The Future Teachers club explored topics such as our solar system, constellations, and astrological signs at their Planetarium Night with kid-friendly and interactive activities before the show.
Set within a 35-foot diameter hemispherical dome, the planetarium created an immersive experience for children to study and was presented by math and engineering assistant professor, Jorge Ramirez.
Professor Ramirez introduced the planets with a fun educational music video for the children and their parents to sing along to and learn about dwarf planets and other celestial objects in our solar system.
Children and parents were taught about the different groupings the planets are categorized in.
Terrestrial planets and Jovian planets were introduced with explanations of why each planet was placed in their category.
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are Terrestrial planets, identified by their rocky or metal exteriors which make them the inner planets closest to the sun.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are gas planets and fall into the category of Jovian planets.
“Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, you could fit over a thousand earths inside of it. That red spot is a huge storm, we have records of it going on for about three hundred years now,” said professor Ramirez during the demonstration.
The newest zodiac, Ophiuchus, was introduced as the thirteenth zodiac joining the twelve other signs.
“The planets and the sun and the moon will always go along these thirteen constellations,” added Ramirez.
A planet related word search and coloring pages were a couple of the many activities offered to children at the event and were assisted by volunteer members of the Future Teachers club.
“We are building a rocket – so pretty much were letting them pick the rocket that they want to do and after they color it in we have them roll the paper up and attach it to the back, and with the straw we launch it up,” said volunteer club member Alia Medrano.
“We also just wanted to invite the community and students with children to let them have a night where they can bring them to campus to get a sense of what their parents or big brother does when they come here – and just have fun doing spacey stuff,” said Education Course contact for the club, professor Melanie Levy.
Planetarium night took place on October 11, at the LAC Planetarium in the D-Building, room 326.
The Future Teachers Club hosts many events on campus for members to become involved with campus life and help spread the word about their program to encourage other future teachers.