2022 SEPA-WAC Conference – Schedule

Monday, August 22, 2022

Optional arrival for delegates and vendors

Noon-5pm- Vendor Set up by request only

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

• 8am-4pm vendor set up- Exhibit Hall
• 8am-4pm Check in and registration- Main Hallway

Mini-LIPS

• 9:00-9:15am Check-In, Light Refreshments, Networking- General Session Ballroom
• 9:15-9:45am Introductions, overview of the day, what is LIPS with Karrie Berglund
• 9:45-10:15am Solar Motion Activity with April Whitt
  April will be sharing a paper extension activity about solar motion as well as some interactive materials sent by Jane Hastings
• 10:15-10:35am Coffee break- Main Hallway
• 10:40am-12pm Mini-LIPS Sessions- General Session Ballroom

1. 1. 10:40 -11:10am Mad-lib Myths with Liz Klimek
      Liz will share a live Valentine’s Day-themed planetarium show where South Carolina State Museum experimented with a new way of trying to involve the audience in the creation of custom sky stories on the dome. Audience members provided information via a mad-lib style form before each show, the results of which were incorporated into the presentation. This resulted in a show that was, to some degree, tailored to each audience and allowed them to participate in a fun way.

1. 2. 11:15am-12:00pm It’s All About the Questions with Karrie Berglund, part 1
      There are different types of questions, and sometimes it makes sense to use a particular type of question at a certain point in a presentation. We will explore question types, discuss ideas for when and how to use different types of questions, and finally practice using questions in short presentations to the group. This session is heavily based on a workshop by Sara Schultz at GLIPSA 2021

• 12:10-12:40pm Lunch- General Session Ballroom
• 12:45-1:45pm Mini-LIPS Sessions – General Session Ballroom

1. 3. 12:45-1:15pm Questions, part 2
   4. 1:15-1:45pm Kinesthetic Activities: Galileo with Ken Brandt
      Ken will share simple kinesthetics that require little or no materials and can help learners understand what Galileo was observing. This is a follow up activity to Ken’s GLIPSA 2021 presentation.

• 1:45-1:55pm Break
• 2:00-3:50pm Mini-LIPS Sessions- General Session Ballroom

1. 5. 2:00-2:30pm Earth Moves with Chris Miller
      Chris shares a new interactive Planetarium program about how Earth moves in different ways. The program itself is about 16 minutes and includes several built-in audience discussion segments

1. 6. 2:35-2:55pm Planet Walk for All Ages with Neil Pifer
      The scale model of the solar system never was so much fun! Going from the Sun to the outer gas giants could be a tedious task, but not with these integrated activities that are flexible enough for 2nd up to 8th graders. Neil will share how Horizons Unlimited has honed this lesson and adjusted throughout the pandemic what is now one of their regular outreach offerings. The original idea for this lesson was from two places: Robin Byrne’s social media posts during the pandemic and the NASA lesson, “the Earth as a peppercorn”. Neil hopes you can work this walk with nature into your outreach or field trip rotation!

1. 7. 2:55-3:15pm Out of the World Content Creation with Callie Boyle
      In this session, Callie will present on utilizing and combining different aspects in the dome to create more immersive and hands-on programming. Topics will include creative ways to incorporate details such as visuals and audio that can be used to enhance and specialize such productions. As a presenter with a strong foundation in public speaking and presentation skills, she will also share some of my own experience thus far with presenting interactive content in the dome and ways to stay on your toes when offering live improvisation style content.

1. 8. 3:20-3:50pm Building a Foundation of Personalization with New Presenters with Kat Hunt
      New presenters in domes rarely come with a memory bank of star stories and space facts, yet having individualism is both important to the visitor and helps build self-confidence. Explore how a foundation of individualism in star shows can be built in the very first week with a new presenter.

• 3:50-4:00pm Closing Thoughts, Evaluations

SEPA-WAC Conference

• 4:15-4:45pm SEPA Council meeting- General Session Ballroom
• 4:00pm- Shuttle buses start from Marriott to USSRC Main Entrance
• 4:00- 6:00pm Explore U.S. Space & Rocket Center- gift shop will be open
• 5:45-6:15pm New Member Welcome- USSRC Discovery Theatre
• 6:30-8:00pm Opening Reception- INTUITIVE Planetarium Lobby
• 8:00-10:40pm Dome Session 1- INTUITIVE Planetarium
  • 8:15-8:42 COSM Studios
  • 8:52-9:04 Seiler Planetarium 
  • 9:07-9:19 Bowen Technovation
  • 9:22-9:34 ASH Enterprises
  • 9:44-9:49 Audio Visual Imagineering, Inc.
  • 9:52-10:19 SSIA/ Sky-Skan 
  • 10:29-10:41 Laser Fantasy
• 10:45pm-12:30am- Dome TriviaSnacks and Beverages available
• 12:45am- Last shuttle bus runs from Planetarium to Mariott

