Portable planetarium visits USCHS

An outreach program of the Pittsburgh Conference for the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Society of Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh, the portable planetarium provided 30-minute lessons about the sun, planets, stars and constellations.

A cross between an igloo and a bounce house, the planetarium stands 14 feet tall and 30 feet wide. The planetarium can accommodate 25-30 students at one time.

The Pittcon Planetarium visit was arranged by Dawn Mostowy, biology teacher.

“We are trying to find ways to expose our students to more content relating to earth/space science as we are seeing this being added to the science standards,” Mrs. Mostowy said. “Pittcon was only able to run 30 sessions out of the 60 schools that had requested, so we were lucky.”

According to the program Pittcon website, “our planetarium demonstrations allow students to observe the sky, various constellations and individual stars or planets from any point on the surface of the earth at any year or time of day.”

Sophomore Leela Kulkarni, who had never been in a planetarium before, enjoyed learning about how the zodiac symbols tie into the stars and constellations. Sophomore Kiki Smith enjoyed learning how constellations move throughout the months of the year.

The Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP), and the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP), are non-profit organizations dedicated to furthering science education, both locally and nationally.