Science on a Sphere
Science On a Sphere is a global display system that uses computers and video projectors to display planetary data onto a GIANT animated globe. Researchers at NOAA developed Science On a Sphere as an educational tool to help illustrate science to people of all ages. Animated images of atmospheric storms, climate change, ocean temperature, and plankton blooms can be shown on the sphere which is used to explain complex environmental processes, in a way that is simultaneously intuitive and captivating. The cutting edge technology landed Science On A Sphere on TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions 2006 List! Science On a Sphere provides a powerful visualization system and learning tool to study Earth, Planetary and Life sciences.
Fresno State is seeking funding through ICOA to install Science on a Sphere at the Downing Planetarium museum on campus. This exhibit will help our visitors visualize and understand data and concepts that would otherwise be abstract.
Fresno State is the only major public university serving California’s vast central San Joaquin Valley. Fresno State is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system, distinguished in part by its extraordinarily large service area (about 5,000 square miles) as well as its high number of rural, underserved students, significant percentages of whom attended high schools with over 90% Hispanic student enrollment. This exhibit will raise awareness and understanding of Earth, Planetary and Life sciences for over 24,000 visitors each year.
California faces a persistent and critical shortage of fully prepared math and science teachers. This is undermining the quality of the state’s education system and hampering the ability to produce college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Science On a Sphere will serve as an important vehicle to expose students to science with a goal of attracting more individuals to careers in science and science teaching.
The Downing Planetarium, operated by the Department of Physics, features a thirty foot dome with seventy-four seats and a Minolta MS-10 star projector. The primary mission of the planetarium is informal science education and public outreach. Field trips for school children are run on a daily basis. Several hands-on exhibits already on display in the museum will nicely complement Science On a Sphere covering a range of topics in science. A forty-four foot long mural depicting the 4.5 billion year history of the Earth leads visitors around the room. Also, a 28-inch diameter transparent celestial sphere is on display. Visitors are able to find the location of the Sun on their birthday, locate the North Star, and get a better understanding of the solstices and equinoxes. A rotating, illuminated globe shows not only the day/night cycle but the seasonal variation as well.
The giant animated Science On a Sphere will be the focal point to support the educational purpose of the Downing Planetarium and will be used to showcase topics of great interest to those living in the San Joaquin Valley such as air quality and earthquakes, as well as an understanding of global issues such as climate change and ocean resources.
ICOA has submitted a number of proposals to private and public funding sources to bring Science on a Sphere to Fresno, but as yet has not found a suitable funding source. If you are interested in helping to bring this amazing science display to Fresno, please contact the ICOA Director, Dr. Donald Hunsaker. (dhunsaker@csufresno.edu)
Photograph from Science On a Sphere® at the Great Lakes Heritage Center, Alpena, Michigan
NOAA photo by Will von Dauster