Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
|
|
 |
|
|
Tim Barry begins his program inside the dome for the students at John Redd Smith Elementary School. |
| More Photos |
Friday, March 16, 2007
By KATHRIN KLENSHTEYN - Bulletin Staff Writer
Students at John Redd Smith Elementary School became virtual space travelers Thursday when an educational company presented the Sky Dome Planetarium.
Whispers of “whoa” rolled across the dark interior of the 15-foot-high dome as a single light bulb went out and the “night sky” lit up with hundreds of stars. Students let their heads fall back as they looked above and all around them.
Facilitator Tom Barry, an independent contractor with the company Mobile Ed Productions, projected an image on one wall of the dome.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages — or at least those of you in the third and fifth grade,” he said, and he then introduced them to the Milky Way Galaxy.
Barry then zoomed in on one part of the galaxy, Earth’s solar system. He spoke quickly, capturing students’ attention with jokes, and explained the planet’s distance from the sun.
He said if the group decided to take a field trip traveling at 65 mph, “it would take 163 years to reach the sun.”
He went on to describe the eight planets, their atmospheres and moons. The great red spot on Jupiter is called that by scientists because, according to Barry, “it’s great, it’s red and it’s a spot.”
Then the dome filled with twinkling white stars and translucent shapes to show what the constellations represented. Barry discussed Greek mythology, including the story about Medusa and Perseus, which form a constellation. He encouraged students “to go to the library and look it up.”
Barry finished his presentation by showing students what the night sky would look like Thursday and reviewing the constellations and how to locate them.
The presentation inspired at least two students.
Third-grader Jordan Carter, 9, said she would go outside Thursday night to see the real night sky for herself.
She thought the presentation was “cool. I liked the part when all the stars went around and around really fast.”
Chaney Gordon, also 9 and in third grade, said he got a telescope for Christmas. He said he did not know so many constellations existed and “that our sun was 10,000 degrees.”
Chaney, son of Sharon and Thomas Gordon of Martinsville, said he will look for Venus, Saturn and the North Star the next time he is outside at night.
Carter, daughter of Patricia and William Carter of Collinsville, said she will look for Orion and the Big and Little Dippers.
Today, students at the school will learn about continents with an Earth Dome, said Barry.
According to Principal Travis Clemons, this is the second year the school has had Mobile Ed Productions present the sky dome.
The school’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) funded the program, Clemons said. He did not know the cost. |
| |
|
|
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
