Build Your Own Planetarium Activity
The Mediterranean and Arab Regional SHAW-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education (MARAsE Workshop),, Cairo, Egypt, 1 - 05 December 2025, (Unpublished)
- Publication Type: Conference Paper / Unpublished
- City: Cairo
- Country: Egypt
- Istanbul Kültür University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Teachers most often felt least competent in using observational tools (e.g., telescopes), developing hands-on activities, and applying astronomy software. The aim of this workshop is toenhance participants’ conceptual understanding of basic astronomical phenomena by engagingthem in a hands-on construction and exploration of a simple planetarium model. The objestivesare to support learners in visualising the apparent motion of stars and planets through a realistic, manipulable model; to develop participants’ understanding of the celestial sphere concept and thevarying distances and brightness of stars; to promote active, inquiry-based learning in astronomyeducation through a creative and accessible classroom activity; to equip teachers and studentswith a practical tool that facilitates the identification of stars and constellations in the night sky; to foster curiosity and confidence in exploring astronomical concepts through making andmodelling.
This activity allows participants, teachers and students to simulate the sky indoors by making a small cardboard planetarium. The movement of stars, constellation shapes and planets can be projected onto a surface. The stars appear to be fixed on an imaginary distant celestial sphere, but in reality they are each at different distances from the Earth and appear much larger and brighteror smaller and dimmer depending on their proximity. It shows how the stars appear to move as the Earth rotates on its axis. At the end of the activity, participants will have their own cardboardplanetarium and, in a sense, a celestial atlas, making it easier for them to learn the names of thestars and constellations and to find them in the night sky.