A Field Trip to the Stars

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A Field Trip to the Stars
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Planetarium Vision Statement The North Atlanta
Planetariums vision is to help visitors see the
sky as a source of inspiration for life by
enriching their understanding of astronomy and
space science.
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Planetarium Mission Statement The
planetarium will supplement Atlanta Public
Schools instructional program so that by the
year 2007, 100 of our schools will meet or
exceed 70 of their targets while closing the
achievement gap.
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The North Atlanta Planetarium began the first
year of operation in 1969 as one of three
planetarium facilities with a Spitz A4 star
projector.
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The three facilities were purchased by Atlanta
Public Schools to supplement the curriculum needs
of a school system that wished to be at the
forefront in the science education of students
during the pioneering years and beyond of a space
science and astronomy program managed by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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The planetariums representation of a truly dark
sky is the main backdrop for the teaching of
these explorations and discoveries.
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The planetarium is the place where teachers bring
their students to be enlightened by such great
space endeavors as space walks by the Gemini
project, Apollo moon missions, and planetary
exploration by the Voyagers, Galileo, and Mars
Landers
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and the present day unraveling of cosmic
mysteries like quasars, black holes, dark matter
and energy by ground-based and Hubble-like
orbiting telescopes.
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• Each year about 10,000 students participate in
  standards-based planetarium programs aligned with
  state and local system needs. These programs
  serve grade levels Pre-K - 12   and specifically
  list and address designated Georgia Performance
  Standards in science and other disciplines like
  social studies, chemistry and math.

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Even though the stars over Atlanta have become
progressively dimmed by city lights during this
time, the planetariums main focus has been to
interpret the motions of the earth, planets, and
moon under a truly dark background sky filled
with recognizable constellations. The
planetariums ability to do this is upstaged only
by the real night sky.
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Most Atlanta city schools are within a
thirty-minute driving radius of the planetarium,
which is situated on the campus of North Atlanta
High School. Teachers begin the scheduling
process by filling out a reservation form
provided by the planetarium website http//www.ap
skids.org/teach/planet/star.htm. The website
also has a schedule for all planetarium shows
which includes a description of the show,
performance standards and teacher preparation
material.
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• The planetarium website also provides the
  following
• Astronomy Hotline Number [phone]
•    A monthly calendar of celestial events
•    A telescope loan program
•    Current links to many astronomy and space
  science websites
•  

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After receiving a confirmation date from the
planetarium, the visiting schoolteachers follow
their local schools procedure for processing a
fieldtrip.  Upon arrival at the planetarium
facility, the students participate in a 45-minute
program. The current sky is always a part of each
planetarium presentation.  
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At the elementary level, students establish their
place in the universe by observations of the
earth, moon, planets and stars. Knowledge of the
planetariums star patterns helps to complement
the understanding of these concepts of place and
time.
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During middle school planetarium visits, the
students expand upon this understanding of the
universe. Each program engages students in
activities in which they use star wheels,
astrolabes, telescopes, spectroscopes, solar
scopes, and models to scale the sizes and
distances of objects in the universe.
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At the high school level, students begin to see
how technology is used in their conceptualization
of processes in solar systems, stars, and
galaxies.
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Each visit lasts about one hour. During this
time, the students may also visit and become
actively involved in the planetariums display
area.
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• Here they may view some of the early facets of
  the NASA Space Program such as
• Mercury
• Gemini
• Apollo
• and the more current
• Hubble Space Telescope
• International Space Station.

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• The display area visit is also a good time for
  teachers to review and even evaluate their
  students comprehension of concepts presented in
  the planetarium.

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• The planetarium visit provides many unique
  learning opportunities for students and their
  teachers beyond the classroom.

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SENSING THE NIGHT SKY AT THE PLANETARIUM