IPS 2008 Survey: Viable Planetaria of the Future
The audiences of today, as well as those of tomorrow, come to planetarium shows with different, if not increasingly sophisticated, expectations compared to those of the past. What experiences will resonate with today and tomorrow's public? What sort of innovative, visually compelling experiences should we provide? What can we do to motivate audiences to attend planetarium shows? What are our competing forms of education, engagement, and entertainment?
Please take a moment to visit the survey below and add your thoughts to this ongoing conversation.
Take the IPS 2008 innovation survey.
View the current survey responses.
Delegate Information
IPS 2008 Conference Photos
IPS 2008 Delegate List
IPS 2008 Delegate List by Country
Invitation
We are pleased to invite you to participate in IPS2008: Explore the Edge, the 19th International Planetarium Society Conference, to be held in Chicago, Illinois, USA, from 27 June to 2 July 2008. The conference takes place at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and at Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum and has something special for you whether you think Explore the Edge refers to the Edge of the Universe Edge-u-tainment, or Edge-u-cation (with apologies to purists).
The opening reception at Adler features behind-the-scenes tours of our exhibits and history of astronomy artifacts, shows, and our observatory, together with food and drink.
Keynote Speaker Dr. Edward (Rocky) Kolb of Fermilab and The University of Chicago launches the conference into orbit by examining Cosmology through the ages, while focusing on the current view of the Universe. Additional, equally impressive and inspirational speakers join the lineup later. An optional mid-conference public talk will bring together Chicago-area science attentive public and IPS delegates.
The Vendor Showcase using the Adler’s three theaters and Vendor Exhibits at the Hyatt will stimulate you to dream of the tools and technologies you may need to enhance your theater or programming.
All planetarians will enjoy another conference highlight — an Indigenous Peoples Panel. Native experts will discuss issues surrounding indigenous sky knowledge including how it is recovered and preserved, and how they would like it to be displayed.
Most papers, panels, and workshops will come from you, the IPS2008 delegates, so send in your ideas when you register. Although many sessions may appeal to planetarians working in a fixed-dome environment, others will feature innovations in education and technology expressly for portable domes.
Education in planetariums of all sizes will be a major conference thread with two foci:
1. Public Education and Public Outreach in the Planetarium World. This strand explores new and innovative educational practices. Potential topics include: customized sky shows for educational audiences, working with teachers, and targeting and programming for community audiences.
2. Insuring Quality: Evaluation, Research, and Professional Development for Planetarians. How do we assess and improve our work as planetarium professionals? Delegates who have existing practices or results that they would like to share are especially welcome to submit papers.
Another thread in the conference theme will be: How will planetaria and their shows remain viable in the future?
Like their predecessors, modern planetaria inspire their audiences with astronomical lore. For many children, planetarium shows have provided their first guided tours of the skies, kindling a lifelong interest in astronomy and space science.
The audiences of today, as well as those of tomorrow, come to planetarium shows with different, if not increasingly sophisticated, expectations compared to those of the past. What experiences will resonate with today’s and tomorrow’s public? What sort of innovative, visually compelling experiences should we provide? What can we do to motivate audiences to attend planetarium shows? What are our competing forms of education, engagement, and entertainment?
The IPS 2008 Conference will address issues relating to identifying, developing, and implementing the experiences that will enable the planetarium of tomorrow to strengthen its role as an important scientific and cultural medium. Participants are encouraged to consider and incorporate these issues into their proposals and presentations. At the Conference, an introductory plenary session will challenge and encourage participants with thought-provoking suggestions and questions to consider throughout Conference presentations. A breakout session will explore specific solutions to these questions, and a final plenary session will bring results of these discussions to the entire Conference. Communication tools will then be developed to extend these discussions beyond the Conference..
IPS2008 concludes with a banquet-cruise aboard the Spirit of Chicago. This unique venue showcases the magnificent Chicago skyline viewed from the ideal vantage point of Lake Michigan, along with good food and conversation.
IPS2008 will offer several optional tours to enhance your trip to Chicago.
Monday, June 30th.
Fermilab: On your free afternoon during the conference, take a behind-the-scenes tour of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory — one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. (Transportation and a box lunch are included.)
On Thursday, July 3rd, the day following the conference, we offer two tours:
Notre Dame and Amish Region: This tour leaves the hotel in the morning and ventures east to South Bend, Indiana and Notre Dame University, home of a recently completed full-dome theater featuring Digital Sky. The tour then proceeds to Indiana’s Amish region to see a culture that still functions primarily by horse and people power. (Transportation, all meals, and an overnight stay are included.)
Milwaukee Public Museum and Yerkes Observatory: This tour leaves the hotel in the early afternoon on July 3rd and proceeds to the Milwaukee Public Museum for a visit to the newly installed Digistar 3 system. Following dinner, you’ll be whisked away to historic Yerkes Observatory, home of the world’s largest refractor. Weather permitting, you’ll observe the heavens using several of their large telescopes. (Transportation, all meals, and an overnight stay are included.)
Registration costs and other fees.
The primary conference site is the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place about two miles from Adler. We have negotiated a special IPS2008 discounted rate of $159/night for single and $179/night for double occupancy. To receive the reduced room rate at the conference hotel, please be sure to mention IPS. Book a room using their website mccormickplace.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/ (Group Code# G-FADL) or telephone them at 312-567-1234 and mention IPS.
United Airlines is our official airline partner for the conference. Discounts are available when you use the following promotion code: 576 IE.
For reservations within the U.S. or Canada, contact United’s MeetingsPlus reservation service at (800) 521-4041. U.S. attendees can also book their travel through www.united.com and enter the promotional code.
For international travelers, contact your local United reservation office.
We hope to see you in Chicago at IPS2008: Explore the Edge!
Conference Host
& Astronomy Museum
Chicago, Illinois 60605
USA
Phone: 001-312-922-STAR
Fax: 001-312-322-9909
TTY: 001-312-322-0995
Web: adlerplanetarium.org