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About Us
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WVHS Planetarium
In 1975, the Waubonise Valley High School Planetarium opened with
the high school. While housed at Waubonsie Valley
High School, the planetarium is part of the district wide
Instructional Technology Department.
The planetarium has won
awards for its use of
technology. |
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The WVHS Planetarium serves students of Indian
Prairie School District 204 by providing astronomy and co-curricular
programs to students of all ages. Every program is presented
live in order to provide lessons directly linked to learning
standards and classroom studies. In the 2007-2008 school year
16,000 people visited the WVHS Planetarium to learn about the night sky.
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The planetarium also opens its doors to the local community.
Everyday the planetarium welcomes various groups including field
trips, scouts, the public, and other organizations. Programs
currently being offered include
family nights and
scout programs. Along with
serving the local community, the WVHS Planetarium is affiliated with
regional and national
organizations. |
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Planetarium Director, Stephanie Gove,
with a first grade field trip. |
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What is a planetarium? If you have never
heard of a planetarium, you might be thinking that it has something
to do with plants or planets. If you know it has to do with the sky,
you might be thinking it is a big telescope. If you have a first
grader who has been on a field trip to the planetarium, you might
have heard about Big Blue Guy. |
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A planetarium creates an artificial
sky, including the sun, moon, stars, and planets, which appears and
moves to simulate the real sky. The heart of the planetarium is the
star projector, which makes this artificial sky on the dome. Few
realize that the WVHS Planetarium and its star projector are
original to the high school, which opened in 1975. Our projector is
a Minolta Series IIB, which means little to a first grader. As
anyone enters the planetarium, the projector is hard to miss. It
stands 15 feet high, has two ends that look like heads with eyes,
and is blue all over, hence, the nickname ‘Big Blue Guy’. Click
here to see pictures inside the
planetarium. |
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Why come to a planetarium when you
can see the real thing in your own backyard? Even though it is
artificial, the planetarium offers many advantages for stargazing.
Outdoor stargazers must contend with the cold, cloud cover, unwanted
light from streets, and the city glow in general. The star projector
can also change time. Visitors see the night sky every program, no
matter what time the program starts. |
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