arizona spheres is, of necessity, heavily dependent Blueprint stands out as one of the better choic- Press in collaboration with the Lunar and on solar system examples, and provides thor- es. Hooper does a very good job leading the Planetary Institute, Exoplanets is is a careful- ough summaries of our current understand- reader into the history of the search for the ly planned and executed volume that is per- ing of the formation and evolution of terres- particles leading up to the development of fectly timed to help theorists, observers, and trial and gas giant planets. this theory that, to many people, is equivalent interested astronomers understand the basics While these chapters are more descriptive in complexity to studying Mandarin. of exoplanetary theory and observation. in nature, they assume an understanding of One of the points I like in any history is to With contributions from more than 30 planetary geology that is far beyond general learn some of the little trivia about the im- authors, the book is divided into four parts: knowledge. portant people involved in the subject. For in- Exoplanet Observing Techniques, Exoplan- The contributors to the volume assume an stance, P.A.M. Dirac, one of the giants in the et Dynamics, Exoplanet Formation and Pro- advanced understanding of physics, mathe- world of physics, could only teach by read- toplanetary Disk Evolution, and matics, astrophysics, and ing his book in front of the class. Murray Gell- Exoplanet Interiors and Atmo- planetary geology. For Mann could read and do mental math at age 3. spheres. example, in the second We’ve all learned of the troubles Einstein had The first section contains an chapter of the introduc- in school. Yet, they, and many others, were overview of the history and prog- tory section, the authors able to collectively become players in what ress in the search for other planets, jump right in with New- is often considered a beautiful part of science. and sets aside much of the tech- ton’s Laws of motion Nature’s Blueprint traces the roots of super- nical detail of later chapters. This symmetry to Einstein’s work on relativity. chapter serves as an excellent in- From that came the problem of describing troduction for advanced under- and understanding the atom: its composi- graduate students interested in the tion, charge, and stability. field. From there, we go into the study of quan- While the intended audience is tum objects, and the incredible detail need- graduate students and profession- ed for the giants of physics to travel through als interested in entering this rap- the 20th century: breaking up the atom into idly growing field, there are several chapters as second or- even smaller parts, the symmetry of matter in addition to the introduction that are useful der differen- and antimatter and its relevance in the cre- to non-specialists. tial equations, ation of the universe, the quantities of ener- The second section (Exoplanet Observ- cross prod- gy in which each particle could exist, and the ing Techniques) contains thorough descrip- ucts, and oth- symmetry—and chaos—and back-again sym- tions of the dominant exoplanet search tech- er mathemat- metry involved in creating the beauty of the niques (radial velocity, transits, microlensing, ical methods subject. direct imaging, astrometry, and pulsar tim- that would be Hooper also reminds us of how discoveries ing). These chapters are written by innovators unfamiliar to a often happen when scientists aren’t actual- in those fields, and include not only a detailed general audience. ly looking for them, and frequently don’t be- description of the techniques, but also a sum- The volume is thoroughly referenced, and come, to the individual, the most important mary of the successes to date and future pros- the chapters read like well-written journal ar- part of their lifetimes. For example, his expose pects. ticles. Seager has successfully harmonized the on Johannes Kepler, wherein Kepler’s infa- The next two sections are theoretical in na- voices of many contributors. mous laws of planetary motion were, to him, ture, dealing with exoplanet dynamics and Without a doubt, the foundations laid in second to his Platonic solid model of the so- formation. Like the other sections, these chap- this volume will be built upon for many de- lar system. ters provide both a full description of current cades. While exoplanet research is a discipline Hooper creates a whole graduate student understanding, and a section on future pros- in its infancy, there is no better place to start model of discovery which, to anyone who

