Naeemah B.

Apion Eng Acad

12 STEM Cirrus

Review on the Sky Dome Planetarium: A disappointing cosmic experience?

Every once in a while, we ought to learn about the universe, to dive into
the vast wonders of the heavenly bodies, to immerse ourselves with the mysteries of
the cosmos and to acquaint our minds with the origin of our home, the planet earth.
Of course, when opportunity presents itself, we ought to hold onto it and seize it
especially when such opportunity does not come too often. Last September 20, 2019,
the students and teachers of Filipino Turkish Tolerance School (F.T.T.S.) were granted
the opportunity to experience the Sky Dome planetarium, a facility in which
representations of the planets and the universe are projected onto the inside of a
domed ceiling. Inside the gymnasium of the school, they set up a tent which served
as a smaller and makeshift version of an actual dome. Inside the inflated tent, which
can accordingly accommodate 50 to 55 people, the mass of students were taken on
a journey to further probe into the beauty of the night sky, the moon, the planets and
other celestial bodies. While a faction of students were inside the planetarium, those
waiting outside were entertained with a “magic” spectacle led by one of the
planetarium’s personnel. It was a smart move since it remedied their boredom and
kept them occupied throughout the waiting game.

It is in our nature to set expectations but not at all times, those expectations
are met. In life, we are susceptible to disappointments. These disappointments are
inevitable and will always be present throughout our lives. The planetarium, for once,
was a disappointment. First of all, they tried to fit the entire mass of grade 12 students
inside the tent which resulted to it being overcrowded. The spatial shortcoming
became even more evident when they were asked to lie down to get a better view
of the presentation. Secondly, the ventilation they had was not enough to
accommodate every person inside the planetarium. The range of the ventilation only
extended to 2 to 3 people. The fault in the ventilation department induced complaints
and whines from the students. Facilities like planetariums should make sure spectators
are able to focus well on the spectacle. In the case of the Sky Dome planetarium,
problems in ventilation diverted the attention of the students away from the main
presentation. Instead of talks about the spectacle, you’d hear more conversations
about the place being too “hot”. Moreover, prior to the planetarium, the students
were briefed on what they will see inside the tent. They were told to bargain for high
quality videos which built up expectations that were not justified. The videos
presented were in low resolutions and did not comply with the “out of earth”
experience planetariums usually provide. To add to the low quality videos, the audio
was not perfectly clear and audible. There were some parts where you could not
decipher what the speakers in the videos are trying to say. The lack in the technical
department hindered the attainment of the planetarium’s educational purpose since
students were not able to learn properly due to low resolution videos and bad audio
quality. It also failed in the entertainment aspect as the whines from students are signs
of their dissatisfaction. For a technology driven facility, lacking a great deal in the
technical aspect is very ironic and unsettling. Overall, it was a boring experience. The
many shortcomings made the experience disappointing. The amount of money asked
from the students was not compensated by the poor service the planetarium
provided. In short, we did not get what we paid for.