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Grade 6 students draw pictures of constellations before venturing inside the StarLab portable planetarium.
Sixth-grade students step into portable planetarium to learn about constellations
Oct. 16, 2012
Sixth-graders got an up close and personal look at the constellations when the StarLab portable planetarium made a recent stop at Watervliet Elementary School.
A Dudley Outreach Educator set up the inflatable planetarium in the school’s small gym to present a program about the significance of the constellations and how they were used centuries ago to tell stories (think Greek mythology) and for navigational purposes. Before venturing inside the dome, students shared their knowledge of the constellations and had a chance to draw their very own constellations.
The StarLab is an inflatable dome that houses a projector inside. The projector holds cylinders that show the night sky with different sections highlighted based on the topic that is being taught. One cylinder features all of the major constellations from the night sky.
The Dudley Observatory’s StarLab program is available to schools through the Capital Region BOCES.