68 Planetarian September 2011 has had to decide on a program of study, is in- An Introduction to the Theory of The author’s style changes in the last half of genious. the book. In chapter 7, the patient reader is re- There are many books out there that claim Stellar Structure and Evolution, warded with a schematic description of stel- to introduce advanced physics to the general 2nd ed lar evolution built up from the theories in pre- audience. If you are new to or rusty with re- Dina Prialnik, Cambridge University Press, vious chapters. This description makes for an spect to this topic, try Nature’s Blueprint. It’s 2009. ISBN 978-0521-866040. enjoyable reading, and is (as the author states well worth your time. Reviewed by Jeremy A. Lusk, Department in the preface) the heart of the book. of Physics and Astronomy, University of A more complete picture is presented in Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA. chapter 9 using the insights astronomers have Skylore from Planet Earth: Venus gained from the use of complex numerical As a graduate student in astrophysics, I can Retold and illustrated by Dayle Brown, pub- simulations. A one-semester course will likely appreciate how hard it must be to write a text- lished by Author House, available at www.au- end here, with the remaining chapters on ex- book on stellar evolution. To formulate the thorhouse.com, 2010, ISBN 978-14520-22444. otic stars, interacting binaries, and the interac- theory, one must draw together knowledge Reviewed by April Whitt, Fernbank Science tions between stars and the interstellar medi- from a multitude of physics disciplines, for- Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. um left for interested students. mulate a small but stubborn set of differen- As a teaching tool, instructors will find well tial equations that describe the fundamental The next eagerly-awaited volume in Day- thought-out exercises to draw from, which physics of stellar structure, and delve into the le Brown’s Skylore from Planet Earth series is challenge the student to explore the ideas pre- generally unfamiliar realm of numer- here. The topic is Ve- sented in the text. Full solutions are provided ical simulation to meaningfully com- nus, the illustrations in the appendix so students can test their un- pare theory with observation. derstanding. are lovely, and the All of this must be done while hold- Frequent historical notes are included, stories are a beautiful ing the student’s interest and convey- which give students a valuable perspective on mix from all over the ing some measure of wonder that we the development of the subject. I can confident- world. humans have the power to know the ly recommend this book as the primary text Nearly every con- inner workings of the stars. Truly, this for a course on stellar structure and evolution, tinent is represent- is no small task. or as a supplemental text for students interested. Greek Aphrodite, In An Introduction to the Theory of ed in the topic. I Dawn’s Heart from Stellar Structure and Evolution, Dina the Kalahari, China’s Prialnik does a remarkable job of ful- Liu Chun, Australian filling the requirements above in a Books for the Kids Barnambir, Kuamachi slim volume. In the opening pages, from Venezuela, and she sets the stage the Native American Sharon Shanks for the remain- White Star Woman all grace these pages. Planetarian Editor der of the book, Each book in this series contains 15 stories. A frequent request I receive from teachers resolving to build The writing is simple enough for young- is to show moon phases in the planetarium a theory of stellar er readers. The intricate illustrations are and explain them to their students. We can do evolution that ex- full of details that children, as well as old- that, of course; the challenge is in how we do plains the prima- er readers, will enjoy discovering. Each re- it with different grade levels. ry features of the flects its parent culture. Rock art from the I’ll guess that explaining moon phases has H-R diagram. San people is adapted for Dawn’s Heart. been requested of skywatchers since people In the follow- The white bird of the aborigine ancestral started watching the stars, moon, and planets. ing chapters, Pri- being Barnambir recalls dot-design bark It’s no wonder that stories about the change- alnik uses basic paintings. Aztec glyphs mark the story of able moon are in every culture’s mythology. undergraduate Quetzalcoatl. Ishtar’s story is decorated You can’t miss it when it’s in the sky, and you physics to build with Babylonian carvings. wonder about it when it is not. up a model of stel- An introduction gives the reader infor- The stories that have been handed down mation about Venus the planet in its morning lar structure and through the ages are widely varied and won- and evening star aspects. An excellent glossa- evolution. Though concepts like hydrostat- derful, reflecting not so much a culture’s cos- ry follows, along with credits and referenc- ic equilibrium and radiative transfer may be mology, I think, but its creativity. Did an- es for both the writing and the illustrations. new to the reader, they are built from equa- cient people truly believe that the moon was And there is a page of information about sev- tions humble enough that the attentive stu- alive or was the actual manifestation of a god? en spacecraft that have explored Venus, from dent should be able to follow the logical pro- They might have lived many centuries ago, the Venera program in 1961 to Venus Express gression of the theories. but let’s give them a little credit for their abil- in 2005. The first half of the book focuses heavily ity to observe and know. I’ve found these books to be a real asset in on the theoretical development of simple stel- Eventually we figured out the truth behind the planetarium. The variety of tales is a wel- lar models and their equilibrium conditions. the changing shape, but until then the story- come resource for star stories, and many I had These chapters are the most mathematically tellers knew that an answer that wove a tale never heard before. intense of the book, and some readers may be and provided entertainment was sufficient. Previous volumes told stories of Orion, the put off by the sparse textual descriptions of Sylvan Dell Publishing sent three books for Pleiades and the Milky Way. The back cover the equations. The inclusion of florid histori- review. My thoughts on the first two appear of Venus indicates that two more books are cal quotes by the likes of Sir Arthur Eddington in the previous issue (June 2011); now it’s time coming soon: the Moon and the Sun. I’m look- are a welcome addition, but put into stark re- for the third. ing forward to them! lief the author’s more concise language. (Continues on Page 72)

