UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Eberly College of Science’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics is hosting a visit to the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Saturday, April 5, as part of the spring 2025 Johnson Lecture in Scientific Communication. The event will include a reception from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and a presentation on the science outreach and educational opportunities of using an immersive planetarium immediately following until 7:30 p.m.
The department is looking at partners with innovative technology, such as modern projection systems with “full-dome video” — like the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, the Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, and the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, but also state-of-the-art facilities such as the Sphere in Las Vegas — that open up even wider opportunities for education and research across disciplines and colleges because they allow for any imagery to be shown on the dome, according to Randall L. McEntaffer, department head and professor of astronomy and astrophysics.
“Penn State has a long history of planetarium education,” McEntaffer said. “We’ve been hosting planetarium shows since the 1940s. We own one of the very first, handmade planetarium projectors in the country, which was used to do shows for small groups in the basement of Osmond Lab.”
Today, the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics in the Eberly College of Science has a newly updated compact planetarium dome in a classroom in Davey Laboratory that allows astronomers to immerse about 25 students in a 360-degree view of the images that are projected onto its surface.
“We’re grateful for partners like the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium that work with us to showcase our research and teaching as future opportunities on these larger platforms,” McEntaffer said. “Technological advancements such as the ones at these planetariums have led to an enormous growth of creative uses for these facilities, allowing instructors to fly through 3D models of a protein or other complex molecule, display cutaway views of the layers of the Earth and its atmosphere, and of course, to experience what it would be like to fly over the surface of the moon, Mars and beyond.”
McEntaffer, along with Christopher Palma, teaching professor of astronomy and astrophysics, will be giving presentations at the Johnson Lecture event to demonstrate the value of planetariums as educational spaces that are changing the way people learn about a variety of topics, including astronomy, medicine, athletics and more.
This experience offers the opportunity to see firsthand and learn how to use the capabilities of this type of dynamic learning environment and its impact on interdisciplinary research. These immersive dome theaters are used for more than studying the stars; they can now be used in other branches of science, as a modern, interactive teaching tool, and more.
“Penn State currently has several alumni working in immersive theaters like this across the country,” Palma said. “We are beginning to explore the creation of new content for domes like this with our current students at Penn State, and we appreciate our friends at Liberty giving us a chance to showcase the possibilities with our alumni and friends.”
As part of Penn State’s land-grant mission, science outreach and communication are important priorities for the college, according to Heather Robbins, director of communications for the Eberly College of Science. The Johnson Lecture was revived last year with lectures about learning to tell your science story, with Melissa Marshall, last spring and creating your unicorn career, with Alaina G. Levine, last fall after a multiyear hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those lectures reached hundreds of students, postdocs, faculty and staff across campus, according to Robbins.
“We are so grateful to A. Dixon and Betty F. Johnson for having the foresight to endow this series several years ago for our Penn State community,” Robbins said. “With this new opportunity, we are excited to not only engage our campus community but also bring this programming to our alumni in the New Jersey area. We are looking forward to continuing creative ways to emphasize science communication and outreach broadly.”
How to attend
Alumni and friends who live in the New Jersey region and those who have their own transportation to attend the April 5 event can register to attend.
Those interested in attending but in need of transportation can sign up for a waitlist to express interest in riding a bus provided by the college from University Park to Jersey City, New Jersey, by signing up by noon on Monday, March 24. Based on availability, seating will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.
About the Johnson Lectureship
The A. Dixon and Betty F. Johnson Lectureship in Scientific Communication supports an annual lecture in scientific communication in the Eberly College of Science. The lecture was established in 2005 in memory of A. Dixon Johnson, a former University director of public information. Johnson worked as a Penn State science writer and public information director for many years.