Seminar Schedule

Upcoming Planetarians' Zoom Seminars

2025

Dates and times subject to alteration depending on availability of presenters.

• 2025 Sep 26 at 11am PDT (2pm EDT, 18:00 UT).  An Ancient Place for Skyscapes - Creating Immersive Experiences with Stellarium with Daniel Brown. During prehistoric times standing stones acted as markers or highlighted alignments. In the UK they rarely highlight the Sun location through their shadows. This presentation will introduce a standing stone at Gardom’s Edge in the Peak District, UK, erected 2,500 – 1,500 BC. Its unusual shape tells an intriguing story of skyscape archaeology, shadows and landscape phenomenology. It will also outline our work at King Arthurs Hall in Cornwall, UK, a recently excavated and dated site now known to be Neolithic. Both stories told through the use of 3D scanning to create a holistic immersive virtual engagement with the site using 3D Stellarium capability as well as meaningful 2D landscapes. Daniel Brown is an Associate Professor of Astronomy and Science Communication at Nottingham Trent University, UK.  He teaches astronomy at all levels, provides international placement opportunities and runs the onsite observatory. A major part of his work involves public engagement and science communication based around unique settings with historic background, e.g. Bromley House Meridian Sundial. His research explores our engagement with skyscape throughout time. 

• 2025 Oct 24 (3rd Friday) at 2pm PDT (5pm EDT, 21:00 UT), Richard Nolthenius

• 2025 Nov 21 (3rd Friday), Planetarium Educators Workshop II with Alan Gould.

• 2025 Dec 12 (2nd Friday) at 2pm PDT (5pm EDT, 22:00 UT), People Management for the Planetarium with Mary Holt. As Planetarians advancing in our careers we typically find ourselves in the position of managing people. I am a new manager very interested in learning how to be successful managing people throughout my career. In this presentation I will discuss my experience as a new people manager, but also share insights from interviews with over a dozen Planetarians with a wide variety of experience levels and management styles about their experiences managing and being managed. I will explore themes common across our field and suggest some potential areas of success and improvement for fellow managers. Mary Holt has worked at The Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley California since June 2024. Before that she was at California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco for about 8.5 years. Her family is from the Bay Area but she grew up in Michigan and attended college at University of Michigan, which is where her planetarium career started back in 2010.