September 2011 Planetarian 69 yet, then you need to. It’s called Mad Art Lab Waxing New (madartlab.com), a group blog about the inter- section of science, skepticism, and art. All Mad An eclectic collection of news about planetariums and people Art Lab contributors are artists representing a compiled by Sharon Shanks variety of media like webcomics, music, writing, and performance art. Don’t dismiss it as “yet another blog.” The On the move jlamm. It’s available on CD and in mp3 format links are great. I had to take time out from editing to follow a link to a video about a talk- Piyush Pandey, who has done a wonderful on cdbaby, and also through Amazon.com, ing robot head that sings in Mandarin Chinese job of keeping Planetarian readers up to date the Zune Marketplace, and iTunes. after scanning music with cameras in its eyes. about things under the dome in India, has re- And “free”—well, let’s say inexpensive—is a Farther down I spotted the word “planetar- tired from the Nehru Planetarium in Mumbai great price, too; you can download the album ium,” and was taken to a site filled with pic- to a position of administrator of the Jawaha- in mp3 format for just $5.00, and purchase the tures and a story about the “last wooden plan- rlal Nehru Memorial Fund’s branch office at CD for $8.00. etarium in the world.” Anand Bhawan, Allahabad. To watch a video of the music being used in I’m not sure what they mean by “wooden” During the past 34 years, Pandey has worked a planetarium program, check out www.you- planetarium; the photos weren’t clear enough at Nainital Observatory (now ARIES, 1973-76), tube.com/watch?v=8dW_gwbCcsA. to tell if the dome was made of wood (it the Mumbai Nehru Planetarium (1976-79), looked like your typical aluminum panel con- Jawahar Planetarium, Allahabad (1979-91), and A pre-school voyage struction to me). Besides, the Erie Planetarium Birla Planetarium, Kolkata (1991-2003), return- The Ontario Science Centre is reaching in Erie, Pennsylvania, is located in a former ing to Mumbai from 2003-2011. out to the youngest astronomers with an as- coach house; that counts as wood, doesn’t it? Anand Bhawan is the famous ancestral tronaut and a new program designed just for Regardless, the site told the story of the abode of the Nehrus. It offers a comprehen- them. It’s called Eyes on the Skies, and the cen- planetarium in Penza (Penzenska- sive exhibition of the ya Oblast), about 625 km south- Nehru family’s role in east of Moscow. The facility has the country’s struggle been closed for a number years, al- for freedom. Also, it has though whoever closed it down Jawahar Planetarium took the time to carefully store and Jawahar Bal Bhawan some of the exhibits in the plane- (a hobby centre for chil- tarium. dren). It’s a Zeiss, by the way, under “I had overseen this that “wooden” dome. Check it out planetarium (Jawahar) Piyush Pandey Jeremy Hansen at englishrussia.com/2011/08/10/ right from pre-construc- the-last-wooden-planetarium-in- tion stage to the next the-world. 12 years. Now the ZKP- 2 Zeiss (that I automated) is quite old and al- ter hopes to spark curiosity about the night ready the management there is thinking of re- sky in a new generation. Speaking of Steve Russo Just in case you haven’t heard, Steve has left placing it with something new soon.” “Our goal is to create a positive experience the Suits-Bueche Planetarium at the Schenect- Pandey promises to continue writing for within a nighttime environment so young ady (New York) Museum to become the direc- the Planetarian, and already has suggested a children become curious about the night sky, tor of the East Kentucky Science Center in Pre- story about why so many planetariums in In- our planet and its neighbours,” said Sara Po- stonburg. dia are called Nehru Planetariums. The Jawa- irier, researcher/programmer in Astronomy Russo, a legend on Dome-L for not being har Planetarium, for example, is named for & Space Sciences. “We hope the program in- afraid to speak his mind, will not be losing the first name of Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru, spires children and their caregivers to look up his beloved GOTO Chronos. The 40-ft dome India’s first prime-minister. at the night sky together.” at his new science center has a Chronos, a “But it would be better that I write in my ar- The program does this through songs, con- Skylase system, and a newly-installed Spitz ticle a paragraph about the building that was nect-the-stars constellations, and a journey to SciDome HD. Megan Dominguez has taken a witness to many important phases of India’s the moon. over at Suits-Bueche Planetarium. freedom movement (we got our freedom in Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Russo: “She may have been ‘behind the 1947) and how Nehru never missed visiting a Hansen narrates the program. scenes’ for most of the time, but those of you planetarium on his trips abroad.” Eyes on the Skies follows a simple narrative who know her know how valuable she was More information about his new institu- that begins with the kids in the city at sunset, to the planetarium. Without her the Suits- tion can be found at jnmf.in and jnmf.in/in- transports them to a nighttime country sky, Bueche Planetarium would not have been stitutions.html. and then blasts off from earth for a trip to the moon, returning home in time to watch the able to do two major renovations in eight Free is a good word sun rise. For more information, go to www.on- years. For the past several years it was often referred to as ‘Steve’s Planetarium.’ It is now Me- “Royalty free” is something planetarians tariosciencecentre.ca. But Planetarian readers gan’s Planetarium.” like to hear, and composer J. Lamm is saying should be aware: you have to be 5 or younger just that. Lamm is the composer for Form & to be admitted to Eyes on the Skies. Void: A Digital Universe. It’s a nice collection Laying down the laser pointer Don Knapp has retired from the H. W. of the music we like to use behind our home- A mad type of site Ray Special Experience Room at Centenni- produced programs and for walk-in; you can Steve Russo suggested a cool site a while check it out, like I did, at www.cdbaby.com/ back on Dome-L. If you haven’t checked it out (Continues on Page 72)

