The Educational Value Of Planetarium

This is indeed a “Space Age” with daily announcements of achievements and discoveries in the space sciences. Some of today’s students will be directly involved in space activities, but all will be surrounded with space-related events and information. Astronomy is the most fundamental of sciences, as well as the oldest. It gives each individual a perspective on his place in space and time. Man has an intuitive desire to know more about the universe about him, to push back barriers of ignorance and comprehend the mysteries of the greater environment.

Astronomy is useful to each individual. Time units have astronomical bases. Standard time, daylight savings time, the seasons, and the calendar are integral aspects of our social – political culture. Some understanding of the celestial sphere and astronomical motions is useful in estimating time and finding directions.

Astronomy has an aesthetic value found in few other subject areas. The intricate and awesome dimensions and composition of the universe can produce the perception that the earth is a delicately balanced ecosystem with limited resources and time existence. An additional source of wonder is that man of insignificant size has the capability of understanding much about his position in time and space.

Astronomy is inextricably linked to energy topics. The sun is the source of fossil fuels, wind, and direct solar energy. Radioactive elements important in nuclear energy and the source of geothermal energy are the remnants of processes once inside stars which ended their lives with tremendous explosions. Tidal energy is caused by the gravitational pull of sun and moon. Probably the important energy discoveries, vital to the continued existence of technological man, will depend on knowledge of astronomy as well as of other science areas.

Astronomy appears in unexpected places: in fictional as well as non-fictional books, in popular songs, in arts, and the comics. It has been harmfully presented within the pervasive speculative topics of ufo’s and astrology. Students mislearn astronomy from the media. The schools have a responsibility to help students critically regard media presentations. To do this effectively, they must include responsible introduction to astronomy in their curriculum.

Models of Implementation

• The school is required to provide a large room (minimum 25’ x 25’) with ceiling height of minimum 15’ to establish The Planetarium.


• Megalogix (MAX) will offer the planetarium on boo (build own operate) with fee implications as in commercial proposal.