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A week in the North of Italy

A week proposal for an American Planetarium Operator

 

 

A week in Italy for an American Planetarium Operator - Year 1995 - Susan Reynolds (OCM Boces Planetarium, Syracuse, New York)
inside the Starlab dome.
Susan Reynolds with Dieter Vornholz during the First European Meeting of Itinerant Planetaria in Lumezzane (1995).
A week in Italy for an American Planetarium Operator - Year 1996 - Jeanne E. Bishop (Westlake School Planetarium, Ohio) under the planetarium dome of Serafino Zani Astronomical Observatory.)
Jeanne E. Bishop near Serafino Zani Astronomical Observatory during the Solar eclipse of 12 October 1996
A week in Italy for an American Planetarium Operator - Year 1997 - Jerry Vinski (Planetarium of the Raritan Valley Community College, New Jersey) under the sundial of
Serafino Zani Astronomical Observatory.
Jerry Vinski with Starlab planetarium in the Aldini-Valeriani school in Bologna (1997).
A week in Italy for an American Planetarium Operator - Year 1998 - Dee Wanger (Discovery Center Science Museum, Fort Collins, Colorado) under the six meter dome of Lumezzane Planetarium.
Dee Wanger observe the Sun with the telescope of Serafino Zani Astronomical Observatory (1998).
A week in Italy for an American Planetarium Operator - Year 1999 - April Whitt (Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta, Georgia) with double Starlab projector of Eureka Astronomical Center of Lumezzane.
April Whitt with the students of Liceo Bertacchi school of Lecco after the lesson under Lumezzane planetarium (1999).
A week in Italy for an American Planetarium Operator - Year 2000 - Raymond Shubinsky (East Kentucky Center for science, mathematics & Technology) showing wonderful astronomical images, taken in the Arizona desert, before to enter with the students in the itinerant planetarium.
Raymond Shubinsky tells "Shishigua" and others Native American legends under the Starlab dome to the students of Liceo Calini school of Brescia (2000).

 

Each year, at the end of October, Serafino Zani Astronomical Observatory (Lumezzane/Brescia) in collaboration with the IPS Mobile Planetarium Committee and with the support of Learning Technologies, Inc., will host an American Planetarium Operator who presents lessons with the itinerant planetarium Starlab to high school students of English. Transportation from the United States will be provided, along with bed and meals from Tuesday to Sunday (lunch and dinner Saturday and Sunday, on your own).

The program for the week is as follows: From Tuesday to Friday: Starlab lessons in a secondary school. There will be no more than four every morning for a total of four each day. Each lesson will be at least 60 minutes in length and can be about traditional topics for planetaria such as: daily motion, orienteering, latitude motion, solstice and equinox, constellations, mythology and so on. Or, the non-astronomical Starlab cylinders can be utilized for a lesson about such topics as: biology, tectonics, geography, ocean currents and meteorology. The final part of the lesson could be dedicated to the Native American mythology by using the related Starlab cylinder (or other ancient mythologies such as Chinese or African).

The morning astronomical lessons may be in Brescia or another nearby city. All lessons and presentations will be conducted in the American language. A preliminary text of the lesson is required so that teachers will have ample time to work with their students before the Starlab experience. Be prepared to teach the lesson at either a basic or an advanced level. Some classes are extremely interested but do not know a lot of astronomy and others have studied astronomy in depth. Most of the students have had two to four years of English and will understand the spoken word if you speak clearly and deliberately. They have a good sense of humor and certainly display the usual excitement about Starlab.
During the afternoons there are no other engagements, providing an opportunity for touring the locale and nearby cities. Lumezzane is very rich in the public astronomy field with the Serafino Zani Astronomical Observatory, four small planetaria, the Eureka Astronomical Center and the National Archive of Planetaria. Brescia province is very interesting for its natural landscapes and parks, three lakes and the most important valley for prehistoric age stone engravings. Important artistic cities, such as Verona and Venice, are nearby and can be reached by taking a one or two hour train ride. Thursday afternoon: Eureka Astronomical Center, Annual workshop for teachers and planetarium operators. This workshop is advertised at national level.

The presenter will demonstrate the versatility of the Starlab planetarium and all the cylinders. We encourage you to also share any other experiences you have had while teaching astronomy to students. The workshop participants are people who are interested in learning how to make exciting and effective presentations using Starlab.
Friday evening: A presentation of Native American (or other cultures such as African or Chinese) mythology and constellations for the general public. The presenter will provide an introduction with slides about U.S. experiences in the diffusion of astronomy and then a presentation with Starlab.
Saturday-Sunday: Free time for touring Venice, other cities and/or other Italian planetaria Culminating documentation: We request a final report be written by the American teacher which will include the text of the High School lesson, comments from the students and impressions of the experience.


Application form

Name ................................................................
Address .............................................................
Phone .......................
Fax ...................................
E-Mail ..............................................................
Age.........
Profession ......................................

Experience: Please enclose a resume/curriculum vitae and a tape recorded lesson as you present it to students (these items will not be returned).
The taped lesson will be placed in a public domain file for students and teachers).
Please use the standard size audio and/or video cassette, not a mini-cassette.

Proposed Text: Specify your proposals for the morning lessons, Thursday workshop and Fiday public presentation.

Enclose text. ................................................................................

Other Suggestions and Comments..................................................
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Send this application form before May 15, to Susan Reynolds Button. For other information write to:
Susan Reynolds Button International Planetarium Society Portable Planetarium Committee OCM BOCES Planetarium PO Box 4754 Syracuse, New York 13221 USA

OR

Loris Ramponi Osservatorio Astronomico Serafino Zani c/o Centro studi e ricerche Serafino Zani Via Bosca 24 - C.P. 104 25066 Lumezzane (BS), Italy