2009 is the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) celebrating the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of a telescope to study the nighttime sky. This profoundly changed our understanding about the natural world and showed we can take control of our destiny through the use of Science!
World-renowned Canadian astronomer Dr. Ian Shelton is working in collaboration with the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to bring the nighttime sky right to your school using the ROM’s giant mobile Starlab Planetarium†. You will see an accurate recreation of the nighttime sky containing thousands of stars exactly matching their appearance and their motion during the night and at different times of the year. Dr. Shelton will show you how to recognize the most important constellations, will teach you how to use stars to tell time and navigate the globe, and will show you where to look to see some of the sky’s most remarkable sights. You will learn about current news and upcoming celestial events and get informed answers to all your astronomy questions.
Don’t miss this opportunity for your students to learn about astronomy from a professional astronomer in the convenience of their own school during regular school hours. Presentations are appropriate to age-level following the Ontario Schools curriculum guidelines and can be tailored to match your own specific needs.
Schools can book individually for a full day of up to five 1-hour presentations, each with up to 50 students (including supervisors). Each presentation can be delivered to a different K-12 grade-level. The fee is $700, transportation and labor included. More details and contact information are available at the ROM’s website:
www.rom.on.ca/programs/starlab.php.
In celebration of the IYA, the professional astronomers of Richmond Hill have partnered with the Richmond Hill Naturalists to provide the Starlab program at a reduced price of just $500 for a full school-day and even less for half days and evening programs during the month of June only. Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to learn about the nighttime sky from the professionals. For a schedule of available dates and to make online reservations, please go to:
www.astro.utoronto.ca/~shelton/starlab/reservations.html
For more information, please contact: Dr. Tuba Koktay at (416) 829-4482.
For smaller groups, we can provide any of our presentations using a conventional screen for both the talk and the simulation of the nighttime sky. The cost is $160 per class of up to 40 students and $4 per additional student. For more information, please contact Dr. Tuba Koktay at (416) 829-4482.
† The giant Starlab requires at least 27 × 27 feet (8.2m × 8.2m) of indoor floor space with at least 14 feet (4.3m) of clearance overhead.
SUGGESTED PRESENTATIONS
We arrive at your school approximately one hour before the start of your school day and set up the Starlab planetarium in a predetermined space (generally a gymnasium or large multi-purpose room†). We can be ready to start with your first class of the day. It takes about 10 minutes to learn how to enter and behave in the Starlab and for everyone to get inside. Presentations generally run about 45-60 minutes, with plenty of opportunity for questions throughout the presentation. We tailor presentations to support the Ontario Schools curriculum and can adjust the content to meet your specific needs.
Suggested presentations are as follows:
Grades K-1 “Constellations and the Stories They Tell”
…meant to be a friendly first encounter with the nighttime sky. The partially darkened dome is covered with graphical representations of the people and animals represented by the constellations. Stories from mythology are told about the figures to keep the student’s attention and help them remember some easily recognizable patterns in the nighttime sky. These presentations are generally kept to just 30 minutes and spend a lot of time making the students feel comfortable with being in the dark, emphasizing that they have nothing to fear if they are sharing the nighttime sky with their parents and friends.
Grades 2-4 “Being an Astronomer” + “Constellations and the Stories They Tell”
…within the Starlab, we begin with a slide-presentation showing what it’s like to be an astronomer, followed by an all-sky recreation of the nighttime sky using both graphical representations of the constellations and just the stars. Concepts like gravity, Earth’s rotation and the cause of the seasons will be discussed. Students will be challenged with details about current celestial events to look for with the help of their parents.
Grades 5-8 “Exploring Our Solar System” + “Recognizing and Using Constellations”
…begins in the Starlab with a slide-presentation giving an overview about astronomy, explaining how the Earth’s motion creates day, night and the seasons and exploring the planets and other bodies in our solar system. We then demonstrate the effects of light pollution using the main Starlab projector and then generate an accurate recreation of a truly dark nighttime sky with over 3000 stars. Important constellations are pointed out and students will be provided with details about current celestial events to look for with the help of their parents.
Grades 9-12 Richly-illustrated slide presentations are available on many different topics, including:
- “Space Exploration & Visiting the Planets In Our Solar System”
- “Black Holes, White Dwarfs & Other Extreme Beasts”
- “The Physics of Starlight”
- “Extrasolar Planets & the Search For Life In the Universe”
These slide presentations can be augmented by the use of the Starlab to review the major constellations, the motions of the celestial sphere and to take students on a tour of the nighttime sky to point out objects of historic and current importance such as the closest stars, newborn stars, dying stars, star clusters, stars with extrasolar planets and the planets in our own Solar System. Questions and further discussion are always welcome.
