2022 Archive

2022

• 2022 Nov 18. The Astronomy of the Northern Dene (Athabascans), Chris Cannon, Assistant Professor with the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. At the center of these knowledge systems is a principal constellation identified as the incarnated spirit of a Traveler-Transformer figure who journeyed around the world in ancient time. Although this Traveler is widely known in Dene stories as the one who instilled balance and order in the world, his enigmatic transformation to the sky is known by few remaining Elders and tradition bearers. The Traveler constellation is not only a world custodian but also a teacher, ally, gamekeeper, and the embodiment of the world. These large constellations (sometimes covering the entire sky) composed of numerous smaller groups of stars named after body parts have deep antiquity in the Dene family. Chris Cannon has been involved with language and cultural documentation projects with Northern Dene Elders, speakers, and community members since 2008. Watch the Video. Read the chat.

• 2022 Oct 28 - Blending Videos: Video Editing Workshop for Domes and Informal Educators - In the current age of the attention economy and the pandemic era, video content is a practical necessity for any organization looking to make an impact.  Here is a beginner-to-intermediate workshop for any educator looking to create video content for your own use, e.g. on social media, on your websites, as exhibit content, digital signage, fulldome shows, or other programming.  Presentation Slides as well as sample working files are here, so non-beginners can gauge their interest in attending.  You will also be able to take the content to create your own hands-on, video editing workshop/afterschool/camp for students and other audiences as a way to build skills and inspire the next generation of content creators in your community.  We will be using the free, open source program Blender, as a continuation of the PPA's Blender workshop series.  There are no prerequisites for attending this workshop; we will start at the beginning since we've only touched on video editing previously.  We will expect you to have installed the latest version of Blender ahead of time, and you may have the best experience if you have multiple monitors/devices, e.g. one screen to actively work in Blender, one screen for looking at the provided slides, and perhaps a separate phone to simply hear the conversations and voice your own questions.  A proper mouse with a scroll wheel and a middle click will also help.  There exists countless online tutorials to learn on one's own, so this workshop will focus on simply providing a dedicated time to work interactively with your peers, ask/answer questions, and generally foster the PPA/dome community.  Any questions/requests/suggestions can go to jnee@jpl.nasa.gov.  If your organization would like a special talk from NASA's Museum & Informal Education Alliance, simply let us know! Watch the Video. Chat.

• 2022 July 29. The Art of Mars - Activities for Planetariums and others - We are embarking into a whole new universe of art-in-the-universe from Webb Space Telescope images. How can we best involve people in art-science connections? The traditional classroom often distinguishes between the subjects of Arts and Sciences, and there’s a pervasive myth about creativity being at odds with logical science.  However, Art can enhance and communicate Science, just as Science can augment and inspire Art.  In these hands on activities, great for both inside and outside the dome, audiences take the case study of the Red Planet, Mars, to illustrate how the creative arts and scientific exploration have always been intertwined in the human experience.  Inspired by the Planetarium Activities for Student Success from the Lawrence Hall of Science, and the Art and the Cosmic Connection lesson plans from JPL, audiences explore history of Mars exploration, elements of Art, astrobiology, and more.   The activity/show materials are published on the MIE Alliance site (apply for an account here).  The show preview (700 MB) is here.  Questions/feedback are always welcome to the coordinator, Jeff Nee. Watch the Video. Chat.

• 2022 June 24. We had a get together to recall the early days of the PPA with PPA old-timers especially invited to reminisce and tell stories. We had one of these last June and two to the old-timers who attended passed away in the fall, Mike Bennett and Steve Craig. Mike has left us some of the early newsletters, the Pointer, that we are digitizing and putting on the PPA website, so we had a look at those as part of this get together.  Watch the Video.

• 2022 May 27. NASA Resources for Planetariums, a panel-symposium to explore and discuss various ways that NASA currently supports planetariums and what the future could hold. Panelists included Mark Subbarao (NASA Scientific Visualization Studio; SVS), Jeff Nee (Museum & Informal Education Alliance, JPL), Doug Duncan and John Keller (University of Colorado Fiske Planetarium), Frank Summers (Space Telescope Science Institute), and possibly others. Participants saw what's available and shared ideas about how NASA could enhance its support for the planetariums of the world, and their planetariums in particular. Watch the Video. Chat.

• 2022 Apr 29. JavaScript Primer workshop for Planetarians. Whether you have a dome system that can run JavaScript (e.g. Digistar or Dark Matter), you’re interested in developing your planetarium’s webpage, or you’ve always wanted to offer a simple, accessible, computer science workshop to your own audiences, watch this hands-on, beginner’s workshop and start your JavaScript journey with your peers.  No computer programming experience is required. Take advantage of JavaScript to customize your dome experience, to make your websites more interactive, and to offer more STEM content to your audiences.  We gathered examples of useful JavaScript code from planetariums to share with beginners.  There are lesson plans and materials to help you whether or not you attended the original workshop.  To contact the workshop leader, email Jeff Nee <jnee@jpl.nasa.gov>. Watch the Video. Chat. 

• 2022 Mar 25. Edu Myths. Dr. Jenny Shipway. Planetarians spend a lot of time addressing astronomy misconceptions, but we should also be on guard for popular education misconceptions. This talk looks at some of the most sticky and prevalent edu myths, why they are so difficult to dispel, and how their allure can offer a useful window into the mind of our audiences. Dr. Shipway has been working in and with planetaria for nearly twenty years, including ten years leading the 17m digital dome at Winchester Science Centre, UK. She has sung songs with toddlers, taught astronomy to school children, and moved corporate customers to tears (in a good way!). She is now an independent contractor, working on a variety of projects including education research training and scriptwriting/consultancy for fulldome films. She sits on the IPS Education Committee (Education Research sub-committee) and is a past president of the British Association of Planetaria. She is based in Winchester, UK. http://www.jennyshipway.com. Watch the Video. Chat. References.

• 2022 Feb 25.  Blender Help Desk:  After the primer workshop and the intermediate workshop, it's time to create something you can use in your dome.  This session will be a freeform Q&A/feedback/working session to help you actually complete a Blender creation you can use right away.  Remember that online video tutorials abound for most tasks in Blender, so search for "Blender how to..." just to get started, then bring it to share with the group, and/or get help, feedback, tips, best practices, and more.  Relevant links are in the video description. Email jnee@jpl.nasa.gov with questions/suggestions. Watch the Video

• 2022 Jan 28. Navigating by the Stars. Tony Smith, J. Watumull Planetarium at Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii. The art and science of non-instrument navigation was nearly lost in Hawai'i when permanent settlement was established around 600 years ago. In the 1970s the Polynesian Voyaging Society was established to prove that it was possible to navigate the open ocean without the aid of modern instruments. In this talk Tony Smith demonstrated some of the methods used by modern navigators to sail thousands of miles and pull islands out of the ocean, and how we share this knowledge with audiences in our planetarium. Watch the Video. Chat.