Portable Domes

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33 Comments

Comment by Mickey Jo Sorrell on April 22, 2009 at 6:59pm

Elysa Corin has just joined our group. Elysa has been hired by Morehead to run our portable planetarium outreach program (the one I've been piloting this spring).
Elysa has worked with us off and on since she was in high school, and we were so happy to welcome her on full time. Tomorrow we head out on our first road trip together - an overnight. Elysa is working on teacher training workshops for the summer and new programming for the fall.
I've been telling her how helpful you all have been to me in learning my way through the portable world.

Comment by Susan Button on March 30, 2009 at 7:36am

Please post you comments dierectly to me and/or here as I know everyone would be interested. Can I use your comment to the group in my column?
Thank you again.

Comment by Susan Button on March 30, 2009 at 7:34am

Most of you already know that i write the column "Mobile news Network" in the IPS journal. I am looking for stories about how people use portables and would like to hear form you about what got you started and why and the actual job that you do along with the joys and challenges of the job. I would also love some photos in the jpg or tiff format 300dpi. I would love to hear from all of you!
Thanks and have a great day,
Susan

Comment by Jim & Shirley Smith on March 29, 2009 at 9:56pm

We own several portable systems: a 6 Meter Digital Go-Dome and a FiberArc Starlab projector and a Classic Starlab projector. We also have a 4Meter/4Ring Digital Dome. We are now interested in getting the mirror system too. It will be used in projecting "full dome" videos.

Comment by Mike Francis on February 17, 2009 at 3:02pm

I have to admit I cut it close. I can set up the Starlab dome, position my Sun, Moon and planets, put up my directions and organize my handouts in 10 minutes if I really have to, but I don't have the digital projector. I try to get to a school about 30 minutes before my first program, so I take it a little more leisurely. I don't worry about cleaning the floor, since I've never run into one that was dirty enough for me to get excited.

I use Google and Mapquest to find my routes and travel times, so far they have been pretty much right on. The one thing I have to worry about up here near Boston is traffic. I always add about 25% to the travel time, just in case.

I must be a glutton for punishment, because I will do up to 7 programs in a 7 hour school day. Usually it turns out to be 4 or 5, but I will churn them out if that's what the school needs. That leaves 50 minutes for the program, 5 minutes to get them in and out and 5 minutes for questions or a quick trip to the facilities.

Mike Francis
Stars Science Theater

Comment by Karrie Berglund on February 17, 2009 at 2:51pm

I can set up one of our Digitarium systems and and an inflatable dome in about 15 or 20 minutes on my own, but I typically allow at least 40 minutes. I think the timing depends greatly on how familiar you are with the equipment (obviously you'll need to allow more time the first few times you set it up), as well as how complicated the set up is.

One tip: When you decide what time you will need to arrive at the school, be sure to confirm that someone will actually be there at that time to let you in. Custodians usually start really early in the morning, but not always. You can't count on a custodian being near the door you're trying to enter through unless you set up a meeting time.

Cheers,
Karrie

Comment by Sally Brummel on February 17, 2009 at 12:07pm

I usually arrive 1.5 hours ahead of time. That may be a little extreme. My system takes close to an hour to set up, but I like to leave time for getting lost, not having people there to help me unload, cleaning the floor as you mention, and technical troubleshooting. It can lead to some early mornings, but it gives me peace of mind. So I'd say add about a half hour to what your ideal setup time is.

Comment by Mickey Jo Sorrell on February 17, 2009 at 12:04pm

Me again. How much time do you all allow for set-up? Consider all of these things: a new school you've never visited before, in a rural area far from home, setting up a digital system on an unknown surface (clean or dirty floor or carpet) - all those unknowns of a new place.
We are planning on three shows a day, an hour or an hour and a half apart, depending on the school's schedule primarily.
If your first program is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., what time would you arrive?

Comment by Francisco Ramirez on February 8, 2009 at 4:25pm

Folks:
We at Polaris Elite Planetarium are about to purchase an Alpha 2 Digitalis projector and I´d like to get feedback from some of you on this kind of digital systems. Some experts are suggesting it. I´ve been reading that some of you are using truncated projections, but no comments have been added concerning digital images. We´d like to see the advantage and disadvantage of a digital tool.
Nothing better than the opinion of someone already using it or used to.
Thanks
Cisco

Comment by Bob Hayward on February 6, 2009 at 6:09pm

Mickey Jo: When I was at Fernbank using a 16-ft STARLAB, I didn't need any help with the sound. However, with out 22-ft dome at PARI I discovered a number of dead spots in the sound. Now Christi and I use an Apollo speaker (which also includes a cassette tape player although we have since moved mostly to audio files on a computer). We use a wired mike. The Apollo came with a wireless mike but we found too much feedback unless you put the speaker outside the dome. Then you didn't have access to the tape or volume controls, etc. during the program. So, in a larger dome, I recommend a sound system. It also helps conserve your voice if you have a large number of programs during a day or on cosecutive days. Bob

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