The Iziko Planetarium debut on Asteroid Day
The Iziko Planetarium debut on Asteroid Day https://asteroidday-uploads.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/19105012/featured-e1695113627464.jpeg 1440 765 Asteroid Day https://asteroidday-uploads.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/19105012/featured-e1695113627464.jpeg
We are happy to see that more and more people and organisations join our large global community to educate and learn about asteroids. One of them is the Iziko Planetarium and Digital Dome, located in Cape Town, the legislative capital and one of the oldest cities in South Africa.
An integral part of one of the oldest museums on the African continent, this planetarium was first established in 1958. Later in 1987, it was upgraded with a more modern building and projectors. Finally, in 2017, the planetarium was transformed into a high-tech dome, including immersive 360° shows for schools and the public.
One of the planetarium’s roles is to create awareness around science, specifically astronomy and space-related topics for the local community. In search of a very diversified program, they discovered Asteroid Day through the Internet.
Poster for the first Iziko Planetarium event on Asteroid Day, held in 2023.
Within its first participation, the Iziko Planetarium and Digital Dome organised a workshop to teach its audience about the shape of asteroids and complemented it with dedicated planetarium sessions about asteroids and their impacts. Asteroid Day took place during the School Break and this has increased the interest in the programme as many children and their parents were looking for holiday activities to participate in.
According to Science Communicator and Planetarium Manager, Mathipa Sebitsiwa: “It is always the involvement of the participants that adds a level of excitement to the programme. Raising awareness about asteroids and their impact on life on Earth is a topic that raises many questions and creative solutions to some very challenging problems.”
Moments of the workshop and planetarium session offered to the public during Asteroid Day.
For the next editions, the planetarium intends to hold public lectures and include technology and robotics in its programming. May you be very welcome to the community, Iziko Planetarium team!
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