Science Made Fun at the Planetarium

By Olivia Overman, Contributing Writer

Safety warning: you are now entering a very cool place of fun and learning! While the signs may not exactly say this at the Irene V. Hylton Planetarium, it is certainly something that could be said about Prince William County’s only planetarium. Located at C.D. Hylton Senior High School on Spriggs Road, the planetarium was first opened in 1991. It is used by schools to enhance students’ interest in astronomy and to teach them how to locate things that are visible in the night sky. But even more exciting is the fact that it is also open to the public throughout the year. Whether it be a birthday party, an anniversary, a scout troop get together or just a fun evening out, the planetarium offers both entertainment and education all wrapped into one.

“Prince William County has 98 schools, and all 98 schools come and visit me,” said Anthony Kilgore, planetarium director. “High schools, elementary, [and]middle schools, typically third grade, fourth grade, sixth grade, and ninth grade because there are Standards of Learning that are attached to astronomy [for them]. For them, the planetarium is not even considered a field trip, it’s an extension of the classroom.

“I tell the students it would be very tricky to take a field trip to outer space, so what I do here is to simulate it. That’s how I view myself as an extension of the classroom.”

Back in 1991 the planetarium was called the Skydome Planetarium and contained an outdated Spitz 512 ATM 3 star projector. So when Kilgore took the position as director of the planetarium in 2008 he knew the technology had to be updated if it was to succeed in its primary effort to bring science to life for children without boring them with outdated teaching tools. By updating the technology, Kilgore knew that he could then interest more members of the public to visit the planetarium and, thus, bring in some much needed funding. The solution was the Hylton Family Foundation—“Jason Calhoun, science supervisor for Prince William County Schools and Carolyn Custard, former principal of Hylton Senior High, worked with me and all three of us were able to work together to get the grant from the Hylton Foundation to be able to upgrade our facility.”

With a grant of $250,000, the outdated optical mechanical star projector was removed and replaced with the new digital Media Globe 2. “Bad technology, nobody comes,” said Kilgore. “I made more money in ticket sales the first year [with new technology]than the [planetarium did]eight years before.”

So what exactly do you get to see at the planetarium? “I try to explain to people what we do here, but you have to see it to understand,” said Kilgore. First and foremost the children in Prince William County schools learn about the stars, planets and constellations, the moon, the sun, along with other objects in the sky. Although the planetarium is located at Hylton Senior High School, the facility serves as a field trip experience for surrounding school districts as well. “Fairfax County schools, Stafford and Fauquier County schools come. It only costs $25 to run a school bus [here],” said Kilgore.

photo by Aleda Powell

Kilgore purchases different programs from different companies that he believes are both educational and fun for the different grades. For example, “animated shows that can be compared to movies are great for third and fourth graders, while full dome shows are great for adults, said Kilgore. “We even have a show that we do that’s pretty cool, where we go under water, called The Enchanted Reef. I normally do that with third graders and I tell them the entire dome is protecting us and when the shark comes and busts through the glass, there are shrieks of terror.”

A third grade teacher at Old Bridge Elementary, Allison Cresap has been bringing the children to the Hylton Planetarium for the past six years. “It is our favorite and best field trip,” she said. Speaking on behalf of the third grade teachers at Old Bridge, she said, “We value this field trip because Mr. Kilgore brings science to life and inspires our students to think about and be curious about science. Another reason we value this experience is because the program aligns with our curriculum in a fun, exciting way. Students leave the planetarium with a clear understanding of the earth, moon, and sun cycles.” Cresap continued to say that the students make comments such as they are “learning so much” or “I didn’t know that” or “now I get it.” Cresap will continue to take her third graders on the annual trip to the planetarium because of the “wonderful, educational experience Mr. Kilgore creates for us.”

The planetarium does not receive federal funding so Kilgore does his best to bring in money for the facility by putting on public shows. The price for each one-hour show is just $10. “The same show that they are showing at the Einstein Planetarium in D.C. is [up to]$23,” he said. Public shows are usually scheduled for the months of February, April, October and December. With seating for 65 people, the planetarium can make $650 per show if fully sold out.

Demonstrating some of the aspects of the new digital technology, Kilgore first set it up so that it starts at 9 p.m. with a view of the sky from the parking lot of the high school. “I can take it a step further and put you in the parking lot,” he said. “With this digital system, I can highlight the lines, put the name on it [the star]… I can leave the mile markers on the dome. With the sky, I can  bring everybody [the stars]up. Any constellation in the night sky I can talk about and, again, I can bring everybody to light.”