Immersive Planetarium Visualizations For Teaching Solar System Moon Concepts To Undergraduates

Digital video fulldome has long been heralded as a revolutionary educational technology; yet the discipline-based astronomy education research literature showing planetarium effectiveness has been sparse. In order to help understand to what extent immersion impacts learning and the effect of the “narrative journey” model of presentation, we conducted a pre- and post-test effectiveness study of lectures on moon systems in the Solar System presented to 781 college undergraduates under immersive and non-immersive treatment conditions. Although all students showed some learning gains immediately after instruction, those who saw presentations in an immersive fulldome planetarium showed the greatest retention, compared to control classes that witnessed the same lecture and visuals on a flat screen in their regular classroom, and students that saw no interactive visuals. Because the same instructors, presentation visuals, and instructional outline were used for both the classroom and dome instruction using the virtual environment, the results suggest that the large display and wide field-of-view, two elements unique to the dome, resulted in greater attention, and were primarily responsible for the greater gains

Characterizing The Undergraduate Planetarium Learning Environment & Investigating Obliquity-Induced Changes to Heavy Ion Loss At Mars

Three studies are described in this work detailing research efforts in two avenues of astrophysical and planetary science. PLUS (the PLanetarium Usage Survey) and PLOBS (the PLanetarium OBservation Study) investigated the use of the planetarium learning environment in order to characterize the environment's use in the education of undergraduate learners in the astrophysical and planetary sciences. PLUS, a nationwide survey and interview protocol, established an understanding of present-day collegiate planetarium use: what contents were shown, how often were planetariums being used, and how and why were particular content styles chosen for presentation to undergraduates. PLOBS, a university-specific survey and observation campaign, investigated how a university faculty used the planetarium: why did they integrate planetarium visits in their courses, how did their lessons commence, and how did the planetarium environment compare to its complementary classroom environment. Together, PLUS and PLOBS suggested a collegiate planetarium learning experience focused predominantly on non-major, lower division astronomy content presented to learners for the purpose of providing immersive, visual scaffolding. Learning processes in the planetarium showed a high degree of overlap with those in the classroom setting and a measurable decrease in certain reformed practices, suggesting planetarium lessons involve more passive learning strategies than those in the classroom. MOP (the Mars Obliquity Project) investigated the effects of the chaotic Martian obliquity cycle on the rate at which Mars loses its atmosphere to space. Using a multifluid, magnetohydrodynamic simulator engine to probe six experimental cases of the Mars-solar wind interaction, MOP analyzed the changes to the escape of three heavy ion species (O+, O2+, and CO2+) from Mars with the remnant crustal fields on the planet's night side as the planet's obliquity angle was changed. Escape rate calculations demonstrated a measurable, but minor effect on heavy ion loss as a function of planetary obliquity angle, with the heaviest ions showing the greatest sensitivity to changing planetary obliquity. Implications of calculated escape rates suggest magnetic shielding of atmospheric particles is a minor player in the atmospheric evolution of a planet, with gravity being the dominating factor.</p

Study Of Faculty Instructors In Undergraduate Classroom And Planetarium Learning Environments

A mixed-methods study exploring the undergraduate planetarium learning environment was conducted during the 2019--2020 academic year at a western American university. Survey responses from university faculty, observational data using the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS), and faculty interview responses were collected and analyzed to investigate how and why collegiate undergraduates were being instructed in a planetarium environment and how this environment compared to a traditional classroom counterpart. Results suggest that planetarium use is viewed by instructors as an integrated learning experience with the classroom environment, with affective learning outcomes in the planetarium complemented by cognitive learning outcomes in the classroom. COPUS observations of planetarium instruction show broad similarity to classroom instruction; however, reductions in active-learning behavior archetypes measured in the planetarium environment suggest a trade-off between interactive learning strategies and visually immersive content presentation. Implications concerning the collegiate planetarium environment and future work are discussed.</p

