| The planetarium will be used at the 2007
Summer Institute for the following program, which will be offered
twice: The
Zodiac: The
Mythology and Constellations
Behind Popular
Horoscope Signs
In
early times objects in the sky were described as spheres which
revolved around the Earth. Groups of bright stars were observed to
form prominent patterns in the night sky called Constellations,
which have been historically ascribed to mythological figures, such
as Orion the Hunter, and Gemini the Twins. More than 3000 years ago
astronomers determined that the Sun would appear to “enter” or pass
through a different constellation each month. These twelve
constellations are called the Zodiac. Many ancient people believed
that a person’s behavior, emotions, and fate were heavily influenced
by the month of that person’s birth—i.e. that person’s astrological
sign.
This presentation will explore the history, true science,
and mythological connection to the Zodiac constellations. The
lecture will answer:
1. How were constellations named?
2. What the sun’s ecliptic is, as
constructed by the Greeks and adopted later by the Romans?
3. Why did the year begin with the constellation Aries?
4. What are the stories connected to the twelve signs of the
Zodiac?
The myths, constellations,
and location of the stars will be discussed, as well as an analysis
of the validity of horoscope predictions in relation to a person’s
daily life.
The value of the presentation is the explanation of an interesting
topic in popular culture, horoscope signs, by the examination of the
stories behind the signs. The 30-40 minute lecture using either a
planetarium or slides will show what has been written by the
planetarium director and Latin teacher. The topic is adjustable for
various age levels. Younger students focus on the stories and basic
workings of the universe, while older students can learn the details
of characters, and constellations. This lecture is an example of
what can be produced when classicists cooperate with those in other
disciplines.
Presenters:
Tina Moller, Latin Teacher (tmoller@udsd.org)
Kim Small, Planetarium Director
(ksmall@udsd.org)
Upper Dublin School
System in Dresher,
PA 19025
Tina Moller has been teaching Latin gr6-12 for
more than 15 years. For the last 10 years she has built a thriving
program at Sandy Run Middle School in a suburb of Philadelphia. She
graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in Classics and The Ohio
State University with an M.A. in Classics. She completed a
post-graduate year of study at the American School of Classical
Studies, as well as the summer program at American Academy in Rome. |
|
"How Women Influence, and are Influence
by, the Nashville Skies"
By Dr David James
Director of the Fisk-Vanderbilt
NASA Planetarium & Roadshow
Under the flag of Fisk and Vanderbilt universities, the author is
the Director, and primary presenter, of an outreach program designed
to provide a physics & astronomy experience to school-age students
in and around the Nashville area. Our program specifically caters to
schools and community centers representing traditionally
poorly-serviced sections of our communities in terms of science
education (such as women and minorities).
By involving Fisk and Vanderbilt undergraduate and graduate students
to participate in the program, especially women and minorities, we
are actively promoting the philosophy of “it takes a village to
raise a child”. By observing women and minority students in strong
role model positions as scientists in academia and public service,
our aim is to inspire the school students of today to be America’s
next generation of scientists. Naturally, those Fisk and Vanderbilt
students involved in our outreach program, many of whom are female
and/or from minority backgrounds, also reap an enormous pedagogical
benefit.
Our Fisk-Vanderbilt Physics \& Astronomy Roadshow consists primarily
of a portable, inflatable StarLab planetarium inside which, we can
project images and representations of the local night sky onto its
interior. This outreach component of our program is centered around
taking this mobile planetarium to schools, community centers and
public educational institutions in and around Nashville, as well as
across Tennessee. Some 20-25 students can be accommodated inside the
planetarium during the presentation of one demonstration/show.
The primary educational concepts of the planetarium are to introduce
the participants to basic yet fundamental principles governing the
Sun-Earth-Moon system, the planets, and the stars in our Galaxy. Our
mission goal is, in the first instance, to bring an introduction of
physics and astronomy to school-aged children and the community,
while developing formal long-term partnerships with community
centers such as local YMCA institutes, Vanderbilt’s Dyer Observatory
and Nashville's own Adventure Science Center.
What is more, our planetarium outreach program directly responds to
the challenges of the National Science Foundation’s People and Ideas
strategic goals. Our program is designed for a broad-based targeted
public understanding of science (physics and astronomy), with
foundations in place to include awareness and training for other
education providers such as school teachers and community leaders.
In terms of meeting regional, state and national education needs,
the planetarium presentations are directly tied to the space science
component of elementary, middle and high school curricula. By
concentrating on the nature and intrinsic physics governing the
Galaxy, stars and planets, we are able to introduce and reinforce
concepts to the Roadshow participants such as Mass, Gravity,
Temperature, Composition and the Nature of Light. In many instances,
we schedule school visits to coincide with a particular class or
grade's coverage of space science during the school term. In this
way, we can maximize our impact using a practical reinforcement
method for their book learning and classroom activities.
In the two and a half years since its inception, the program has so
far been an outstanding success! For instance, the Fisk-Vanderbilt
Astronomy Roadshow has visited some 50 schools, community centers
and Vanderbilt's Dyer Observatory, for a combined total of 430
planetarium shows, comprising some 10,500 participants (mostly K-12
students, but includes in-service training for approximately 100
elementary and middle school teachers). As such, we now have in
place strong and on-going links with several Magnet schools in the
Nashville metropolitan area which we visit on a semester by semester
basis, to be continued into the coming years. The Roadshow has also
achieved an extremely broad and important impact by reaching
traditionally poorly served sections of the community. Incredibly,
over 38% (4000 people) of our Roadshow visitors during this
time-frame are from minority backgrounds, and 5150 are females.
If you, or someone who you know in the education or public service
community, would like to request a visit by the Roadshow
planetarium, please visit Dyer Observatory’s website [http://www.dyer.vanderbilt.edu]
and click on the Fisk & Vanderbilt Astronomy Roadshow link,
or send an email to
david.j.james@vanderbilt.edu.
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