Planetarium

The John R. Kirk Planetarium

Shows written and presented by: Allyson Sheneman

Planetarium Director: Prof. Raj Pandya

In the fall semester of 2021, upon taking PHY342 Planetarium Operations, I realized a love for science communication deeper than I ever anticipated. In truth, that was only the blossoming of a seed planted long before.

I was offered a position working at the planetarium immediately following my first public show that same semester. I cherished this opportunity and continued exploring and expanding it until my graduation in the spring of 2024.

I presented shows as frequently as possible and always prioritized keeping my shows a blend of entertaining, accurate, engaging, inclusive, accessible, and informative.

Informed in part by my various experiences running social media accounts across campus, I found the planetarium's lack of social media presence to be concerning: no accounts existed and marketing only occurred via email. Unable to ignore this, I volunteered to kickstart and manage the social media presence for the planetarium. This gained hundreds of followers and tens of thousands of interactions and engagement. I am incredibly proud of the immense work I put into this undertaking, and even more proud of the community on my campus that found and engaged with the planetarium and astronomy for the first time through this initiative.

See the various types of shows I presented/spearheaded and my work with the planetarium's social media below!

CV Supplemental Materials

Planetarium Supplemental Materials

My Planetarium Shows

Live Music: In collaboration with the Piano Improvisation class, my final shows in the planetarium were put to improvised music with new performers each night! The show was titled "Cosmic Symphony: The Universe in Six Acts"
Spanish: In collaboration with the LatinX club on campus, I presented shows completely in Spanish to make the planetarium accessible to a more diverse audience. See my background in speaking Spanish/languages here! Some show titles included "El Hexágono de Invierno" and "Constelaciones Zodiacales"
Meditation Under the Stars: In collaboration with MSW Donna Sherman, I frequently presented planetarium shows that incorporated Yoga Nidra practices of mindfulness meditation. This program was a repeated series for several semesters and was sometimes a stand-alone event. Other shows collaborated with the Residence Life Health and Wellness Living Learning Community course, Holistic Hawks Stressbusters program, etc. Additionally, programs were offered for older, younger, and diverse audiences.
Public Shows: These shows could cover any topic and were presented to anyone interested in the planetarium, with an Observatory component that followed immediately after. See my observatory experience here! Some show titles included "Stellar Evolution: the Birth, Life, and Death of Stars", "How Did We Get Here?: The Universe Backward", and "Indigenous Sky Cultures of the Western Hemisphere"
Black Lives Matter at School: As a part of the Black Lives Matter at School series, I collaborated with Professor Anthony Dandridge and the Black Studies Department to present my "Indigenous Sky Cultures of the Western Hemisphere" show.
Private Shows: These shows were for Birthdays, Family Reunions, Office Retreats, and other small group events.
Elementary Schools: In collaboration with nearby elementary schools, these shows specialized in targetting younger audiences and being more engaging physically and more interactive.
Alumni Shows: I presented shows for various alumni events and the President of the University.
Miscellaneous: Girls Scouts, Science Teachers Association of New York State, etc.

Planetarium Social Media

After noticing a lack of science communication and outreach on my campus, I began volunteering through the Planetarium to create, manage, and keep an active social media presence for Astronomy on my campus.

In starting the social media presence for the planetarium, I pursued many avenues of engaging the public. One series I made, highlighted in the video of my show below, was to take small portions of shows and upload them so that people who couldn't attend or may be unfamiliar with planetarium shows may find themselves interested in attending. This video, as well as others in this series, reached thousands of people, helping to put this planetarium on the map!

Planetarium Outro.mp4

Additionally, I advertised for various Astronomy and Physics events to increase engagement with STEM in diverse audiences with backgrounds in all fields. Some of those posts are highlighted below!