What

Planetarium

When

Terms 1 and 4, Monday to Friday

Duration

45 minutes in the Planetarium

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Curriculum links & Accessibility & Access Fund

Year level

Years 7 to 10, VCE

Minmum student numbers

Minimum 15 students

Maximum student numbers

Maximum 150 students

Cost

$9 per student + education service fee

Booking information

Bookings 13 11 02

School visit information

This planetarium show explores how we learn about the Universe through astronomy research and technology. It showcases research carried out by astronomers across Australia, and some of the incredible innovative telescopes that have enabled new discoveries.

Students will experience

• A fulldome Planetarium experience in reclining seats
• The awe-inspiring ways that scientists learn about our universe, showcasing Australian contributions to world-leading science
• The effects of dark energy, and how we’re studying this mysterious phenomenon through Skymapper
• A glimpse into the early universe and formation of galaxies through the Murchison Wide-field Array
• A 10-minute live, presenter-led guided tour of the night sky.

Students will learn

• How telescopes allow us to examine light in order to learn about our Universe
• That astronomy can use optical light or other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as radio waves
• About all-sky astrophysics, including the SkyMapper telescope in New South Wales and the Murchison Wide-field Array (MWA) in Western Australia
• That dark energy - an unknown force causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate - can be studied using SkyMapper
• That the MWA allows scientists to study the early Universe

Other key information

• Capturing the Cosmos was produced in partnership with the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO)

Victorian Curriculum links

Science: Levels 5 and 6

Physical sciences

• light can be produced from many sources; light travels in a straight path, can form shadows, and can be absorbed, transmitted, reflected or refracted by objects
  VC2S6U08

Science: Levels 9 and 10

Science as a human endeavour

• advances in technologies have enabled advances in science, while science has contributed to developments in technologies and engineering
  VC2S10H02

VCE Physics

Unit 1: How is energy useful to society?

Area of study 1: how are light and heat explained

Unit 2: How does physics help us to understand the world?

• Area of Study 2: How does physics inform contemporary issues and applications in society?
• Options 2.13, 2.14, 2.17, 2.18

Unit 4: How have creative ideas and investigation revolutionised thinking in physics?

• Area of study 1: How has understanding about the physical world changed?