Travels through the celestial world for Primary

A fascinating, fun filled and interactive planetarium show was organised for the students of classes I to V on Wednesday, 22 February 2023, in the School auditorium. The mobile planetarium comprised an inflatable dome which had a projector projecting gleaming images of the.stars, planets and other celestial bodies in the night sky, creating a magical learning environment for the students to learn about the wonders of space.

The novel set up, made for a captivating and intriguing one-of-its kind experience.

There were different age-appropriate shows for the students.

The show Puppy on The Moon for class I, was a cartoon-based and about an imaginary adventurous ride of a dog named Puppy to its next door neighbour in space, the Moon! The show described the Moon's bumpy surface and pot holes called craters, the climate and the loneliness that the Moon experiences, with no friends around to give him company.

In Chandamama Shapes for class II, the animated Chandamama, talked to the kids about himself (much to the amusement of the young audience), with special reference to his phases, and how he becomes fatter and fatter (waxing) bit by bit, as if he were over eating, and then becomes thinner and thinner (waning) as if he were on a strict diet! The show created awareness about festivals like Eid, Diwali, Easter and Gurupurab that are related to the phases of the Moon.

The class III kids were in for a surprise too! There was Chandamama Dancing, a cartoon show where the animated Chandamama, talked about his monthly travels. The show demonstrated the phases of the Moon, its rising and setting time and how he jumps from constellation to constellation, night after night.

Journey to Wonderlands, the story of twin sisters who, in their dream go on a merry go round trip of the solar system, kept the students of class IV hooked to the screen. The kids watched in rapt attention as the sisters travelled and explored the solar system, flew past some heavenly objects, landed on some others, followed the path of the voyagers and went to the edge of the solar system. The sisters then measured the size of the solar system in AU and compared the sizes of the various objects in the solar system.

The show Finding Dhruv Tara for class V, highlighted the significance of the pole star. Being the brightest star and apparently the only stationary star in the constellation, it is used in navigation. Locating the north, south, east and west at night, in the different seasons and from different places like Kashmir, Delhi, Kanyakumari and London, was the highlight of the show. It also briefly covered the story of Dhruva from ancient Hindu mythology and its connection to the North Star.

Each show was followed by a quiz in which the students participated with zeal.

It was indeed a fulfilling experience for the students as they got an opportunity to learn more about the solar system and beyond, in a novel way.