A universe under the dome: Inflatable planetarium brings space to JFK sixth graders

NORTHAMPTON — Days after Artemis II splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after traveling to the far side of the moon, sixth graders at John F. Kennedy Middle School journeyed from a Northampton forest to Saturn’s rings, watched a star die, and traveled beyond the Milky Way to distant galaxies — all without leaving the JFK library.

Last week, educator Llama Maynard visited the school for three days with an inflatable planetarium. This visit was part of an ongoing astronomy study program, funded by a $5,000 grant from the Northampton Education Fund (NEF). The visit followed a similar one at Northampton High School in January, and this time around she brought high schoolers to both operate the planetarium and lead classes for their younger peers.

Once inside the planetarium, which resembled a large, cloth igloo that was completely dark aside from a projector, students found themselves under a dim sky at about sunset. Trees surrounded them. Gradually a path of stars appeared overhead, and a time-lapse showed the stars as illuminated parallel lines shooting across the dark sky.

Students were asked to identify the season based on the sun’s position in the sky. The sun has a higher path in summer and a lower path in spring and fall, students answered.

As the students ventured further into space, the International Space Station came into view, and zoomed overhead like a scene from “Star Wars.” After looking at the dots on Jupiter and moving through Saturn’s rocky rings, students saw the bright colors in the universe produced by hydrogen as comets flashed by.

A supernova, or a star at the end of its life, was a class favorite.

“The thing that I learned was that there are a bunch more galaxies than I thought there were,” said sixth grader Ryland Ghazey Bates shortly after exiting the planetarium. “Then it was really cool to see a star at the end of its lifetime.”

“What happens when a star dies is that it looks like a really broken ping-pong ball,” said Asa Rooney, whose highlight was also the supernova.

Student Julius Colon said he appreciated being able to witness how the planets look “in real life.”

One thing that especially excited Maynard was how many JFK students were experiencing a planetarium for the first time. Before each session, she asked for a show of hands — and fewer than half had ever been to one.

“We need to make sure that our students are having moments of wonder, moments of joy,” she said. “I see kids having this powerful experience of wonder and it just restates their day at school.”

High school science teacher Matt Heaney, who teamed up with Mynard for the sessions, said that, “When students are experiencing the planetarium for the first time, hearing them react with joy, with excitement, is really an incredible experience to be a part of.”

Both Maynard and Heaney emphasized the benefits of allowing the high school students to teach the younger classes.

“When kids have to teach something, it teaches them to really challenge their own understanding,” said Maynard. “They knew how to use the equipment really well, and it was neat to hear some of the high school students explaining scientific concepts in a way that I was like, ‘Oh yeah, they get it.’”

Senior Elias Myers and junior Liv Joenson were two of the 10 students to lead presentations over the three days.

“There were a couple trips where Llama just came in with the planetarium,” said Joenson. “We got to see what it could do, learn the controls, then we made a script and went off that.”

Elias said that, “I think the time lapse is probably the coolest. It helped me put this topic into a visual.”

Maynard has been active in astronomy since she was a kid and studied astronomy at Wheaton College. She has worked with similar planetariums at both Wheaton and as a middle school teacher.

During the COVID-19 pandemic six years ago, Northampton Parks and Recreation called for outdoor events, and Maynard responded by leading a tour of the sky.

In her six years of leading, however, she said there was limited visibility, which inspired her to take out a loan and invest “the price of a small car,” or $35,000 into the planetarium.

“I’ve been teaching this astronomy class for six years, and it’s cloudy all the time,” she said. “I was like, ‘I should buy a planetarium.’”

The $5,000 grant from NEF covered stipends for both her and other teachers who had to invest more time to prepare students for the planetarium. Saying that schools are “super strapped” for money and that the costs of field trips and transportation are high, she emphasized the importance of interrupting the normal routine for students by offering hands-on activities.

Maynard, a Williamsburg resident, has lead classes in Franklin and Berkshire counties as well, on top of her full-time job with School Works in Southwick. Her planetarium will also be featured on May 8’s Arts Night Out in Northampton.