Aiming for the perfect planetarium education experience: The Planetarium Halle (Saale)

Presentation theme: educational advances in planetariums

How can a planetarium create a lasting educational impact? Last spring, a new planetarium opened in the city of Halle in Saxony-Anhalt in Eastern Germany. Astronomical education has traditionally been very important in the city of Halle (Saale) and so the planetarium building was designed to create a unique astronomical learning experience for children and adults. The educational experience at the Planetarium Halle starts outside of the building. With the unique, more than one hundred meters long graffito »The annual band of constellations« on the outer wall of the planetarium, guests can find out which constellations can currently be seen in the sky. All constellations of the zodiac are depicted, raising the question: Why can I not see »my« constellation on my birthday? 

Inside the 12-meter dome, the answer to this question and many more questions is given to school classes by fully-trained astronomy school teachers. In addition to the classical star projector and fulldome features, there is a direct link from the observatory on the roof of the building to the dome, making it possible to do live observations in 4k of the sun and the night sky within the dome. 

Afterward, school classes are invited to use other facilities of the planetarium free of charge. This includes flexibly equipped lecture and seminar rooms, a book and subject library, and a large observation platform. 

All of this is designed to be fully accessible. Dynamic seating in the dome allows for groups of wheelchair users to experience the dome together. The dome is located on the ground floor to minimize obstacles for wheelchair users. The lecture rooms and observation deck are accessible via Elevator. 

Finally, the Halle Planetarium is also on the move. With its own »space shuttle«, sponsored by the Friends of the Planetarium, the Halle Planetarium brings astronomy to the people in the city. 

In a brief overview, we present the possibilities that the Halle Planetarium has to inspire children and adults with unique educational programs in addition to the events in the dome, and the experience that has been gained in recent months.

Image © Arena Berlin