70 Planetarian September 2011 Moles What is out there?

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Contact: Alexander Zaragoza - [email protected] - tel. (+34) 933 323 000 - Barcelona, Spain Distributors: www.antares-fulldome.com/distributors September 2011 Planetarian www.antares-fulldome.com71 (Books, continued from Page 69) How the Moon Regained Her Shape by Janet changing shape is she dwindles when she is in- Shape, however, has an “extra” in its illustra- Ruth Heller, illustrated by Ben Hodson, Syl- sulted, but then “remembers her good friends tions. On the corner of each page are illustra- van Dell, 2006. on Earth and regains her strength and full- tions that make a correct flip book animation This is a retelling ness.” of the moon’s phases. of a Native American In The Night the Moon Fell, Earth- Sylvan Dell always includes an education- story, and because I ly friends again come to the rescue, al section at the end of their books. How the found it so similar this time the little fishes who feel Moon Regained Her Shape has a good glossa- to a book I had just sorry for Luna. They sing for her, ry and suggested projects, and they include a purchased that I de- round up all her simple moon cycle dial that also can be down- cided to include the broken splin- loaded from their web site. second book in this ters and put her And, unfortunately, they get an “ack” this review. It is a retelling back togeth- time for deciding to include the typical one- of a Maya myth, The er again. Again diagram-to-explain-everything-about-moon- Night the Moon Fell, by round, she be- phases illustration. I realize that the end mat- Pat Mora, illustrated by Domi, Groundwood gins to float to ter is for teachers and parents, but if I have a Books/House of Anansi Press, 2009 (paperpack the sky and she hard time reading the explanation, then I edition). invites her new wouldn’t expect other adults to do it either. In both books, the moon, a female charac- amigos to come It’s a shame, because the information is good. ter, has left the sky and come to Earth. In one, with her. They The educational material also misses a the moon is shamed by the sun and becomes do, where “they chance to talk about eclipses. The moon is so depressed that she shrinks and leaves the twinkle through embarrassed by the sun because “one day she sky. In the other, the moon was startled and the night, and Luna smiles her white light.” danced across the face of the sun. The earth fell into the ocean, where she broke into sil- Both stories take the moon from the realm darkened ...” and the sun speaks angrily to her. very splinters. of the supernatural to our world on Earth and This, of course, is a solar eclipse, and it is not The moon in How the Moon Regained Her it is through intervention that the moon is included in the end matter. Shape has the help of caring people, who as- able to return to the sky. They tell stories of But the “ack” and omission in the educa- sure her that they value her and miss her pres- kindness, empathy, and support, traits that are tional section certainly do not diminish the ence in the sky. They bolster her confidence good for young children to assimilate. value of the book, and both books are excel- so much that she dances and sings her way Both are vividly illustrated, a necessity for lent for bedtime story storytelling—for any back to her skypath. The explanation for the children’s books. How the Moon Regained Her time in history. I

