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Taylor Planetarium benefits students young and old

Posted: Jan 30, 2013 3:33 PM by Ben Trotter

The Taylor Planetarium in Bozeman has always been an educational benefit for our area's schoolchildren, but how about those in college?

With the Planetarium in the process of a major overhaul, local MSU students are excited for the possibilities offered by the new technology. From fly-throughs of nebulae, to viewing distant galaxies, not only space fanatics, but scientists will be able to get a much clearer glimpse of space from our backyard.

"Students can experience what it looks like to fly through the rings of Saturn real-time," says MSU graduate and teacher Ryan Hannahoe, "...get an almost IMAX quality experience that's highly visual and highly interactive too."

While many have visions of hi-def stars and galaxies whizzing by, some MSU students, such as Jennifer Woodcock- Medicine Horse, see it as an opportunity to look at issues much closer to home.

"They (the viewers) can find out in the dome about what's happening right here, in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem," says Woodcock, a Native American Studies doctoral student, " ...it's an opportunity for a film-maker to insert the viewer inside their film, instead of in front of it"

Woodcock's doctoral dissertation is a Planetarium-ready film entitled "Buffalo Come Home". It deals with the re-introduction of bison into the Wind River Plantation.