THOMASVILLE — The Thomas County School System is getting students excited about the upcoming April 8th Solar Eclipse. They recently purchased an inflatable planetarium that allows students to see a 360-degree view of space through a laser projection.
According to science teacher Jessica Duncan, the school system previously had a star lab that was acquired in the late 1980s. While the star lab has been a staple in the curriculum since then, Cross Creek coding and computer science teacher Forrest Love came across the inflatable planetarium during STEM Camp and approached Science Director Dr. Scott Sweeting about the possibility of purchasing one for the school system.
Sweeting revisited the idea during pre-planning for the 2023/24 school year. When revisiting the idea, Sweeting, Love, and Duncan took trips to see various pop-up planetariums until they found the one that would best suit the students of Thomas County.
“We went to Jacksonville and Atlanta,” Sweeting said. “This is actually the same one that the Fernbank Science Museum uses. It’s very plug and play.”
According to the Fernbank Science Museum’s website, the planetarium works in conjunction with the SPITZ SciDome 4K Laser projection system to create a “stunning immersive environment which guides the audience through the wonders of the universe.”
With the planetarium being a laser projection system, Duncan said it can show several videos, making it accessible to all ages, including the primary and elementary school.
“We watched a lot of them and found the ones that are age-appropriate for kindergarten and then we use the same one for first grade,” Duncan said. “The second-grade show is a little more advanced and a review of what they learned this year.”
Duncan said in addition to the videos already downloaded, teachers can download videos from YouTube and have access to databases of other planetariums with shows they can license.
The videos and laser projections have the kids “oohing and ahhing,” said Duncan.
“When we had the star lab, it had LED lights and once the kids crawled in, we had to turn them off,” she explained. “It would be completely dark and their eyes would have to adjust in order to see these teeny, tiny dots that were supposed to be stars.”
Duncan said she would attempt to point out the constellations, which the students have previously learned about, but the new system makes them much more visible to the naked eye.
“The kids are just amazed,” she said. “It’s hard to keep them quiet because they are so excited.”
Not only are the students in awe, but parents as well.
Sweeting said the faculty displayed the new planetarium at Cross Creek Elementary’s STEM Night a few weeks ago, and parents got a first-hand look at what their kids were seeing.
“They were amazed as well and felt like a kid again,” Sweeting said. “They said they wanted to come back and go to school again.”
For parents who missed it, Sweeting said it will be on display at Parent’s Night in a few weeks at the Thomas County Schools Board of Education Office.
In the meantime, Duncan will continue to inspire students through the usage of the planetarium, preparing them for the ultimate solar experience next month.