Northern Arizona planetarium aims to bring the stars to students in rural areas
PRESCOTT, AZ (AZFamily) — It often just takes one interaction to light a lifelong passion for STEM in children, but many students in rural areas across northern Arizona don’t have the same access.
The Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott wants to help students shoot for the stars by bringing the stars to them.
It’s the only planetarium north of Phoenix in the state, and Community Outreach Director Eric Edelman says there are still access challenges.
“Not everybody can get to us so the goal of this Mobil Dome is for us to be able to get to people that can’t reach us for whatever reason,” Edelman said.
The planetarium obtained a Starlab inflatable “mobile planetarium” dome that can fit 20 children at a time. Now, it’s bringing it to schools across rural Arizona.
“So this is giving access to the stars to the universe in a unique way to a whole group of people that haven’t had that experience before,” Edelman said.
The dome uses a projector and a computer program to bring stars, planets, and whole galaxies just feet away from children.
“You get the same genre of expression. It’s always the upward-looking jaw drop,” Edelman said.
According to the Department of Defence’s STEM program, rural students are disproportionately disadvantaged in receiving a quality education in STEM subjects.
Edelman says just because a student is from a rural area doesn’t mean they should miss out on the wonders of space and STEM.
“They should feel include included in this progress of scientific discovery, exploration knowing that wherever they are the stars are for them,” Edelman said.
The goal is to provide access and get more children interested in space and STEM, regardless of where they live.
“That when we tell kids that they should shoot for the stars maybe we should point out where some of those stars are,” Edelman said.
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