Seminar Archive

2026

• 2026 Jul 31 Planetarium Educators Workshop 4: How the Audience Sees It. This workshop offers suggestions for 1) assessing our audiences' knowledge and reasoning abilities; 2) choosing concepts appropriate to the learning level of the audience; and 3) applying instructional techniques that are most likely to result in lasting conceptual improvements. This is Part 4 in the Planetarium Educators Workshop series that began last July and is derived from the Planetarium Educators Workshop Guide. Workshop facilitator is Alan Gould. Watch the video. See a summary document and the chat.

• 2026 Jun 26 Presenterless Discussion of How To Handle Planetarium Audience Problems. We share planetarium problems such as awkward questions from the audience, discipline issues, technical difficulties, publicity… and offer strategies for solutions to those problems. This is also a chance to tell the story of the strangest thing that ever happened to you in a planetarium. Watch the video. 

• 2026 May 29 Opening the Universe to Everyone: How to Host Sensory-Friendly Programs in Planetariums and Museums. Jay Lamm, Director of Planetarium & Facilities at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum in Baton Rouge, LA, USA. Implementing a sensory sensitive initiative across a museum and planetarium isn't just a compassionate move—it's also strategic, inclusive, and community-building. A "sensory sensitive" facility is designed or adapted to accommodate people who have sensory processing differences, often associated with conditions such as autism, ADHD, PTSD, sensory processing disorder, or anxiety. Watch the video. Find the chat and detailed AI-generated notes here.

• 2026 May 29 Opening the Universe to Everyone: How to Host Sensory-Friendly Programs in Planetariums and Museums. Jay Lamm, Director of Planetarium & Facilities at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum in Baton Rouge, LA, USA. Implementing a sensory sensitive initiative across a museum and planetarium isn't just a compassionate move—it's also strategic, inclusive, and community-building. A "sensory sensitive" facility is designed or adapted to accommodate people who have sensory processing differences, often associated with conditions such as autism, ADHD, PTSD, sensory processing disorder, or anxiety. Watch the video. Find the chat and detailed AI-generated notes here.

• 2026 Apr 24 Open Discussion: AI in Your Dome Facilitated by Jeff Nee <nee@skyskan.com> (from Sky-Skan International). Planetarium peers share experiences, hear from others, and ask questions about using artificial intelligence in/around our domes.  Wide ranging topics are possible in using AI: marketing, coding, show creation. Participants include those who have been using it for years and want to share favorite projects, and those who been putting off using it entirely and have big questions or concerns. Watch the video.

• 2026 Mar 27. Planetarium Educators Workshop: Organizational Patterns with Alan Gould. The goal of this workshop is for us to become aware of different ways we can organize the planetarium experience for our planetarium guests. A simple didactic approach may be all that's possible and effective for recorded programs. Explore how we can interact with our audiences in other ways, thinking about advantages and disadvantages of each strategy, and sharing actual planetarium activities that exemplify those strategies. Alan Gould is a member of the International Planetarium Society (IPS) Education Committee, former PPA Officer, and Director Emeritus of the Lawrence Hall of Science Planetarium. This is Part 3 in the Planetarium Educators Workshop series that began last July and is derived from the Planetarium Educators Workshop Guide. Workshop facilitator is Alan Gould. Watch the video. Find references, the chat, and an AI-generated summary here.  

• 2026 Feb 27. Behind the Scenes with Blender-based Visualization at NSF NOIRLab with Ron Proctor. Ron will give a technical overview of a few NSF NOIRLab visualizations, along with a brief overview of the resources available for free at noirlab.edu. NSF (National Science Foundation) NOIRLab is the US national center for ground-based, nighttime optical astronomy. Ron Proctor is a Motion Graphics Designer with NSF NOIRLab, with over two decades of experience in the planetarium industry. Ron has directed and produced a number of planetarium films and visualizations with Weber State University's Ott Planetarium, Salt Lake County's Clark Planetarium, NSF NOIRLab, and Proctor Creative. His most recent productions are Messengers of Time and Space--a planetarium show that explains how telescopes like Rubin and Gemini work together--and Dark Universe--a short fil m that explores Kitt Peak National Observatory's connections to dark matter and dark energy. Both films were produced at NSF NOIRLab and are available for free at noirlab.edu. Watch the video. Find the chat and an AI-generated summary here.

• 2026 Jan 30. The Cosmos Must Be Searchable: Advertising Planetarium Programming in the Age of AI and Algorithms with Shanil Virani. We now live in a world where AI answers the questions people once typed into Google, and where visibility is no longer automatic but something we must intentionally design. For many planetarium educators, especially those wearing many hats or working solo, navigating the world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Facebook Pixel, sponsored posts, and digital discoverability can feel overwhelming… and exhausting. This seminar is your beginner-friendly guide to making your planetarium programming findable—whether by search engines, social media, or large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. I share what I’ve had to learn while running the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s digital ad campaigns (despite that not being my formal job!), including pragmatic tools, hard-won lessons, and low-effort strategies that actually work. Whether you’re wondering why your content doesn’t show up in search, or what it takes to boost your reach without breaking the bank, this is your survival guide to the age of AI-powered discovery—and how to ensure the cosmic stories you tell in your dome can still be found. Shanil Virani is the Cosmic Engagement Specialist at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, where he leads initiatives focused on emerging technologies—AI, VR, smart telescopes—and curates immersive, student-centered workshops on astronomy education and cultural sky traditions for both formal and informal educators. A professional astronomer and veteran science communicator, Shanil has taught for more than 30 years at both the high school and university levels. He also hosts the Our Island Universe podcast and writes regularly on Medium about astronomy, emerging technologies, and the role of science in public life—always with the goal of helping science be seen, heard, and remembered in a noisy digital world. Watch the video. See the slides. See breakout room responses. You can find the attendees, chat, and a AI-generated summary here.

Archive Recordings from Previous Years:

2025 - 2024 - 2023 - 2022 - 2021 - 2020 - 2019 - 2018