(New, continued from Page 70) al School District’s McDonald Elementary The Star Quest (the Cleveland Regional Associa- School in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Fundanas are $3.50 tion of Planetariums) and re- As one of his last major duties, he, along wholesale, and Ca- mained very active in the group with Kim Small, Upper Dublin School District ryl Fox from Im- until some years ago when his Planetarium in Dresher, Pennsylvania, and ports Unlimited health began to fail, prevent- Keith Johnson from Edelman Planetarium at notes that there ing him from attending our meet- Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, is no mini- ings with his enthusiastic regularity. hosted the 2011 MAPS conference. mum order. All of us who were fortunate to know Knapp began his planetarium career in The ban- him will miss not only his warm friend- 1972 as planetarium coordinator for the Bar- dana also can be ship, but also his strong dedication to tholomew Consolidated School District in customized with logos good science teaching, and particularly his Columbus, Indiana. He served as planetarium for a minimum of 60 bandan- creative programs for the planetarium as a director for the Schenectady (New York) Mu- as and a one-time set-up fee of $20.00. teaching environment which he so willingly seum and Planetarium from 1979-1982, and Check the website at www.fundanaban- shared with his fellow planetarians. was in charge of the Science Museum’s Hop- danas.com, or you can contact Caryl directly -Jon Marshall kins Planetarium in Roanoke, Virginia from at [email protected]. 1982-1986. He became planetarium director In memoriam: Raymond Stein for the Centennial School District in 1986. In memoriam: Bill Kobel Raymond J. Stein, 81, of Chester Township, Bill D. Kobel, 84, passed away at his home in New Jersey, passed away on April 18, 2011. He Wear your stars on your head North Ridgeville, Ohio on April 15, 2011 after was the founding director of the Newark Mu- Or around your neck, but don’t blow your a long illness. He was retired from the science seum’s Dreyfuss Planetarium, the first plane- nose on them! Imports Unlimited makes a department at Fairview High School in Fair- tarium built in New Jersey. unique, hands on product designed to teach view Park, where he had served as head of the A curator, educator and scientist for more kids and adults to read the night sky in a fun, department, planetarium director, and chem- than 30 years, he was a fellow of the Royal As- different way: Star Quest Fundanas. The “Fun- istry teacher. He had also worked at the Lake tronomical Society and served as director of the dana,” a bandana printed with a sky chart, Erie Nature and Science Center’s Schuele Plan- New York Section of the American Astronom- which makes it easy to carry, wash (just in case etarium. ical Society and as chair of the American Asso- you really have to blow your nose) and reuse. He was one of the early members of CRAP ciation of Museums’ Planetarium Section. I

72 Planetarian September 2011 NOW AVAILABLE FOR YOUR FULLDOME AND PLANETARIUM THEATER! A New Fulldome Show From Evans & Sutherland Narrated by Patrick Stewart

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Secret Lives of Stars AD.indd 1 7/14/2011 3:45:36 PM Planetarians’ Calendar of Events

