Share: 

Love Creek students experience StarLab Planetarium

February 24, 2019

Fifth-grade students at Love Creek recently wrapped up their astronomy unit with a special planetarium show in the StarLab.

As part of the Next Generation of Science Standards, students learned a variety of information during the astronomy unit, and they also spent time investigating the role that distance plays in the sun’s interactions with Earth.

A portable, inflatable planetarium, the StarLab allowed students to examine the star Betelgeuse, which is approximately 500 light-years away. It is believed that in the future, the light from this supernova will finally reach Earth and provide enough light, for three nights, to be able to read a book outside.

Students were able to use this information to consider how close Earth and its star, the sun, really are to one another, since it only takes eight minutes for the sun’s light to hit Earth.

“The StarLab brought our galaxy up close and personal to the students,” said Kelly Hynes, fifth-grade teacher. “They could finally visualize the vastness of space and our small spot in the universe, and witness the observable patterns, such as the phases of the moon.”

Students also learned that the innovative space suits used from the start of space exploration were designed and produced at ILC in Dover.

Hynes hopes the StarLab experience will provide the students with inspiration to not only explore, but to consider life on the moon and the possibility of using resources from there to sustain life on Earth in the future.

“We shared information with the fifth-graders about how college students and scientists from all backgrounds around the world are teaming up to design a machine that can not only land on the moon, but also move 500 meters to take pictures to send back to Earth,” said Hynes. “Giving them insight to this adult science fair project really got them excited to do more research and start working on their own designs. For me, that’s what this is about, inspiring and encouraging students to continue to learn.”

Students were able to participate in the StarLab Planetarium thanks to Chris Lenhart, an eighth-grade science teacher at Beacon Middle School.

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter