Canadian Planetarium News

Since our last report appeared in Cassiopeia in early 2004, Canadian planetariums accomplished a major milestone — the completion of a federally funded planetarium show, The Quest for Origins/La Quete des Origines. This was the first show to be jointly produced across Canada by a consortium of theatres and to open simultaneously across the country.

The Quest for Origins

To provide some background, the project began in the spring of 2002. CASCA had published the Long-Term Plan for the future of astronomy in Canada, titled The Origins of Structures in the Universe. The key word from this vision of astronomy in Canada was “origins” — the origin of stars, planets, galaxies, and the universe as a whole. This also seemed an ideal theme for a planetarium show, especially since such a theme would help showcase the work of Canadian astronomers and to explain to the general public how research funds are used.

In late 2002, Montreal Planetarium staff took on the task of preparing a funding proposal for the Museums Assistance Program, overseen by Canadian Heritage. Initially, our consortium consisted of Canada’s five major planetariums in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Montreal (Toronto’s McLaughlin Planetarium having closed in 1995).

In May 2003, we received word that our project had been approved for funding to the level of $83,000, only $9,000 less than the amount we’d requested. The shortfall wasn’t large enough to derail the project, especially since all partners had agreed to provide the equivalent of $20,000 each in services of all kinds (staff time and equipment).

However, by this time we were down to four partners, with Edmonton having pulled out, feeling that the final show, relying heavily on video, would not be presentable in their planetarium still populated only with slide projectors. Despite that, we now had the resources to begin production of The Quest for Origins, with the ambitious goal of opening the show one year later in May 2004 in four theatres on the same weekend.

Through the year-long production process, each facility contributed show elements best suited to the talents of their staff. Vancouver did much of the 3D video animation and studio TV work. Manitoba took care of all still visuals, including 360-degree panoramas and individual 35mm slides, and shooting location panorama scenes with digital cameras. Montreal created new digital artwork as well as supplied art panoramas from their stock library. Montreal also took care of all the intricate work in providing a French version of the show narration that exactly synced with the English soundtrack, no small task.

For the soundtrack we hired Donovan Reimer, an experienced musician and soundtrack artist from Edmonton, who created all the original music and sound effects, then assembled the final soundtrack, in both English and French. Calgary’s Alan Dyer served as the show’s central director, visualizing and editing the show, supervising staff from across Canada, and managing the production schedule and delivery of show elements. The script was written by one of Canada’s best known astronomy writers, Ken Hewitt-White, out of Vancouver. Production meetings took place in Winnipeg.

The show featured four Canadian astronomers who appear on video to introduce each of the show’s four main parts and to give a “face” to Canadian astronomy. They were selected for their on-camera presence, while also representing various regions across Canada and quite literally the spectrum of wavelength regimes (radio, infrared, microwave and optical) discussed in the show. We videotaped them in studios in Vancouver and Montreal. Two were able to narrate in both English and French, while for the other two we overdubbed a translation.

Show Poster: The Montreal Planetarium created the base art for the poster for The Quest for Origins, a 35-minute planetarium show co-produced by a consortium of Canadian planetariums in 2004.

The end result was a show with much higher production values than any one of our facilities could have created, to the benefit of all our audiences. The Quest for Origins/La Quete des Origines opened across Canada on time and on budget, in two languages on the same date. During its prime summer run in 2004 the program played to 50,000 people. In recognition of the success of the project, in June 2005 the Canadian Association of Science Centres presented The Quest for Origins/La Quete des Origines with the top award for the best science show or exhibit produced by any of its member facilities in 2004. Considering the competition, that was quite an honour.

As a result of the collaboration, each of our theatres benefited from the production expertise of other centres. Even more critically, we learned to trust each other’s abilities, a critical step to further partnership successes.

CFHT Interior:Focusing on Canadian research, the Origins show visited observatories in which Canada has a share in the operations, such the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, Gemini North and South, and the coming ALMA sub-millimeter array in Chile. The show’s goals were to not only outline research findings but also to give the audience some idea of the people, techniques and instruments involved in the research.