2011 31 March. Deadline for application for scholarship funds (IPS sup- 2-4 September. Nordic Planetarium Association Biennial Conference port Baton Rouge Conference attendance by individuals). www. in Riga, Latvia. Conference host Dace Balode, [email protected] ips-planetarium.org 4-8 September. 6th Science Centre World Congress, Cape Town, 14-15 April. Brembate di Sopra, Bergamo, Italy. Italian Association of South Africa. www.astc.org Planetaria (PLANIT), XXVII National Conference, Italy, and 2nd 9-10 September. British Association of Planetaria (BAP), AGM and Full-Dome Italian Festival. During the conference Skype session conference, World Museum Planetarium, Liverpool, United Kig- for planetarians from other countries. www.planetaritaliani.it; co- dom. Shaaron Leverment, [email protected] tact [email protected] 16-18 September. Planetaria 2011: Meeting of German small domes 18-20 April, “Quality, Honesty and Beauty in science and technolo- and school planetariums, Sternwarte und Planetarium Adolph gy communication,” PCST-International Public Communication Diesterweb, Radebeul, German. Contact Ulf Peschel, mail@stern- of Science and Technology Conference XII, Palazzo dei Congres- warte-radebeul.de, www.sternwarte-radebeul.de si, Florence, Italy 20-22 September. Giant Screen Cinema Associa- May. ECSITE Annual Conference (European Network of Science tion, GSCA 2011 International Conference and Centres and Museums). Site and dates will be available after 25 Oc- Trade Show, BOB Bullock Texas State History Mu- tober 2011. www.ecsite.eu seum, Austin 5-7 May. ADP 2012, Annual meeting of German speaking planetar- 23 September, TX Dome Day, Fort Worth Museum ia, Planetarium Wolfsburg, Germany. www.planetarium-wolfs- of Science & History, giantscreencinema.com burg.de 3-7 October. OA3: Planetaria-the public gate to 8-12 May: 6th FullDome Festival in the Jena Zeiss-Planetarium. Jena, modern space science, European Planetary Science Germany. The 6th FullDome Festival again will show full-length Congress and DPS Meeting 2011, Cité Internationale des Congrès, feature shows, lots of student works and clips of independent and Nantes, France. meetings.copernicus.org/epsc-dps2011 professional producers. The main topic of the Festival will be “Dis- 10-14 October. The 4th conference in the series Communicating As- solving Space” - How to use fulldome content to make the dome tronomy with the Public will take place in Xiyuan invisible. An international jury will present FullDome Awards for Hotel, Beijing, China. Following the previous con- the best entries. Contact: Schorcht Volkmar, [email protected] ferences, CAP2011 aims to conquer the online and 17-20 May. Association of French Speaking Planetariums (APLF), social territory of outreach and train science com- Yearly Meeting, Planétarium de Bretagne, Pleumeur-Bodou, municators to engage with the people of today and France, France. www.aplf-planetariums.org tomorrow. The conference will also present the fi- 20-21 July. International Planetarium Society Council Meeting, Ba- nal statistics of the International Year of Astrono- ton Rouge, Louisiana. my (IYA2009), as well as look at how outreach ac- 22-26 July. 21st International Planetarium Society Conference, tivities can be encouraged in the developing world. Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, Louisiana Art & Science www.communicatingastronomy.org/cap2011/in- Museum, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, [email protected], dex.html www.ips2012.com 14-16 October. DomeFest 2011, Albuquerque e Santa Fe, New Mexico. 13-16 October. Association of Science-Technology Centers Contact: [email protected] (ASTC) Annual Conference, COSI (Center of Science and In- 15-18 October. Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) dustry), Columbus, Ohio. www.astc.org Annual Conference, Maryland Science Center, Baltimore, USA. www.astc.org Yearly Deadlines for 19-22 October. Great Lakes Planetarium Associ- “A Week in Italy” ation (GLPA), Annual conference, hosted by the 15 September. Deadline for the applicants of “A Week in Italy for an William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland Col- American Planetarium Operator,” in collaboration with IPS Porta- lege, Champaign, Illinois, USA. Contact: David C. ble Planetarium Committee. Leake, Planetarium coordinator, +1 217-351-2567, 30 September. Deadline for the applicants of “An experience in Ita- fax +1 217 351-2581. [email protected], www.gl- ly for a British Planetarium Operator,” in collaboration with BAP. paweb.org For more information on the “Week in Italy,” go to: www.astro- 2-4 November. Annual Digistar Users Group meet- filibresciani.it/Planetari/Week_in_Italy/-Week_Italy.htm ing at Stardome Observatory, Auckland, New Zealand. www.digis- For corrections and new information for the Calendar of Events, tardomes.org please send a message to Loris Ramponi at osservatorio@serafino- 15-20 November. Association of Brazilian Planetariums (ABP), For- zani.it. taleza, Brazil. www.rio.rj.gov.br/planetario More details about several of these upcoming events are included in 31 December. Deadline for IPS Eugenides Foundation Script contest. the International News column and elsewhere in the Planetarian. www.ips-planetarium.org (see page 22) The most up-to-date information also is available online at the In- ternational Planetarian’s Calendar of Events at www.ips-planetar- 2012 ium.org/events/conferences.html I 18 March. International Day of Planetaria. www.dayofplanetaria.org

