| Planetarium News |
Tessmann Planetarium’s Bridge to the Universe
| | Sheryl D. Johnson | August 26, 2005 |
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| Tessmann Planetarium, Santa Ana College, Santa Ana, California. |
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Do you have a childhood memory of going to a local Planetarium? Did you enjoy the experience? Did you catch an afternoon nap in the dark? Or was it like a light bulb going off in your head? Was it the beginning of a lifetime of learning about the stars? Or, maybe you didn’t even have a Planetarium to attend? Or, did you attend a broken down one with old equipment? Was the talk boring or obscure? Or did they talk to you! And ask you questions? A Planetarium can make the difference in the life of a child. A Planetarium can be a first contact for a child about how big reality really is. There they can find their place in the Universe, and wonder about all the big questions. |
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| Don Prescott at the controls. |
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I’ve worked at Tessmann Planetarium, Rancho Santiago College, Santa Ana, CA for fifteen years as an Astronomy Educator, giving school shows. . My first seven years, we had an ancient Spitiz A3P, a 30 foot dome, and a set of four slide projectors that seldom all worked the same day. One afternoon a gentleman came into the Planetarium and changed all that. Don Prescott, retired Boeing engineer, came out of retirement and picked his ‘project’ to be our Planetarium. He wrote grants, did research, planned, and produced. Our initial NASA funding was secured in 2002. The result is our brand new, state of the art renovated Planetarium, including the GOTO Chronos planetarium projector and all new Bowen Technovations control system/ multimedia capability. Our Planetarium Director, Dr. Stephen Eastmond is ecstatic! The controls allow us to click a mouse and change our position or time, in the sky or change an ongoing special effect. It’s like driving a Porsche, fast and smooth with a thrilling ride. All these bells and whistles have translated into an increased interest and an increase in our attendance. We now boast an increase in our attendance, with over 68 different cities attending, some as far away as San Diego and Victorville. Our attendance is up to 18,098 for last year alone. We are beaming with pride! |
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| Don was a little "floored" by all the hard work! |
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Meet Don Prescott, magic maker and Production Director of Tessmann Planetarium on StarTalks at this site. Meet the guy who thought igniting a mind was better than going gently into retirement. He’s a role model for all of us. (Pic here) Full of energy and ideas, Don has taken the ball and run with it! The result is an entire college who thinks he’s a hero. Even better, is the thought of all the children who will be benefiting from his very hard efforts. |
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| Here's a view of the completed project still in the works. |
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Still in the plans is the coming Randall E. Smith Space Education Center. This will include a Science Learning Lab with a flexible, hands on science laboratory, and a lecture hall. The plans also include an observatory dome and an exciting planetary hardscape theme. Students will eventually be able to do an entire Solar System Walk through our campus. Later, a Millennium Lecture Series is in the plans. The total project will cost $3.0 million. Here’s a view of the completed project. |
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| That's me during question and answer time that forms the backbone of our programs. |
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You cannot imagine the looks on kids faces when all the special effects that money can buy combine with the interest of the students and the motivation of our staff. Wow! Those minds are busy. Our live shows invite participation and inquiry. Each show has a theme based on a simple question. Current shows include: How Far Is Up? How Rare is Earth? and, Where Are We? My show, Where Are You? builds an address for each student for the entire Universe. Their “homework” is to use that address by sending a postcard or letter to themselves or a loved one. Just imagine what Grandma thinks when her letter arrives to her address with Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group and Virgo Supercluster on the envelope Children leave with an idea of the overall structure of the Universe and how our Solar System fits in it. Having the tools to display this structure, to show the Universe full dome is priceless.The kids arrive at Tessmann usually on a school bus field trip and enter the lobby where they see all kinds of interesting things on our plasma screens. One of their favorite’s is from Toys In Space, showing how different toys operate in a zero gravity environment. We were happily surprised to find that children would spontaneously chant to some of these displays, reading aloud as a group along with the prompts. Soon, our school groups will be able to enter our new Space Education Center from this lobby. |
| I wish you could all see their faces as they first enter the dome and see the projected ‘hall’ image, and hear the motivational music. They know that they are in for a very different experience. We start all our school shows with a warm up, getting to know the kids and preparing them for the live show they are about to see. Our 100+ seat capacity allows us to have a closer encounter with the students that a larger facility could not allow. All the shows are live, and we think that this is very important. Instead of just seeing a ‘canned’ show, the kids see a live person who can change the talk depending on the age of the children in that show, the latest space news or any upcoming or recent celestial events. After the show is over we always have a question and answer session. This is where a lot of the learning happens, for in the instructors and the kids. I have been blown away by five year olds asking about quasars and by kids in the third grade asking about the Oort Cloud or asking how many dimensions there are. Sometimes I think the teachers are more surprised and pleased by the questions than we are. When the kids walk out of the Planetarium there is a definite excitement in the air. You can feel their energy. Sometimes the questions don’t stop until they are walking out the door. I often wonder what seeds are being planted in these shows. How many of these pupils have just discovered a lifetime love affair with the sky? How have their dreams been enlarged? Where will it lead them? Maybe that interest will launch a career, or maybe a hobby, or just a better science grade. Don Prescott likes to quote Plutarch who said, "A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire, to be ignited." This is one fire, we’re glad we started. |
| Classifications: Kids and Education, Beginning Observing, Astronomy Outreach, General, Walmart| 9/1/2005 - 10/5/2005 |
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