StarLab

Explanation: Visit a planetarium without leaving your school!  The StarLab system is a portable teaching environment that can be brought right into your classroom.  It consists of an inflatable dome, a projector, projection cylinders, and a trained staff member.  The StarLab is a wonderful multicultural and multidisciplinary tool for education.

Grade Level:  K - 12

Length:  30-45 minute lab

Number: 20-25 student maximum 

Location: Science Central or your location

Cost:  At Science Central $1.50 per student; at your location $100, $50 for each additional consecutive labs

Requirements: An area at least 18' by 26' with a 12' ceiling and a power outlet, must be indoors

Topics Available:

Northern Hemisphere and common constellations-Gaze at the major constellations, the ecliptic line and celestial equator, all dynamically displayed.  Useful applications for this program include star identification, locating planetary positions, the path of the sun and moon, and facilitating orientation for outdoor observations.

Native American constellations-Long Sash, the Great Bear, First Man and Woman, the Spider God and many other figures are outlined in this program. The identification key contains legends drawn from the Navajo, Shoshone, Blackfoot, Cherokee, Tewa, Hopi and Algonquin tribes.

Plate Tectonics-This global projection is based on work out of the Goddard Space Flight Center.  It shows the active ridges, faults, spreading centers and volcanic activity over the past 1 million years.

Animal Cell-This one-million-times magnification of a composite cell demonstrates the workings of a cell as well as the cell cycle.