Le Passage - Towards the Concept of a New Knowledge Instrument

This dissertation is concerned with the analysis and development of the passage concept in immersive dome environments (IDE). The research follows an interdisciplinary approach that draws on practices of scientific and artistic visualisation in the process of knowledge production. The research methodology is informed by my working practice, developing experiences for spherical displays, first inside fulldome planetariums, and currently also inside further 360° media formats such as VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality). The methodology is further underpinned by a media archaeology and interrogated through an ethnographic process of expert conversations and interviews. The media archaeology part involves the investigation of historical epistemic concepts in science communication in the fields of geography and cosmology used in spherical environments from the 17th century to the present day. The evolvement of the creation process for spherical environments shows how our thinking, understanding, and acting with spatial knowledge have shifted. The practical element involved is the construction process of passage corridors in science and art in order to generate new knowledge, which I define as passages. The passage concept is further enriched via the lenses of the art of understanding; the diagrammatic; and visuals as knowledge instruments. The main tool is the IDE, since it has the epistemic potential to create passages through time and scale. In this research the IDE is both an object of investigation, according to its historical classification and its immersive capabilities, and at the same time it is being analysed as an active instrument that produces knowledge and steers artistic language. It can be understood as a model, instrument, environment, and vehicle, being in a transitional state itself—from a historical planetarium environment to a new non-space, allowing for unique and engaging media art forms. In doing so, the IDE blends scientific frameworks with artistic processes, transforming the newest insights of immersive perception into a new state of the art. The IDE makes this evident through the method of passage and navigation. New future scenarios are presented whilst expanding the passage concept, which can aid our spatial localisation, orientation, and self-constitution, thus shifting our perspective from a sense of place to a sense of planet.Professorinnenprogramm des Bundes und der Länder, Fachhochschule Kiel (University of Applied Sciences Kiel

Sitting outside the Milky Way: Communicating science with adults in a 3D planetarium

Planetariums are evolving. In July 2015, the @Bristol Planetarium became the first 3D planetarium in the UK. Audiences are taken on a multimedia, 3D journey through the Cosmos to supplement the more traditional 2D representation of the night sky. This research sought to explore the role of the new 3D Planetarium in communicating science with adults. Three uses of the Planetarium were considered with self-completion questionnaires. Content analyses of the presenter’s narration and interaction were also conducted. The audiences were a combination of people looking for a night out with friends and family with little or no previous interest in science and those coming specifically to further their interest in astronomy. The results suggest that adult audiences are strongly favourable to the 3D Planetarium experience, wishing to come back again to learn more about science and stargazing. It is also suggested that the 3D Planetarium provides an inspirational experience which leaves adult audiences planning to change their behaviour to reflect what they have learned. Further areas of study have emerged from the research, and more, long term studies into the efficacy of 3D Planetariums will further inform the topic as the technology matures

Using A Digital Planetarium For Teaching Seasons To Undergraduates

Computer-generated simulations and visualizations in digital planetariums have the potential to bridge the comprehension gap in astronomy education. Concepts involving three-dimensional spatial relationships can be difficult for the layperson to understand, since much of the traditional teaching materials used in astronomy education remain two-dimensional in nature. We study the student performance after viewing visualizations in an immersive theater and in non-immersive classrooms for the topic of seasons in an introductory undergraduate astronomy course. Using weekly multiple-choice quizzes to gauge student learning, comparison of curriculum tests taken immediately after instruction and pre-instruction quizzes show a significant difference in the results of students who viewed visualizations in the planetarium versus their counterparts who viewed non-immersive content in their classrooms, and those in the control group that saw no visualizations whatsoever. These results suggest that the immersive visuals help by freeing up cognitive resources that can be devoted to learning, while visualizations shown in the classroom may be an intrinsically inferior experience for students

Fulldome Content Production: A bricoleur's approach

It has been only a little more than ten years since the introduction in planetaria of digital projection systems that can fill the entire dome of the theater. This technology called fulldome video has considerably changed the experience delivered by these institutions as it brings the immersive power of wide field displays and the possibility of interactive shows to astronomy education. Today, many established venues have upgraded their traditional system and many others are about to follow the trend. This technology facilitates content creation because it allows to make use of the digital tools already available to more conventional digital audiovisual productions such as 3D animation. Therefore fulldome also opens new vistas for artistic expression beyond traditional astronomy and science themed content. As the new medium redefines the experience delivered by dome theaters, it also challenges the identity of these venues. By looking at the technical and cultural aspect of this transition through the media theory of remediation, this thesis identifies areas of tension between tradition and innovation as well as challenges and opportunities for new productions. Complementing this research, a design enquiry on new means of productions inspired by the do-it-yourself methodolgy and defined as design as bricolage is explored. The result is a specification for an open source fulldome production pipeline and an implementation using existing software and custom built tools. The metaphor of bricolage is evaluated as a practical mental model for the activity of design, and provides insights on the practice of design itself. In a synthesis of the theoritical and practical research results, a strategy based on the notion of property rights as distribution (open source) is proposed to promote new alternative fulldome productions. Problems and affordances of this model in the context of fulldome are discussed on the basis of previous implementations in software development and 3d animation production,and including thoughts and comments from members of the fulldome industry