74 Planetarian September 2011 September 2011 Planetarian 75 Last Light

April S. Whitt Fernbank Science Center 156 Heaton Park Drive NE Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA [email protected]

It’s a launch and landing version of the col- killing time by bouncing off the wall. And the umn this month, gentle readers. floor. Repeatedly. School is back in session, and we open with So they go into the dome and a few minutes a college exam question and answer forward- later I closed the doors to start. After 3 hours at ed by alert reader Jack Dunn: the museum, though, the kid just really didn’t Q: Why did astronomers identify Pluto as a want to be there. You know how little kids planet at the time of its discovery? What sci- are—they will ratchet up the annoying behav- entific evidence led to its reclassification? ior until the parents take them somewhere A: Many scientist has dismemebere Pluto else. as being a legit planet because they have now He was sitting on his dad’s lap, squirming ruled it to be a double dwarfed star. and talking loudly, clearly preparing for his There are some pretty creative parents out HHH future career as a pro wrestler. I nearly asked there. Young Cole had his birthday party at the science center in July, shortly after the last shut- Dave Hostetter shared this adventure in them to remove him during my lights-up in- tle launch, and apparently he’s always wanted planetarium land: troduction, but then he settled down. Then to be an astronaut. This is the cake his mother I opened the doors today for the 2:45 con- started up again. baked for the occasion: a Saturn V rocket that stellation program. Among the waiting peo- At some point I turned to look at him, and lifted off from a launch pad and gantry—all ed- ible, except for the car antenna and motor that ple was your basic family: two parents, a mid- discovered he had removed his flip-flop (foot- launched the rocket from the cake/pad. They dle school girl, two elementary school girls, wear)—and had it in his mouth! I’ve been had a recording of a launch count-down on one and a 4-year-old boy who seemed pretty ant- working in planetariums for 35 years, and this of those i-devices, and at the appropriate mo- sy. I mentioned to them that if the boy was I had never seen before. ment (“…and liftoff!”) the rocket rose off the noisy during the program, they would need To complete the picture, the sole of the flip pad. Pretty amazing! Photo by Ed Albin, Fern- bank Science Center to take him out of the dome. To my astonish- flop was dark red and it looked like a gigantic ment, he settled right down and was no prob- tongue hanging down to his belt. lem at all. Dad, meanwhile, was trying to pull the moved up a couple rows to get away from When I opened the door for the 4:00 pro- thing out of his mouth. He got it out and put him. Can’t say I blamed them. gram, they were back. I let them know that it on the floor, and the kid squirmed down, At some point as the lights started down, the 4:00 was essentially identical to the one picked up the flip-flop, returned to his father’s the little guy squirmed away from his father, they had seen at 2:45, but they decided they lap, put it back in his mouth and started chew- leaving the flip-flop behind, climbed up on wanted to see it anyway. The difference was ing on it. The father tried to pull it away again, his mother’s lap, and went to sleep like some- that this time, the little boy was bouncing off but the kid kept turning his head back and one had hit his “off” button. He was still out the wall. forth so the father couldn’t get a grip. when they left the theater after the program I mean that literally, by the way. He was Meanwhile, the girls left their seats and ended. Other than that, it was a perfectly normal program. I

IPS President-elect Thomas Kraupe participated in a recent meeting of the Italian Associa- Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off for the last time on 8 July 2011. Thousands of visitors groaned in unison tion of Planetaria through Skype. Isn’t tech- at the hold ordered 31 seconds before launch. (The announcer said, “We have a failure,” and the NASA nology great? Loris Ramponi contributed this representative with us muttered, “I hate the f-word…”), but all went well. Photo by George Fleenor photo by Gabriele Umbriaco.

76 Planetarian September 2011 Check it out!

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Essential Features AD v2.indd 1 7/15/2011 5:12:39 PM