Speaker
Description
Kawasaki Municipal Science Museum is a museum of astronomy and natural sciences with a planetarium, which is equipped with an 18-meter dome and the opto-mechanical planetarium “MEGASTAR-III FUSION” by Ohira Tech.
We have a planetarium workshop for elementary school students in grades 4 through 6. The workshop consists of sessions held over 7-month period and provides hands-on experience in learning about basic astronomical knowledge and the mechanism of a planetarium that simulates a real starry sky.
The purpose of this workshop is to deepen children’s interest in astronomy, space, and science through the experiences, and to give them opportunities for unique experiences of learning at a planetarium which cannot be offered in schools.
The children research and prepare their own manuscripts on topics of interest and collaborate with other participants to create a 45-minutes planetarium show. In the show held on the final day of the workshop, they stand at the console to operate it by themselves and give a presentation on the starry sky.
In this presentation, I will introduce the content of the workshop and would like to discuss the benefits of using the planetarium as a venue to connect with the general public, particularly elementary school children.
