Astronomy is a BIG subject.
Afterall, astronomy encompasses the study of planets, the galaxy, and pretty much everything in it.
Students at four area elementary schools were treated the week of March 17 to grade-appropriate lessons about the constellations and the mythology they have inspired through a mobile planetarium brought to school by Brian Dotson.
Brian is the Region 9 director of MiSTEM, a Michigan network of businesses and schools dedicated to increasing opportunities for students to excel in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
StarLab is an inflatable dome large enough to house an entire class of students (two classes, if they’re kindergarteners). A projection system transforms the inside of the dome into a modified mirror image of the night sky.
Brian led star gazing lessons for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders at Spitler Elementary in Hart, students in special education at the West Shore ESD, kindergarten through 4th grade students at Pine River Elementary, and kindergarten through 6th grade students at Walkerville Public Schools.
“Inspiring a child to look up at the sky and wonder can set the stage for an education based on exploration,” said Brian, now in his 40's, whose childhood ambition was to become an astronaut.
“I’ve taken StarLab to school family nights and the parents seem to enjoy the experience just as much as their children,” he notes.
What is the closest star to planet Earth?
Many students guessed Polaris.
But they had not considered the Sun because since it's so important it must be a planet, not a star.
One skeptical 5th-grader wanted to know what animal was Orion, the great hunter, supposed to be pursuing in the heavens.
Another student enjoyed “the great outdoors” feeling inside the dome so much that he asked his teacher for permission to spend the remainder of the school day in StarLab.
StarLab has been around quite a while.
In fact, its content was copyrighted in 1976 and some parents who grew up locally remember it from their own elementary school years back in the 1980s, Brian said.
The StarLab dome used by Brian is owned by the Mecosta-Osceola Intermediate School District, where math and science consultant Justin Fox used it for astronomy instruction for many years until his retirement in 2024.
Since then, literacy consultant Michelle Sweet has been using it as a backdrop for teaching reading and writing mythological stories.
Brian and Michelle want to find a way to bring the StarLab to every area school eager to supplement classroom studies in astronomy. They have set a goal to train at least one educator in every interested school how to inflate the dome, set up the projector, and provide instruction.
Brian has written a grant seeking $45,000 to purchase the modern version of StarLab, which has greater versatility and can be used to teach additional strains of science.
"The resources of MiSTEM along with Mr. Dotson's expertise are an essential component in the full range services we offer to local districts," said Dr. Jason Jeffrey, superintendent of the West Shore ESD. "Every time we partner in learning together, our students benefit."