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

• 8:00am-2pm Registration Open- Main Hallway
• 8:30-9:10am Exhibit time- Exhibit Hall
• 9:15-9:30am Formal Welcome- General Session Ballroom
  David Weigel and Dr. Kimberly Robinson
• 9:30-10:45am Round 1 paper sessions – General Session Ballroom

1. 1. 09:35-09:50a Drew Gilmore: News from Sudekum!
      Greetings from Nashville! We’ll discuss what we’ve been up to for the past couple of years. Also, we’ll show off some of the ‘little things’ we do to make our guest experience better.

1. 2. 09:55-10:10a Ken Brandt: Free Mars resources from NASA
      NASA has a bounty of free resources, to include audio, video, virtual field trips, hand out materials, planetarium programs, and display floor models. I’ll provide resource links, and tips about being a volunteer for NASA

1. 3. 10:15-10:30a David Weigel: Web Interactives in WorldWide Telescope
      Explore the versatility of WorldWide Telescope’s web engine and briefly learn how to create web interactives. We’ll discuss the various use cases on display at the Rocket Center.

1. 4. 10:35-10:50 Brandon Crowley: Showing grade school students how to analyze data in a dome theatre presentation environment
      Utah’s SEEd standards require that students use computational thinking to analyze data about the scale and properties of objects in the solar system.  In our dome theater presentations, we’ve adapted to this requirement by developing interactive scripts and models to guide audiences through this process.

• 10:50-11:00am- Break
• 11:00am-12:30pm Vendor Lunch- General Session Ballroom
  SPEAKER: Jim Odom
• 12:35pm- Depart for Davidson Center on USSRC Buses
• 12:45-2:15pm Guided Saturn V Hall tours
• 2:20pm- Group Photo
• 2:30pm- Depart for Marriott on USSRC Buses
• 2:30-3:30pm Exhibit Time- Exhibit Hall
• 3:30-4:30pm Round 2 Paper Session- General Session Ballroom

1. 5. 3:35-3:50 Ryan Wyatt: Bringing Living Worlds to Life
      In Living Worlds, the latest award-winning production from the California Academy of Sciences, we explore how understanding life on Earth helps us search for life elsewhere. We visit Earth and Mars in the distant past, we showcase spacecraft that are still on NASA’s drawing boards, and we ruminate on the implications of discovering extraterrestrial intelligence. In this presentation, we’ll touch on the science and engineering stories in the show, highlight some secrets of the production, and share some ideas about our “live sections” that augment the show content in Morrison Planetarium.

1. 6. 3:55-4:10 Duke Johnson: Touch the Moon and Mars!
      For just a few thousand dollars you can make anyone’s experience at your facility very memorable and unique. Give visitors a visceral “ah-ha” moment as you get them excited to learn more about the Moon, Mars, and meteorites.

1. 7. 4:15-4:30 Erin Nagelkirk: Cinematic, Scientifically (?)
      Who doesn’t enjoy watching an epic, cinematic movie? The process of making a visual scientific and cinematic can be tedious but is well worth the effort!

• 4:30- Break
• 4:40- 5:40pm Dinner- General Session Ballroom
• 5:45pm- Shuttle buses start from Marriott to Planetarium
• 6:00-7:30pm Itamar Concert at the INTUITIVE Planetarium
  Cash bar and snacks available at concession stand
• 7:45-10:30pm- Dome Session 2 at the INTUITIVE Planetarium
  • 7:55-8:22 Cosm, Inc.
  • 8:32-8:44 Digitalis Education Solutions
  • 8:47-9:07 Soref Planetarium 
  • 9:10-9:37 Konica Minolta- RSA Cosmos: Envision the future with RSA Cosmos – Konica Minolta, global leader in digital planetariums
    Join us to learn all about the leading high-quality turnkey solutions we provide for planetariums worldwide & discover the latest news for our powerful planetarium software, SkyExplorer.
  • 9:47-9:52 ChromaCove: Ask around, then ask for ChromaCove® LED cove lighting
    Enjoy a brief yet colorful presentation about the popular and dependable ChromaCove LED cove lighting. See why ChromaCove has become such a recognizable name and the preferred provider for many systems vendors. Be sure to come and touch it in the exhibition hall.
  • 9:55-10:22 US Space and Rocket Center- Intuitive Planetarium 
• 10:30- Midnight- Dome Fun- INTUITIVE Planetarium
• 12:15am- Last shuttle bus from planetarium to Marriott

