Pittsburgh-based planetarium brings interactive experience to Liberty High School

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Students at Liberty High School got a chance to learn more about the stars on Tuesday thanks to a visit from the Pittsburgh-based Pittcon Planetarium and its 14-foot-tall portable dome.

Students who participated in Tuesday’s visit were able to step inside the planetarium where they could see 360-degree images projected across the domed ceiling.

“We can show them images from the planet Earth, or we can show them images from the stars,” retired Bethany College professor and presenter Robert Paysen said. “From the dim past to the dim future, and any place we wanna be.”

Paysen told 12 News that funding from these trips comes from an annual meeting and conference that Pittcon holds which he described as “essentially an exposition of analytical equipment for students.” Money earned from the event gives Pittcon the ability to travel to schools in Pittsburgh’s surrounding areas.

On top of the presentations, Paysen said that Pittcon Planetarium also provides funding to classrooms in different elementary, middle, and high schools as well as colleges. It also holds essay contests and gives out awards to teachers.

According to Paysen, it’s important for the planetarium staff to travel to schools in surrounding areas because most fixed-abode planetariums are located in larger cities. “This portable thing helps out because a lot of schools just can’t afford to take the students there,” he said.

Paysen mentioned how a teacher at Liberty High told him that they don’t have the bus drivers to be able to take the students to Charleston or Pittsburgh and that cases such as this one are why Pittcon Planetarium does this.

“One thing I hope that take away from it is there’s a kind of a wonder of information out there in the stars,” said Paysen. “We give a little history of what people thought about as they looked at the stars in the past, and a bit about what a star is made of, how it works and what happens to it over time.”

The planetarium only travels to schools that specifically request their presence, which can be done via their outreach website . Paysen said that if any other schools in the area are interested in having the staff come by, they should reach out via the form on the website .

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