European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 7, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday february 1986 the stars and stripes Page 9 is pal Olio by l. Pm melt Lewi or. A left shoes Are All that remain of a class swallowed by Sla lab. At right Sally Toth Center Points out constellations to Carol Knupp s second a radars. Planetarium thrills starry eyed pupils by Mary Hladky education writer Mainz Germany off with their shoes. Down on their hands and Knees. Twenty five fourth graders squirmed through a Slit in a Silver dome crawled Down a Tunnel and entered a pitch Black Cavern. Music from the movie "2001 a space Odyssey filled the dark Den. I can t see nothing muttered one Pupil this is ridiculous said another. Suddenly bursts of Light shimmered on the dome above their Heads. Oooo Ohhi exclaimed the children. It was neat. It looked like real stars. I d like to be the first kid in space As Long As it does t blowup _ Casey Wallace age 9 uts he is Guthat awed the Mainz Elemen tary school pupils this week was a night Lime sky Fuller constellations the big dipper Orion cassiopeia gemini and Minhe chums run were Able to see them Dur ing the Day in their school s Media Center hints to Sta lab a portable planetarium big enough to hold 30 children. Inflated by an attached room fan the Lenz and Toth tailor their presentations to match the age level of the listeners. Students said they liked the show. It was neat Casey Wallace 9, said. It looked like real stars. I d like to be the first kid in space As Long As it does t blow it was like being in space Ervin Rog ers 9, said. It was like you were dropping out of the Mainz elementary is just one Stop on the Sla lab roadshow. The planetarium is so popular that its schedule is booked until next school year said Earl Morse one of two science curriculum coordinators Tor Dodds Germany. The Region has one other Sta lab which is permanently housed at the outdoor education Center in Darmstadt. But because of the High demand school officials have ordered six More at a Cost of $6,500 each which should be delivered and operating by the end of the school year. Morse said More teachers will get the necessary training to use Sta lab before the new planetariums hit the Road. He estimates More than 100,000 children have visited the first two Sta labs which Are 4 years old. It s a fantastic tool few teaching Basic astronomy he said. Obviously you Don t see much of the stars in Germany. As a result it is hard to get across astronomy concepts to the two Media specialists and other Mainz elementary teachers started teach ing astronomy concepts one month before Sta lab arrived at the school. There has to be preparation Linz said. There is a lot we did to Lead up to pupils Drew constellations poked holes where stars Are located and held the Black papers up to the Light to get the illusion of looking at the night sky. They also used computers to learn More about the constellations. While regular teachers concentrated on space and science lessons the Media specialists taught students about the mythologies that gave names to the groups of stars. It has been a really Good Opportunity for the kids Toth said. With Halley s Comet and the shuttle tragedy they arc very aware. It is a perfect year for it Sta lab visit us photo by l. Emmell Lewis or. Second grader Daniel Soliz 8, crawls out of the inflatable planetarium s exit Hole
