Photos: Andrea Ceraso
The Dome is the New Canaan Public Schools’ new and revolutionary teaching tool, developed in the shell of the High School’s former ‘starball’-style planetarium. The new Evans & Sutherland Digistar 7 system, which incorporates a series of coordinated projections, guided by a massive database, onto a 30-foot seamless aluminum dome, provides astronomical capabilities almost equal to anything at the Hayden Planetarium - in addition to being a vehicle for active and practical applications in subjects like art and design, a great theater for the presentation of almost any subject matter…and even an ideal entertainment venue! The Dome is the dawning of a new age in New Canaan!
Dr. Bryan Luizzi, the Superintendent of New Canaan Public Schools, says with obvious pride when showing-off the new asset, “The old starball wasn’t serviceable anymore, and the 50+ year old spherical roof needed to be replaced. Serious discussions about refurbishing started in 2016, and then there was a pause during Covid, but when we returned from Covid, this solution emerged as the clear winner for what to do with the space…and then the Town and a cadre of private supporters contributed the $800,000 or so required to get it done. I think there’s a modern-day parallel to when the people of New Canaan, enthralled by NASA’s Moon landing and other achievements, put funding together and opened what used to be the planetarium back in 1971.”
Luizzi continues, “Our aim is to develop a varied curriculum utilizing the unique capabilities of the Digistar system, and for students throughout the New Canaan School System to have access to the opportunity and benefits of learning ‘in The Dome’. It may even have special applications in teaching students with special visual and auditory learning requirements. We opened in January of 2024, and we’ve already integrated The Dome into our high school Astronomy class and parts of the curriculum in some of our other high school departments, and have hosted almost 1200 students from our Elementary, Intermediate, and Middle Schools, for some fantastic collective virtual learning experiences!”
Director of Innovation for New Canaan Public Schools, Melinda Meyers, says about The Dome, “It can really transport you to a different place! When it comes to understanding and exploring local, national, and world geography, the universe, the stratosphere, and even deep space, The Dome is invaluable. The astronomical database includes all publicly-available NASA data, including all of the pictures generated by the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes. You can ‘take-off’ from your plush seat inside The Dome and visit the Sun, or follow in the orbit of the International Space Station, or ‘go where no man has gone’!”
It can really transport you to a different place!Melinda Meyers
Jeff Brentson is a Science Teacher at NCHS and teaches both the elective in Astronomy and supervises the extracurricular clubs using The Dome for various projects and purposes. “It’s not just dots on the ceiling anymore!”, Jeff says enthusiastically. “Where the old system could do little more than relate the night sky and illustrate elliptical and latitudinal lines, we can now project the actual sky and atmosphere, in daylight or night, or watch a hurricane or the eruption of sunspots in real time, or explore the unseen world of the oceans! Students can send ‘cubes’, which are like virtual observational balloons, up into space to explore electromagnetic radiation, black holes, or the origin of stars. I have students using The Dome for astrophotography. …And, if you can create it…you can project it! Students can create content and project it on The Dome, and that goes for everything from making movies and rendering them in The Dome, to projecting multi-dimensional presentations in classes including Math, Science, History, and Art and Design! …And we can just show movies, including an ever-expanding library of content, created by universities, museums, and others, specifically intended for this medium!”
Superintendent Luizzi remarks, “We’re even looking at the possibility of private use of The Dome, so groups could come for educational purposes or for some really fun events…and the school district could thereby raise additional funds for expanded platform training for teachers, ongoing curriculum integration, and the expansion of The Dome’s content library. Imagine directing your own spaceship to the craters of the Moon or the rings of Saturn! …Beam me up!”
As featured in the September/October 2024 issue of Bedford & New Canaan Magazine