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Published on February 4th, 2010

Traveling stars and planets

By TAMMY JUDD

The University of Alaska's Museum of the North visited Dillingham and Togiak last week to make presentations to the schools and hold community science nights in both towns.

The primary feature of the presentation was a digital planetarium, which Chris Cannon, an education outreach specialist with the University of Alaska Museum of the North, said may be the only portable planetarium of its kind in Alaska.

The planetarium is a digital STARLAB projection system has 4-meter and 6-meter diameter domes which can be transported as checked luggage or by small plane when traveling to more remote locations. The planetarium can be set up in school gymnasiums or small community centers.

According Kerynn Fisher of the UA museum, a NASA grant of $488,000 was given to the university in 2008 to help bring the planetarium to communities in rural Alaska.

The intent of the three-year program was to bring the show, along with community activities, to inspired students, particularly Alaska Native students, to choose careers in science and engineering.

The planetarium shows are designed to illustrate grade-specific space science concepts; workshops for local teachers; and provide educational materials and activities to be used throughout the school year, according to Fisher.

The digital portable planetarium was purchased by UAF in 2007 with funding from BP and Conoco Phillips, she said.

Cannon is one of the educators who travels with the planetarium. He said on a typical trip they present at the schools until all of the students have had a chance to go through the planetarium.

"We also typically offer a community science night at each location, which is free and open to everyone. These are generally hosted by the elementary school, one night only, for about two and a half hours," Cannon wrote in an e-mail.

In addition to the planetarium there are hands-on science activities outside the dome for kids and their families to participate in while they waited for a planetarium presentation. General the activities are geared for kindergarten to sixth-grade students but it varies across locations.

"Our school presentations align with the Alaska grade-level expectations plus much more depending on bell times and the amount of time we have with each group (generally limited to 25-50 minutes)," Cannon wrote.

To date, he said, the program has reached nearly 7,000 people about 5,000 of them were students, K-12.

The planetarium was at Dillingham Elementary School on Jan. 25 and 26 and the community science night was on the first night. The event was co-hosted by the UAF Bristol Bay Campus. The planetarium visited Togiak on Jan. 27 and 28.

Fisher said the community nights have a more general focus with elements that the entire family can enjoy and appreciate. Part of the program outreach plan is to get the community involved.

"We want the families to be part of this science education, as well, so the excitement about science is something that's a shared experience. Rather than having the kids talk about what they did in school, for example, the entire family can have a dialog about what they saw," Fisher said.