Digitalis Portable Planetarium: New Facilitator Training (Full Day)

Unlock the universe for your students! The East Central Educational Service Center (ECESC) is excited to offer full-day, hands-on training for educators and staff who wish to reserve and utilize our portable Digitalis Planetarium units ("StarLab") for the upcoming school year.

Course Overview This comprehensive training equips new users with the technical confidence, operational skills, and curriculum strategies needed to safely transport, set up, and present immersive astronomy experiences. Using an inflatable polymer dome designed for easy setup in classrooms, auditoriums, or gymnasiums, you will learn how to operate the high-tech digital projection system. Bring celestial concepts to life by displaying realistic night skies, mapping constellation outlines, projecting global geography, and accelerating a year’s worth of solar, planetary, and lunar motions into just minutes.

What You Will Learn

Safe Transport & Setup: Best practices for inventory management, transporting the equipment, inflating the dome, and optimizing your indoor space.
System & Software Operation: Step-by-step guidance on running the digital projector, navigating celestial controls, and troubleshooting common issues.
Instructional Integration: Strategies for aligning planetarium software features with elementary STEM and Earth science standards to create engaging student experiences.
Care & Policy: Guidelines for system maintenance, return procedures, and ECESC reservation policies.

Important Notice: Attendance and completion of this training (or an approved refresher course) is STRICTLY REQUIRED for any teacher or staff member wishing to reserve and operate a planetarium unit.

Target Audience: Teachers, media specialists, and district staff new to operating the Digitalis Planetarium.
Duration: Full Day (9:00 AM – 3:00 PM; lunch on your own)
Cost: $150 per participant

Registration