Every two years, planetarium professionals and astronomers from all over the world meet for the International Planetarium Society (IPS) Conference.
Manfred Olson Planetarium Director and Lake Effect Astronomy Contributor Jean Creighton traveled to Fukuoka, Japan, for this year’s conference in June. There, she gave a presentation and met with other professionals to share innovative ideas to support the work of planetariums all over the world. She says this year was her second time attending the conference.
Jean joins Lake Effect’s Audrey Nowakowski to share more about what she experienced there.
“It was wonderful for me to see that we're back to thinking about what's important — and what a planetarium can really bring and do that other venues can't,” Creighton says. "... People are becoming more and more aware of the value of personal interactions. So, yes, there are planetariums that basically play movies, but there's a whole lot of planetariums in the world that at least add a live aspect to this. Some in fact only do live programs, so it's nice to find kindred spirits."
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Audrey Nowakowski: Planetariums are accessible for people of all ages, and you gave a talk at the IPS conference about a program that Manfred Olson Planetarium developed for third grade kids in Milwaukee Public Schools. What kind of feedback did you get from your presentation?
Jean Creighton: I was super flattered, because one of the people in the audience was the co-chair of the education committee. She told me that I was actually talking about what matters: how can we help people understand things? Planetariums can have a lot of razzle-dazzle, right? You can really blow people's minds. But I was talking, specifically, about how to honor the needs that the school district has. They explicitly said they wanted examples of how to read a graph, and I thought, “I'm all about that” — people understanding what they're looking at in terms of data. So, we had a graph about the temperatures of Milwaukee over time, and what helped the students have those discovery moments. Having people trying to figure out something and then being successful is one of the markers of learning.
AN: Do you have any other examples from colleagues you met, of similar programs or things that you’d want to try at the planetarium?
JC: Oh, there are all kinds of things I’d love to try. But there might be some difficulties implementing them. I was pea-green with envy about this Polish program I heard about — they have programs for adults and all these interesting topics. But of course, they can sell beer, and it would be very difficult at a university setting. There are certain programs where I celebrate that other people can do them, and maybe one day we will too. But we have to offer programs that are exciting to adults, even without the booze.
AN: At this conference there's so many people attending and also presenting. Were there any speakers or keynote addresses that stood out to you?
JC: Yes! There was one presentation about how, at a time when we have so many answers, how can we get back the craft of asking good questions? And I was thrilled to have one of the keynote speakers talk about that. We also had a cosmologist who gave such a great talk about the state of cosmology today. He talked about how dark energy and dark matter are kind of like a father and mother to us, and I love that metaphor. I thought he gave the best update on where we’re at with trying to figure out what dark matter and dark energy are. He was saying that, without dark matter, the universe just wouldn't be here. So, it’s like our mother. Dark energy might be like a father, which seeded the universe's existence. I love that very relatable metaphor.
AN: For you, I can imagine it's fun and refreshing to just be a listener, instead of teaching all the time, right?
JC: Yes! Any conference blows your mind. And this was particularly so, because it was the first time I’d been that far east. I'd never been to Japan. One thing that blew my mind was how food is presented. Especially if you went to a nice restaurant, each dish had its own shape, its own beautiful design. I went for one, specific kind of 12-course meal, where there must have been 100 dishes that they used to present small, beautiful things. It made me appreciate that the Japanese are serious about beauty. I figured, what a great takeaway: to bring as much beauty as you can in everyday activities.
You can listen to the full conversation above.
_
