OUR SHOWS

Show outline for Primary and Secondary Schools Yrs 3 -12

Before the Show

Introduction to the Planetarium

1. Models: 'Earth on a stick' - the apparent motion of the stars; the Australian flag and the Southern Cross

2. Behaviour: Children are asked to remove their shoes before entering the planetarium. Most of the show is in total darkness. The children will be very excited by the new experience, so we rely heavily on friendly discipline being maintained by the class teacher. Student interaction is fundamental to the presentation (and generates a bit a fun!) and opportunity will be provided for this.

3. Group photo: We provide the opportunity for each class to have their photo taken with the Planetarium. We send the school a laminated copy as a memento of our visit and can provide access to the photo on our web site www.starrynight.com.au subject to school policy.

Marie will enter the dome; the students line up at the entrance and will enter as directed. We ask the class teacher to enter last. This procedure is essential for safety of children and care of the dome and equipment

Below is a typical 40-minute programme, however each show is unique and partly determined by the individual class or group. The main feature of every show will include parts 1, 2 and 3 below, with specific detail and jargon appropriate to the attending class. The second part of the show (part 4 below) is a multimedia segment and serves as an enrichment exercise.

1. Tonight's Sky .We will show what stars and planets are visible in the sky tonight (locally) and tips on how to find some of the more obvious ones - e.g. Sirius; Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Southern Cross, Orion; and moon, if visible that night. (main concepts: stars; the sun as a star; constellations; planets; distances in space)

2. The Earth Spins! We start up the motor and the stars move across the sky - just as they will do tonight (if you stay up all night to observe them!), except our star projector "speeds up" this process! We also illustrate this with a model (main concepts: Earth's spin/rotation; relative motion; background stars; day/night)

3. The Zodiac .We will use a different star cylinder to show how the ancient Greeks saw the sky - pictures of various animals (Taurus the bull; Cancer the crab etc) will be projected onto the dome - a visual treat! (main concepts: past cultures and their influence today; ecliptic= annual path of sun across sky)

4. Video/Slide show. We show a short video or slide show (5-10 minutes), the content of which depends upon the specific class. We welcome teacher requests here - we might already have a presentation on a pet topic? (see list of available presentations below) On conclusion the teacher leaves the dome first, followed by the students - and hopefully, a good time was had by all!