HOW PLANETARIUMS OFFER DIVERSE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE A BROAD AUDIENCE IN STEM

Planetariums offer a distinct opportunity to engage a broad audience in STEM in ways that inspire and go beyond what most traditional educational platforms afford. Planetarium programs have the capacity to improve learning outcomes even after a brief visit for audiences. Research on informal learning environments, including the planetarium, emphasizes how these venues provide opportunities for learning that goes above and beyond what audiences might find in other settings. Rather than considering the planetarium a “better classroom,” it can best be understood as providing new opportunities for learning that complement the classroom. Various studies provide evidence of how integration between planetarium visits and classroom lessons may support student learning. The immersive capacity of the fulldome environment may improve learning, including explanations addressing how immersion supports memory, spatial learning, and data comprehension. Future research using controls or comparison groups to strengthen the validity of findings will help us answer questions about the impact of new planetarium designs on how children learn.