A course that makes good use of the star dome theatre. Topics include lunar phases, constellation mythology, planisphere usage, planet motions, explanation of the seasons, meteor showers, aurora, star location, galaxies, and more. Each student also "adopts" a star and will learn about its different aspects.
HIGH SCHOOL ASTRONOMY/WITH LAB
Tuesdays
10:00 a.m. - noon
September 6 - November 15
Enrollment fee: $85.00
This course involves the star dome theatre and includes lab sessions with solar scopes and celestial spheres.
Topics include:
Solar astronomyUsing planispheres/reading star charts
Seasons
Constellations/equatorial coordinate system
Stellar astronomy/fusion and nucleosynthesis
Galactic astronomy
Basic cosmology/Big Bang
Planetary motions/synodic periods
PHYSICS/WITH LAB
Mondays 10:00 a.m. - noon
September 12 - November 14, 2016
Enrollment fee: $85.00
A rigorous physics course which, however, still begins at the foundations.
Vectors, motions in one and two dimensions, falling body problems, projectile motion, forces, work, impulse, momentum, gravity, thermodynamics. We also discuss concepts in relativity and quantum physics.
Each student is given a "Universe," which is a bound notebook of blank paper. Their Universe will contain anything they want to include about the physics concepts we'll be discussing, including diagrams, stores, solved problems or any other additions. As we know, the science of physics involves the art of creative thinking.
This course includes lab sessions, as well, with inclined planes and other mechanical devices.
A fun class for all ages. We spend an hour and a half in the dome telling star stories. Over the course of four weeks, we cover all four seasons and fifty constellations altogether.This course is conducted entirely in the star dome