Blackland Prairie Elementary School Mrs. Rollans and Mrs. Inzana, the Instructional Technology Specialist and librarian at Blackland Prairie, led all first through fifth graders through lessons in the Discovery Dome, an inflatable planetarium. Each grade level experienced a different lesson. First graders learned about objects in the sky, including that the sun and the moon can be in the sky at the same time. Second grade learned about how folk songs and the stars helped lead slaves to safety in the north. Third grade went on an adventure through space. Fourth grade experienced some catastrophic weather events and fifth grade explored the constellations in the night sky with traditional tales.
This is what Emma, a third grader learned:
I loved the discovery dome so much! I was amazed at the fact that there were crystallized ice caves on a moon! Hearing that Pluto’s moon, Charon, was almost the size of the dwarf planet was jaw-dropping. I had no idea that all of the gas giants in our solar system had rings, and that Neptune had a storm similar to Jupiter’s. I knew that Jupiter’s storm would disappear one day but never knew until now it would happen in our lifetimes. I am very excited to go to the discovery dome next year!
We can’t wait to have the Discovery Dome back next year.