Thursday, August 25, 2022

• 8:30am-1pm Registration Open- Main Hallway
• 8:30-9:30am Exhibit time- Exhibit Hall
• 9:10-11:30am Round 3 Paper Sessions- General Session Ballroom

1. 8. 09:15-09:30 Jon Bell: “We Got a Gift Shop!”
      After 28 years of operation, Indian River State College’s Hallstrom Planetarium was given the go-ahead to set up and operate a small gift shop adjacent to the planetarium theater. In this talk, I will discuss how we put it together, how we opened, how we’re doing so far, and what we hope to do in the upcoming fiscal year.

1. 9. 09:35-09:50 David Maness: What’s up with the Pink Palace?
      As with many of you, it has been interesting for the last three years. I will recount some of the challenges and changes my museum has endured since we last met together.

1. 10. 09:55-10:10 Brittany Kundert and Sam Pinter: The Cs to Success: How to Stay Current and Correct
   11. 10:15-10:30 Emma Cleveland: Elevate Your WorldTravel down to the surface of Mars and explore the unique terrain of the Red Planet.
       Learn how using publicly available data from spacecraft, like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, can enhance your planetarium experience.

1. 12. 10:35-10:50 Duke Johnson: Bring Visitors Back Again and Again!Give your guests a reason to come back!
       Exhibits are interactive and allow the visitor to try again and work to achieve mastery bring people back to your facility. We collect visitor usage data through the exhibit itself and use this data to improve the guest experience.

1. 13. 10:55-11:10 David Dundee: Nebra Sky Disc
       The Nebra Sky disc is an artifact that may be a bronze age representation of the sky found in Germany. However, this artifact comes with some controversy. Is it ancient artifact? Is it more recent or perhaps a hoax? Come and find out about this curious astronomy artifact.

1. 14. 11:15-11:30 Bob Bonadurer: Stars in their Eyes!_______ in their brains?
       What do our planetarium visitors think about space? What do they love? What’s weird? What’s their favorite planet? Discover these answers and more in the Soref Planetarium’s Fun & Short Survey!

1. 15. 11:35-11:50 Ken Brandt: Robeson Planetarium Update
       Find out what’s happening in the rebuild process of the Planetarium and Science Center.

• 11:55am-12:55pm Lunch- General session BallroomSPEAKER: Heather Roden
• 1:05pm-4:00pm Round 1 Workshops- General Session Ballroom

1. 16. 1:05-1:35- Katherine Hunt: Telling Community Stories in Fulldome Video
       While fulldome film is a robust and growing medium for science communication, education, and visitor experience today; by nature of its required investment of time and resources it’s a medium that has required a large level of transferability. This, consequently, means that many individual domes cannot tell their community’s stories or easily feature topics that are most relevant to their regional audiences. This is especially true in environmental education, as the ecological and economic frameworks of regional environments are very unique in their own ways. With advancements in accessible equipment and software, both financially and in usability, the gap between planetarium educator and planetarium producer narrows. In this workshop, we explore ways in which we can all tell our community’s stories in fulldome.

1. 17. 1:40-2:10 Neil Pifer: Teaching Earth Moon and Sun through Shadows
       This 15 presentation or 1 hour workshop can help you set up your dome as a “Shadow Lab”!  Using field tested techniques, this will excite your 2nd – 5th graders and give them a chance to understand Moon phases, eclipses and even sundials with a 6-station lab.

1. 18. 2:15-2:45- Jon Elvert: Ash Enterprise User’s Group
       Intended for users of Spitz, Goto, and Warped Media projector systems. An overview of the functionality of the Ash graphical user interface (GUI) for remote control of starball motions, your cove lighting and audio systems, effect and video projectors. A GUI and iPad will be available for attendees to use and learn how the GUI can be used to assist in presenting and interacting with audiences. We’ll provide updates of recent innovations and available resources, share common technical or maintenance issues, and offer ideas for improving projector operations.

