7C - Planetariums as Unique Venues for Environmental Education

Friday, August 23, 2024

10:50 AM – 11:40 AM US PDT

Lead Presenter(s)

Ryan Wyatt (he/him/his)

Senior Director of Morrison Planetarium and Science Visualization
California Academy of Sciences
San Francisco, California, United States

Co-Presenter(s)

JA

Jessica Agnos

Astronomers for Planet Earth
Anna Hurst (they/them/theirs)

Program Director
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
San Francisco, California, United States
TS

Tiffany Stone Wolbrecht

Associated Universities, Inc.
SF

Shiloe Fontes

Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium

Abstract: Planetariums are uniquely positioned as a global network of fundamentally local and regional institutions to make an effective change in the public’s understanding of climate change and environmental issues. Modern digital planetariums support data visualization across a wide range of physical, spatial, and temporal scales, which allows planetariums to address spatially challenging concepts across a variety of content areas. Furthermore, planetariums cultivate relationships in local communities and have the potential to engage audiences in solutions-based conversations that can leverage powerful visualizations connecting local issues to regional and global data.

This 50-minute session will highlight several projects that focus on bringing environmental topics to planetarium audiences. These will include a proposal to co-create climate programs with local communities, show productions that weave climate and environmental storytelling into planetarium narratives, and live planetarium programs that showcase climate and environmental scientists.