Our Planetarium Story

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the creative outcome after working on a space related project for a year using an interdisciplinary approach and inquiry based learning. It involved 16 6^th graders of a Minority Primary School in Komotini, Greece that were inspired to make their own Planetarium out of paper and a wooden skeleton. Our goal was to show what students had learnt and to inspire other children in our school, in minority and public schools and the local community about space and astronomy.

1. Introduction

The project was implemented in the 2^nd Minority Primary School of Komotini which is located in the northeastern part of Greece. Komotini is a multicultural and multilingual city. The population consists of Christians and Muslims. The students of Minority Schools are Muslims and the School program is bilingual and consists of Greek and Turkish language program. The curriculum follows the articles of the Treaty of Lausanne and the Educational Protocols that followed the Treaty.

2.Teaching Approach

“Our Planetarium Story” was the creative outcome of an astronomy inspired project that was implemented with an interdisciplinary approach and inquiry based learning. Astronomy was chosen as the theme because it triggers their curiosity, imagination, and creativity [2]. It motivates and engages both boys and girls in the learning procedure and therefore can be used to promote gender balance in the classroom. Furthermore, interdisciplinary teaching helps students understand connections between different science disciplines and enables them to apply their knowledge in different settings [1]. The inquiry based learning approach has been widely advocated and implemented to reverse students’ lack of interest in and enjoyment of science and also involves students working in a way similar to that of scientists [1].

3. Classroom Context

The classroom consisted of 16 6^th graders, 4 boys and 12 girls. One of the students was a student with special needs and therefore there was an assistant teacher in the classroom.

4.Procedure

Astronomy is part of the curriculum of the 6^th grade of the Greek language program of the Minority Schools of Thrace. Specifically there is a unit in the Greek language book called “Space”. The History textbook discusses the History of Great Explorers and Navigation while the Geography textbook is about Planet Earth, Orientation, Navigation and Mapping. The aim to be inclusive and enhance the students to express themselves and boost their self-confidence led four of  the teachers of the Greek language program to collaborate and in particular the teacher of Greek language, the teacher of secondary courses, the Physical Education teacher and the assistant teacher. Astronomy was introduced in the classroom and the scene was set for inquiry as questions were raised. Students in teams inquired about them under the guidance of their teachers and presented what they had found in the plenary of the classroom. The student with the special needs was involved too especially when it concerned new technologies. Furthermore the students made connections between the subjects and were eager to express and transfer what they had learnt.

5. Creative outcome

Fascinated by Astronomy they decided to make a Planetarium and inspire other children too.  We followed the detailed instructions for making a Cardboard Planetarium from Beals Science. We slightly altered the design and made it out of paper and a wooden skeleton in order to keep the cost as low as possible. The Planetarium is a Geodesic Dome that has a diameter of 5m and height of 3m and consists of six pentagons, five hexagons and five half hexagons. Students in teams measured wooden slats and angles to make the skeleton and measured and cut the surface area of the paper to put on the wooden skeleton of the pentagons and the hexagons. Our classroom resembled a carpenter‘s shop. Making the Planetarium was a workshop of Mathematics, Geometry and Engineering while making the presentation for the dome was a History, Mythology, Geography and Drama workshop. Our presentation was about navigation and orientation with the stars, the night sky and the constellations, the solar system and the galaxy. We used free online timelapse videos and Stellarium a free open source planetarium software. It took us about two months to make the Planetarium. They were so eager and passionate about it that they suggested to meet and work at school at weekends during the second month. Our goal was to show our work and inspire with this Planetarium made by children other children and our community about Astronomy. In June of 2018 we set it up in the amphitheatre of the 4^th Gymnasium of Komotini which welcomed and hosted us. We showed it to our whole school (125 students) and to 6^th graders of two Minority and two Public Schools (120 students). The mothers of the 6^th graders visited us too and enjoyed seeing their children’s work and passionate presentation. During Space week 2018 it was set up again for the students of the 4^th Gymnasium (350 students). In May 2019 for three days it was set up again in the Minority High School of Komotini as part of the city’s festival. Presentations were given to the students of the hosting school (820 students) and in the evening to families of our community (270 parents and children).

6. Discussion

The implementation of this project affected positively all the students and the teachers involved. It was an inclusive project that boosted student’s engagement, creativity, self-esteem and made them get initiative and reach the local community by presenting their work and what they had learnt about space. To what concerns the number of teachers collaborating in our school it has grown. In addition there was collaboration between Public Schools and Minority Schools. The interaction between the children, the teachers, the schools and the community is very important and all of them benefited through it.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge Eleftheria Tsoulidaki, researcher at Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Greece, for her guidance and support.

References

[1] Hanover Research.: Best practices in elementary STEM programs. Washington, DC: Hanover Research, 2012.

[2] Percy, J.R.: Teaching Astronomy: Why and How?,  JAAVSO, Vol. 35, pp. 248-254, 2006.