Como Planetarium to celebrate 50 years on April 17 “Star Party” – Twin Cities

The Como planetarium in St Paul will celebrate 50 years this month with a public “star party” that includes activities, telescopes and the opportunity to watch a classic movie and original equipment for Planetarium.

The public is invited to the free holiday from 6:30 pm at 9:30 pm at the Como Park elementary school, at 780 W. Wheelock Pkwy. on April 17. The party will also present “Ball Star”, the star projector that was used by the planetarium until the early 2000s before being replaced with a digital system.

“And we will have activity tables, also science-related activities. Because people, in general, can come and can make a kind of map in these different activities, or telescopes or planetarium, as it suits them,” said Sarah Weaver, a scientist in a special mission that runs the planetary.

In Minnesota, there is only a handful of planetarians, such as the Como planetarium, said Weaver, although there are some gonflatables traveling. Also, in St. Paul is the planetary of the Bell Museum.

The Como planetary, which can host up to 55 people, has been operating since 1975. It is part of St. Paul’s public schools.

“You can do this in a planetary”

A planetary offers opportunities that a teacher did not have in other spaces, said Weaver, who started in its role in 2018 and is the fourth teacher of planetarium in its history.

“A class teacher cannot accelerate in time and cannot show where the sunrise changes on the horizon, but you can do this in a planetary,” she said.

The planetary usually sees up to 10,000 SPPS students on field trips every school year. Grant financing from 3m Co. supports the transport to the planetary. Also, the facility can accommodate groups from outside the schools. Paul.

“Experienced learning”

The planetary offers a series of lesson lengths, depending on the level of class and other factors. The first grades from Como Park Park, which simply go to the planetarium in the classroom, have recently received a lesson of half an hour. However, the third students have 90 -minute lessons.

Weaver works with other SPPS teachers and science specialists to develop their lessons. She included other teachers in a special mission, such as Julie Hutcheson-Downwind-now director of the American Magnet School-which implemented indigenous education on the planetarium, learning students about topics such as Ojibwe Constelatments.

Working with different departments helps support the creation of the best possible lessons, Weaver said.

“I feel that experiential learning is an excellent opportunity for interdisciplinary work and for children to make connections that are not just in a single subject,” said Weaver.

Weaver uses the planetarium computer system to teach students about the solar system, locating constellations and other lessons based on the class level. Fourth grade, for example, can collect data by measuring the height of the sun in different seasons. An adjacent room also gives students space to do practical activities related to what they have learned, such as the action of the movements of the solar system.

“I mean, a part of science is to reach things and do things. So I tend to learn this way. And while the planetary is fabulous in showing pictures, it is nice to have a bigger space to play with the same concepts, but in a different way,” said Weaver.

“The first time”

The planetary has hosted other Star parties, which is a large part of what SPPS community education does, Weaver said. A recent star party was in the preparation of the eclipse last year, Weaver said.

“And yet, every time we make a star party, there are people who look at a telescope for the first time,” Weaver said.

Weaver said along the history of the planetary, the emphasis was placed on the children.

“And I think the planetary is an important and critical visual tool, an experiential tool for students who understand the sky and also their place on the planet,” said Weaver.

For details about the star party, go to Stpaul.ce.eleyo.com/course/16759/spring-2025-adult/star-party-elebrate-50-ani. To find out more about the planetarium, go to comed.spps.org/planetarium.