Everybody Wants to be a StarLab Educator!

Everybody Wants to be a StarLab Educator!

Word is out, and educators are passing on the news about Geminiʻs StarLab Loan Program! Gemini North and South both have portable planetariums available for loan to schools and community groups. Every month the outreach office receives more and more loan requests, however the equipment is only loaned to trained educators who have participated in our training program.

Gemini Observatoryʻs StarLab Portable Planetarium is a fun and interactive way to get students excited about astronomy and science. Several projection options provide a diverse range of concepts to tailor presentations for all ages. Visit the Gemini North and South StarLab webpages for more information about our StarLab, our available projection cylinders, and current workshops and events.

StarLab Workshops at Gemini South

In June, Gemini trained two teachers from San Nicolas School in La Serena. Both teachers are now comfortable with the technical details needed to operate the mobile planetarium, and used their new skills along with their backgrounds in astronomy to deliver engaging presentations to their students.

Lissette Araya, who coordinates the the Gemini StarLab Loan program with teachers says, “I was surprised by the teachers’ commitment to learn basic astronomy and improve their own knowledge in such a short time.”

For now, winter break for all the students in Chile is ending and Gemini staff are preparing the equipment for the start of the new school year in July.

StarLab Workshops at Gemini North

While itʻs winter vacation for students in the Southern Hemisphere, students on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi are enjoying their Summer vacations. “Weʻve been busy taking our StarLab to several Summer Fun programs around the island; from Waimea, to Kahuku,” according to Christine Copes who coordinates Gemini’s StarLab program in Hawai‘i. “Also, for the first time this year, Gemini conducted StarLab presentations for all K-1 students in the Hilo-Waiākea district as an extension of the Journey Through the Universe Program. We visited 1450 students from 49 classrooms!”

Demand for the StarLab is so high, that in early October, Gemini North is holding a StarLab training, thatʻs open to educators and community leaders on Hawaiʻi Island. The training will be held at the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center on Monday, October 3, 2016. Please contact us to attend one of our training sessions!

“The StarLab is an invaluable teaching tool that is helping us bring the beauty and wonder of the Universe into the classroom for our students this summer,” says Director of the Hawaii Science and Technology Museum Christian Wong, who participated in Gemini’s prior StarLab training session.