THE TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIMENT
A great honour was bestowed on StarDome when it was featured in the TES
Here is a small excerpt from the article
"It was a cold, bright day in Sheffield yet the children were in darkness looking at the stars. The planetarium was in school. With the closure of the London Planetarium, teachers wanting to give their pupils a star experience will have to look elsewhere. Astronomy guru Sir Patrick Moore said the decision was "most regrettable".
In the sports hall of Southey Green Junior School, Stardome transports Year 5 pupils through the Solar System to distant stars. Using dramatic Nasa images, Stardome presenter Andrew Green first takes his space cadets on a journey to the planets. Then it's time for the centrepiece of the show, a full-dome projection of the constellations.
At first, not many stars are visible as Andrew recreates an urban night sky, awash with light. Then, to delighted gasps from the audience, the city lights are extinguished to reveal a perfect night sky, ablaze with stars.
Andrew guides them to star patterns, significant stars, nebulae and planets. Anticipating their questions, he uses the night sky to reveal the wonders of the cosmos. When the lights return, the enthusiastic response of the children bursts through in their questions.
Back in the classroom, pupils appreciate that the apparent movement of the Sun and stars is really caused by the rotation of Earth. They talk of star colours: "blue stars are hot, red stars are dying"; and constellation shapes: "I'm going to look for Orion tonight". And they marvel at the number of moons now known to orbit giant planets: "a lot more than it says in books".
Space is an abstract topic and therefore difficult for children to grasp the concept," she says. "Stardome brings it closer."
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