Video: Traveling Planetarium Comes To Shannon Middle School

[syndicaster id=’5572798′]

SHANNON, Miss. (WCBI) — A trip to the planetarium is a big treat for students, but it involves travel and time away from school. But a mobile planetarium came to one middle school in our area.

From the outside it looks like a big igloo, but inside, it is an adventure for these science students at Shannon Middle School.

“I travelled to outer space,” said seventh grader Andrew Hallmark.

The Digital Starlab, or mobile planetarium, was brought to the school by the Center for Math and Science Education at Ole Miss.

For the past few weeks, science classes have studied the universe.

“They have to learn about the planets, the solar system, the moon phases, we studied the size of the universe and how everything is put together,” said Tracy Leake, an eighth grade science teacher.

After being told how to properly enter the enclosed dome, students head inside for the presentation.

“I typically start out, with what a person experiences throughout one day, how the sun moves, and how phenomenon move around earth and in our solar system,” said Ole Miss Grad Student Whitney Jackson.

There’s even a fly by of the moon.

For students, it was a fun, learning experience.

“It helps me a lot knowing about the moon phases and everything she was talking about,” Hallmark said.

“It shows me, gives me a visual look at it,” said seventh grader Seth Stephens.

The mobile planetarium can be taken to schools throughout Northeast Mississippi, to get students more excited about the world of science.

For more information about how to get the mobile planetarium to your area, go to www.umcmse.com.