Re: [Phys-L] planetarium design

[Mike Sorola <msorola@southsanisd.net>]

We had a planetarium built in a classroom at our new high school building
two years ago.  The classroom itself is a typical high-school classroom in
the front, lab in the back setup with the dome right in the middle.  It is
about 7 meters across.  My first year in it, I had half astronomy classes
and half AP Physics, and as the dome covered most of the lab portion of the
room, it was pretty dark.  We now have a full time astronomy teacher, and
she is able to teach class normally up front and then move to the back to
use the dome.  The only issue we both have is the control station
placement; it is at the front, so it takes up room where student desks
could be.

Also, as mentioned above, talk with architects early on about what you
want.  I was not invited to any planning meetings while the layout was
being planned, so now we have a 2' x 3' window in the back of the room near
the ceiling.  Apparently no one thought a window in a planetarium was a bad
idea.

Mike Sorola

On Tue, Sep 29, 2015 at 7:41 PM, John Denker <jsd@av8n.com> wrote:

> On 09/29/2015 03:25 PM, Larry Smith wrote:
>
> > I’m lobbying for the inclusion of a permanent planetarium
>
> From the keen-grasp-of-the-obvious department:
>   International Planetarium Society
>     http://www.ips-planetarium.org/
>   Development Resources
>     http://www.ips-planetarium.org/?page=pdg
>   "So You Want to Build A Planetarium"
>
> http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.ips-planetarium.org/resource/resmgr/pdf-pubs/soyouwanttobuildaplanetarium.pdf
>
> Also:  There are companies that specialize in manufacturing
> domes:
>   http://astro-tec.com/portfolio/
>
> http://emerald-planetariums.com/en/emerald-planetarium/inflatable-planetarium-domes/tilted-3d-curved-dome-solutions-detail.html
>
>
> > We anticipate using it for community outreach and school groups
>
> That's smart.  OTOH, given the size of the community and
> the local population density, we're not talking about
> huge mobs of people.
>
> Also note that planetariums these days double as IMAX
> theaters and laser lightshow/concert venues, so the
> domain is not limited to astronomy.
>
> > it will be used as a regular classroom during most of the day.
>
> If you go with digital projectors along the walls
> (shooting across the diameter) you don't need to worry
> about a big klunky projector blocking sight lines from
> the back of the room.  This solution is more electronics-
> intensive and less optics-intensive than the classic
> design.  I reckon it's the way of the future.
>
> Make sure the architect has a clue about /acoustics/.
> The room is useless as a classroom and everything else
> if the acoustics are messed up.
>
> > I’m thinking of a 35-seat room
>
> See if you can get ballpark estimates for the cost for
> that size and a larger size.  I have no idea how cost
> scales with size.
>
> =============
>
> Note that this needs to be "baked in" to the building
> design at an early stage, if only because architects
> run all sorts of utilities in the space between floors.
> You can't ask for a double-high room at the last minute.
>
> I assume you want a tilted dome and stadium-style
> tiered seating.
>
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