• 2:55-4:25pm SEPA Pre-Business Meeting- Challenger Breakout Room
• 2:45-4:45pm Exhibit time- Exhibit Hall
• 4:45pm- Shuttle buses start from Marriott to Planetarium
• 5:00-6:00 Dome Session 3- INTUITIVE Planetarium
  • 5:15-5:27 GOTO- Stars 
  • 5:30-5:57 California Academy of Sciences 
  • 6:07-6:19 Clark Planetarium 
• 6:20-7:20p dinner- INTUITIVE Planetarium lobby 
• 7:25-8:15 Dome Session 4- INTUITIVE Planetarium
  • 7:25-7:30 Astro-Tec Manufacturing Inc.
  • 7:33-7:45 Moodswings Inc
  • 7:48-8:03 OpenSpace
• 8:15- Midnight – Hospitality – INTUITIVE Planetarium
• 8:30 – 10:00 Constellation Shootout- INTUITIVE Planetarium
  Hosted by: Jon Bell
  Snacks and beverages available
• 12:15am- Last shuttle bus from the Planetarium to Marriott

Friday, August 26, 2022

• 8am-9:10am Exhibit Time- Exhibit Hall
• 9:10a-12:00p Round 4 Paper Session- General Session Ballroom

1. 19. 9:15-9:30 Maria Weber: Benefits of virtual versus face-to-face planetarium labs with an analemma case study
       When the pandemic struck, astronomy lab courses were suddenly forced to navigate a largely new realm – virtual content delivery. This new method of content delivery begs the question ‘Are virtual labs just as valuable as face-to-face experiences?’ Combining both physical distancing guidelines and winter weather events, some astronomy labs could not be held in the Roy L. and Clara Belle Wiley Planetarium at Delta State University during spring 2021. We converted a number of face-to-face planetarium labs for our general education astronomy course to virtual at-home labs using the free, open source planetarium software ‘Stellarium’. In particular, we report on the results of an at-home lab where students were asked to construct an analemma calendar using Stellarium. Analemmas are diagrams that show the position of the Sun in the sky at the same mean solar time during the course of one year. We compare these outcomes to analemma calendars created by students ‘observing’ the Sun’s position in the planetarium once returning to face-to-face instruction (spring 2022). Both groups successfully created analemmas with the characteristic ‘figure 8’ shape, but the student learning outcomes varied based on delivery method.

1. 20. 9:35-9:50 Mel Blake: Including Research in STEM Experiences
       A frequent part of STEM experiences is to include observations of objects which are then presented by the campers. These are usually objects of known behavior where the data collected is not of use for scientific studies. For astronomers at non-R1 institutions or ones where research is not part of the expectations, it can be hard to get involved in original research. I present ways that you can contribute to astronomical research by carefully selecting projects that students can collect that will meet your educational goals but also provide useful scientific data.

1. 21. 9:55-10:10 Blair Belt-Clark: Mayland Earth to Sky Park: Mica Mine, Landfill, Environmental Park
       The Mayland Earth to Sky Park has a thrilling past that once was glittered, littered. Learn what environmentalists are doing to return it to the natural world, in this paper we will examine the rich history of our spot in the biodiverse Appalachian Mountains.

1. 22. 10:15-10:30 Callie Boyle: The Rules of Improv and How to Break Them
       When it comes to presenting educational content in both formal and informal educator roles, working in front of live audiences can bring about several challenges. There is a particular kind of responsibility that accompanies sharing the sciences with the general public. Not only does content need to be accurate, but it must also be delivered in a way that is concise and engaging. Public speaking and improvisation are important foundational skills to have in these kinds of roles. Just like any other skill, they can be learned and improved upon.
       The obvious base of being able to present confidently is knowing and understanding the material. This lays the groundwork for being able to stay in the moment and maintain focus. An unfortunate aspect of performing live content is that mistakes will happen. If it is a mistake that affects the message or the content, it is important to address and correct it, then be prepared to let it go and move on. One of the infamous “rules of improv” is that no matter what situation may come up, a response should always be “Yes, and…” in order to keep the presentation moving forward. However, sometimes guests may ask questions or present challenges to content. It is important to try and understand their view yet be able to maintain a positive forward momentum when explaining or correcting content. Actively practicing these skills will build confidence and stage presence that will keep audiences engaged and inspired.

1. 23. 10:35-10:50 Jack Dunn: Laser Nerds – The Sequel
       Jack and Ken Moore (putting in a separate paper submission to run back-to-back) will continue what they started in 2019 demonstrating and discussing planetarium laser programing. Demonstrating new techniques and synthesizer devices such as the “Radiator.”  I hope also to have presentation by Callie Boyle in same block and we will discuss proper promotion of laser shows.