Johnstone and Doyon video studio shoot: At each observatory site, a videotaped astronomer appears superimposed onto the scene, scaled and placed as realistically as possible, to introduce the next segment of the show. They were shot in studios in Vancouver (as with Doug Johnstone at left) and in Montreal (Rene Doyon at right). Other “star” astronomer hosts were Rene Plume and Christine Wilson.

The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life

To that end, we applied for and were granted further Museums Assistance Program funding for a new pan-Canadian planetarium show about the most popular topic in astronomy, extra-terrestrial life. Additional funds have been granted to our four-theatre consortium from the Canadian Space Agency and from NSERC. As of June 2005, we are just beginning work on this major show, which will feature Canadian research on the origin of life, analog sites in Canada for Mars such as in the high Arctic, and the prospects for life in the solar system and elsewhere in space. We hope to open this show nationwide in May 2006.

In Other News

Meanwhile, theatres across Canada have been busy with many other projects for the public and schools. Here’s a quick rundown:

Victoria

There is no centre of the universe, cosmologists tell us. Unbeknownst to many, the Centre of the Universe is actually in Victoria, BC. The Centre of the Universe is the interpretive centre for the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory’s Plaskett telescope which, at its opening in 1918, was the biggest in the world.

The Observatory itself has been a local landmark for almost 90 years now, but the interpretive centre is a recent addition, celebrating its fourth anniversary in June 2005. Last November, the Centre acquired a Starlab Portable Planetarium in order to reach not only outlying schools, but also to set up at community events, such as this summer’s Saanich Fair and the Tall Ships Festival. Since the planetarium on site at the Centre is also a Starlab, we have the advantage of having interchangeable cylinders and shows that can be produced for both planetariums.

Photo of Centre of the Universe Starlab: The Centre of the Universe’s new Starlab takes astronomy on the road around Vancouver Island.

The hard work of the staff at the Centre has fostered a wonderful relationship with local schools over the past few years. This relationship will continue to grow as we hope to see our area of coverage expand to the whole of Vancouver Island.

Also new this summer is our extended hours until 11:00 p.m. every night until the end of September. These evenings are called Star Party nights and are filled with a different multi-media show every week, plus planetarium shows and observing using both the Plaskett telescope and a myriad of other scopes on site.

Contact: Steve Ewald at Steve.Ewald@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Vancouver

Currently we are in production on a new school and public planetarium show on the subject of extreme environments. The show will identify three extreme environments on Earth and relate them to extremes that exist in the solar system. For example, the challenges of the extreme pressure experienced by deep sea explorers are likened to the harsh environment of the surface of Venus. A project to drill into Lake Vostok in Antarctica is compared to a future mission to Europa.

The show will be produced in a “game show” format. In each extreme terrestrial environment, a research scientist working in the field will describe the nature of the extreme and the results it would have on an unprotected human. The audience is then asked to identify a similar extreme environment elsewhere in the solar system, and the prize is a simulated trip to that moon or planet. Going to Extremes opens at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre on July 1, 2005.

Contact: Erik Koelemeyer at ekoelemeyer@hrmacmillanspacecentre.com

Ollie Character: The show’s other “star” was an animated character, Ollie the Observatory [DIRECTION for #6A], created by Erik Koelemeyer in Vancouver and added for humor and kid appeal. The script subjected Ollie to various contortions as he demonstrated basic science concepts such as the EM spectrum [DIRECTION for #6B], the Doppler shift, and the speed of light.

Calgary

In February 2005 we opened Gravity Rules! as our main multi-media show for the public in our Discovery Dome theatre. We purchased this show from the Charles Hayden Planetarium in Boston and adapted it for our theatre. The show features a live actor who dispels many of the myths and misconceptions about gravity, using various stage demonstrations and projected visuals.

Over the last year, we also presented several “Live From…” events with live lectures presented in conjunction with NASA-TV feeds of special space events such as the rover Mars landings, Cassini’s arrival at Saturn, and the Huygens Titan landing. These special events generated a lot of local and national media exposure.

