What

Planetarium

When

Terms 2 and 4, Monday to Friday

Duration

45 minutes in the Planetarium

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Curriculum links & Accessibility & Access Fund

Year level

Years 9 to 10

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 awe-inspiring presenter-led Planetarium show gives students a new perspective on the scale of the Universe and our place in it. Students are taken on a journey from Earth to the cosmic microwave background radiation, visiting the solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, and surveys of distant galaxies along the way.

This curriculum aligned show is based on real data sets, and the result is a journey through the most complete and accurate 3D atlas of the universe ever made.

Students will experience

• A tour of the night sky, calibrated to Melbourne at that time of year
• Flying off from Earth to look at the layers of satellites surrounding Earth, including the GPS system
• Venturing to the edge of our solar system to see the planets and dwarf planets
• Zooming out further to see the structure of the Milky Way galaxy
• A look at our neighbouring galaxies, and the honeycomb structuring of the most distant galaxies we have detected
• The most distant remnants of the big bang

Students will learn

• That Earth is surrounded by hundreds of satellites that help us in our daily lives, such as the GPS satellites
• That the Earth is part of a solar system containing planets, asteroids, dwarf planets and the Oort cloud
• That the Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy
• How everything we observe and measure is from the perspective of Earth
• About some of the surveys of distant galaxies that have allowed us to understand the structure of the Universe
• That the cosmic microwave background radiation shows warmer and cooler areas, an echo of the big bang

Victorian Curriculum links

Science: Levels 9 and 10

Earth and space sciences

space exploration seeks to expand knowledge of the origins and structure of the universe and to resolve the challenges of humans travelling and living away from Earth’s surface
VC2S10U12

the universe contains features including galaxies, stars, solar systems and black holes; the big bang theory models the origin and evolution of the universe and is supported by evidence
VC2S10U13

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 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, 2.17, 2.18