1. 24. 10:55-11:10 Kenneth Moore: Laser Nerds – The Sequel
       Jack and Ken Moore (putting in a separate paper submission to run back-to-back) will continue what they started in 2019 demonstrating and discussing planetarium laser programing. Demonstrating new techniques and synthesizer devices such as the “Radiator.”  I hope also to have presentation by Callie Boyle in same block and we will discuss proper promotion of laser shows.

1. 25. 11:15-11:30 Duke Johnson: Photogrammetry – An Approach to Full-Dome Content Creation
       Using photogrammetry and Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) for storytelling brings real landscapes for life into your dome. Models created with this technique provide an immersive experience that allows you to move throughout the scene and control lighting, shadow, day/night transitions and much more with amazing results. The model can even be ported to the VR world, touch kiosks, online lessons and more.

1. 26. 11:35-11:50 Thor Metzinger Fiske Planetarium
       Lots of positive changes at Bowen Technovation of the last couple of years! This will be a review of some of Bowen Technovation’s services and products.  We will be showing what we have done and what we can do for planetariums around the world.

1. 27. 11:55-12:10 Kathryn Williamson: Presenting Indigenous Night Sky Stories in the Planetarium to Enhance Understandings
       The West Virginia University (WVU) Planetarium, in coordination with the Program for Native American Studies, designed a dome presentation called “Indigenous Connections to the Night Sky” for the Fall 2021 campus Diversity Week. Our goal was to celebrate diverse Indigenous sky stories as a means of educating ourselves and community audiences about Indigenous scientific and cultural interpretations of the sky. While none of us on the team identify as Indigenous, our priority was to highlight publicly available Indigenous-produced resources, amplifying Indigenous voices and teachings through images, videos, quotes, and artwork. The presentation became an hour-long exploration of the night sky that began with our WVU Land Acknowledgment and concluded with the film “Tales of the Maya Skies.” This conference presentation aims to offer useful resources, sharing both our methods and lessons learned. We hope our team effort encourages other planetarium educators to broaden community education goals and nurture respectful partnerships with Indigenous scholars and organizations.

1. 28. 12:15-12:30 Arnie Nelson: Astronomy as Art
       So many young people have a problem with self-esteem.  A tour through the art museum of the universe can help.

1. 29. 12:35-12:50 Dave Hostetter: Stuff That Never Flew
       It’s easy to think of space history as a steady progression to where we are today, but there are a lot of interesting projects that never made it to the launch pad.

• 1:00-2:00pm Lunch- General session Ballroom
  SPEAKER: Bill Cook
• 2:15-4:10pm Round 2 Workshops- General Session Ballroom

1. 30. 2:20-2:50 Jon Bell: Space Songs – the Musical!
       Hallstrom Planetarium Director Jon U. Bell has a lovely singing voice and is keen on sharing it with his planetarium friends. In this workshop, Jon will discuss the space songs he has written, provide tips on how to write a space song, and will share his experiences in making a Space Songs musical for presentation in a planetarium theater, involving ensemble singing and the obligatory and enjoyable audience sing-along. It’s an exhilarating blend of science lecture and karaoke, I keep telling myself.

1. 31. 3:00- 3:30 Paul Farinosi and Phil Schrimsher: How to Train your Dragon [Presenter]
   32. 3:40-4:10 Danielle Christy: K-5 Classroom Management
       This workshop will focus on how to manage a group of Kindergarten through fifth grade students during a planetarium show. Classroom management takes on a new form when the student and educator are in the dark. The workshop will review different options available to the presenter to keep young students cool, calm, and collected.

• 4:15-5:45pm break/exhibitor breakdown
• 4:15-5:45 SEPA Business Meeting- Challenger room at the Marriott
• 6:00pm- Shuttle buses start to Saturn V Hall
• 6:45pm- Last bus to Saturn V Hall
• 6:30-7:15pm Silent auction- Saturn V Hall
• 7:15-8:30 Dinner- Saturn V Hall
  Speaker: Homer Hickam
  Dress: Cocktail
• 8:30-9:15pm Meet the Speaker- Saturn V Hall
  To include Homer Hickam’s books for sale and book signing

• 9:00pm- Shuttle buses start to INTUITIVE Planetarium
• 9:30- End of dinner and start of Karaoke in INTUITIVE Planetarium
• 9:30-11:00pm Karaoke- INTUITIVE PlanetariumSnacks and beverages available
• 11:15pm- Last bus from Planetarium to Marriott1

Saturday, August 27, 2022

• 8:30-10:00a Farewell breakfast and door prizes give away- General Session Ballroom
• 10:00-11:00am- exhibitor breakdown (if needed)
• 11:00-5:00pm Space Camp Program- Space Camp