In April 2005, the Calgary Science Centre was officially renamed the Telus World of Science/Calgary, in recognition of a major corporate donation that also benefited the science centres in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal.

Contact: Alan Dyer at alan.dyer@calgaryscience.ca

Winnipeg

The Planetarium at The Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg is undergoing a period of growth and change. The planetarium theatre and science galleries were recently amalgamated, with the benefit of increased staff and production budgets, allowing the planetarium to get back on track with production of new content and programs.

Planetarium staff are involved in producing two new shows this year. The first, As the Sky Turns, is a production based on a favourite children's show from years gone by. This program will tell some of the stories of the constellations using storytelling, music and character voices. As the Sky Turns opened March 25 and runs through the summer and fall.

Our summer production has a working title of Stars and Planets, although this will likely change by the time this issue goes to the web. The program will be a classic planetarium show, covering the essentials of night sky observing: constellations, planets, meteors and the Moon.

We are also experimenting with a special series of evening shows unlike any of our previous programs. Planetarium @ Night is a live, talk show-style program about cutting edge science that features a live musical guest — about what you'd get if you put Carl Sagan, Jay Leno and a Pink Floyd laser show in a blender. The show begins with an opening monologue which includes some current sky information (constellations, planets and upcoming events) and a short “rant” on the topic of the day, designed more to confront or provoke than to “educate” in the traditional sense.

Then, while the audience mulls over the topic, the band comes out and plays a short (15-minute) musical set with accompanying visuals. This is followed by a second monologue, revisiting the topic of the day with more explanation and interactive questions from the audience. The band then comes back for a second set to take the show out. Topics have ranged from the X-Prize race to light pollution to the Apollo moon “hoax.”

The show is making a big impact, attracting a new audience to the planetarium: the treasured “youthful cynics” aged 20-35 who haven't been to a planetarium since their Grade 6 field trip. It’s also making a splash in the musical world — managers and promoters are calling us, and the bands are donating their time to benefit the planetarium.

Contact: Scott Young at scyoung@manitobamuseum.ca

CFHT Exterior: Cylindrical and Hemispherical Projection:The Manitoba Planetarium shot scenes on location using digital SLR cameras and wide-angle lenses, stitching them together to create a full 360° spherical scene from zenith to nadir. This could then be converted into a cylindrical projection [DIRECTION for #2A] (for virtual reality pans for promotional purposes and websites) or to a hemispherical scene [DIRECTION for #2B] for use as a dome-filling “all-sky” projection.

Montréal

Since mid-May 2005, the Montréal Planetarium has presented the show It’s All Relative, Mr. Einstein! This show explores the theories of relativity and is our contribution to the 2005 Year of Physics. The 35-minute multimedia show, created by planetarium astronomer Marc Jobin, is immediately followed by a presentation of the current night sky.

The show Astro-Quizz, for students 10 to 12 years old, is in production for an autumn opening. This interactive show will mimic television game shows as it teaches about the Moon and the planets. This year, the Montreal Planetarium is also working on a new show, as yet untitled, that will explain the life cycle of stars.

A new school curriculum that includes several key astronomy concepts is being introduced in Quebec primary and secondary schools. The Planetarium is helping teachers to acquire the appropriate skills for teaching astronomy...while advertising its school shows.

Finally, the City of Montreal has recently agreed to relocate the Montreal Planetarium, originally opened in 1966, to a site near the Biodome, Botanical Garden and Insectarium (thus creating the largest science centre of its kind in Canada). Efforts are underway to secure financial commitments from the provincial and federal governments. Pierre Lacombe, director of the Montreal Planetarium, will be devoting most of his time in the coming months to this exciting project.

Contact: Pierre Chastenay at chastenay@astro.umontreal.ca

Montreal Collage: All-Sky: Montreal staff also created original show artwork such as this dome-filling collage of imagery used to open the program, and onto which were projected smaller screens of changing slides and edited video clips.