IMMERSIVE GEOSCIENCES IN THE WHITWORTH FERGUSON PLANETARIUM

Although many university planetariums are located in astronomy or physics departments, Buffalo State University’s Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium is housed in the Geosciences Department. Traditionally, planetariums have been used to teach about the night sky using an analog star projector. Star projectors still provide the best simulation of the night sky with no light pollution, but advancement of technology related to digital planetariums (computers, software, and projectors) allows the viewer to rise off of Earth to explore other parts of our solar system and the far reaches of the universe. Additionally, these digital systems are used to show immersive, fulldome films. The Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium has the ‘best of both worlds’ because it contains a Zeiss ZKP4 Skymaster star projector and a Spitz 4K SciDome digital planetarium. Together, these systems are used to communicate topics in astronomy, earth science, and the geosciences to our students, visiting school groups, Scout and other private groups, and the public.

Although many topics presented in the planetarium are aligned with astronomy, our immersive films include a focus on topics such as the formation of Earth, Earth’s climate system, the exploration of Mars, and water on Earth and throughout our solar system. These fulldome films are followed by live presentation of information related to the topic. Additionally, the planetarium is used to teach upper division geoscience courses about the geology and geomorphology of various solar system objects, especially Earth, Moon, and Mars, by presenting and discussing different data sets in the planetarium’s immersive environment. We have even used the planetarium to immerse Structural Geology students in a stereonet while projecting planes and lines. Whatever the topic, material is learned better in an immersive environment, so it is beneficial to use planetariums for presenting and teaching beyond astronomy including in the geosciences. This presentation will include examples of using the planetarium to present geoscience topics, how to connect with a planetarium if you don’t have one in your department, and how our planetarium has led to other collaborations and presentations across Buffalo and Western New York.