Reliving the April eclipse, exploring constellations in different cultures and stargazing from Saturn – three things teachers experienced this week from the comfort of a portable planetarium set up inside the Dutchess BOCES Conference Center.
Presented by the Mid-Hudson Teacher Center (MHTC) and sponsored by the School Library System, this training exposed science teachers and librarians to the Starlab equipment and Stellarium software member districts can borrow from MHTC.
After blowing up the planetarium, venturing inside and setting up the equipment, participants learned a variety of ways to use the software and other resources to engage students from Raj Pandya, director of the SUNY New Paltz Planetarium and Eric Myers, instructional support technician for physics and astronomy at SUNY New Paltz.
Michelle Murray, from Hyde Park Central School District, will be teaching a new astronomy course at the high school this year.
“I have used the Stellarium program on my laptop before and know a lot about the program, so I’m very excited to have the opportunity to display the information in a more interesting format in my classes,” she said. “I can see this being something that really pumps the students up.”
Jen Lindner, library media specialist at Gayhead Elementary in Wappingers Central School District, shared that she works with kindergarten through sixth grade teachers to create collaborative lessons.
“Starlab would supplement some of the units being taught in the upper grades,” she shared. “I’m excited to be trained to bring this opportunity to our students.”
Rosa Moshi, a professional development specialist at Dutchess BOCES, shared, “I hope teachers have ideas for how to use this tool to make science engaging and fun, to make abstract concepts more understandable, and to spark inquiry and curiosity for the scientists in their classrooms!”
The training is required before borrowing the equipment from MHTC. For information on future trainings in collaboration with the MHTC and SUNY New Paltz, reach out to Moshi, school library system coordinator Rebecca Gerald or check Frontline Education.