Academic Enrichment Grant 2023-2024 Project Summary

Ivan Banuelos

Earl Warren High School • San Antonio, TX

The goal of this project is to introduce new innovative technology inside a planetarium using the mobile Fulldome Projection System. The planetarium will target all levels of student learners while immersing them in a fisheye perspective of the universe that would deliver the shock and awe experience that only a fully detailed planetarium could provide. Integrating the planetarium into STEM-engaging lessons will positively impact our students by increasing student participation, CCMR percentages, and AP passing rates. The planetarium would be used to bring the true motion of the stars, planets, and night sky into the classroom. The grant will fund the Fulldome Projection System, which in combination with the portable inflatable planetarium, will be placed in the school’s gymnasium.

The size of the planetarium would allow up to 60 students (2 classes) at a time for instruction. This means hundreds of students would be visually impacted by the shock and awe the planetarium is designed to deliver. The planetarium would be maintained by the Warren Astronomy Club, an organization of 50 students that assists in community service, promotes STEM awareness, and learning about the next frontiers of Astronomy. The STEM lessons include the movement of stars at night, precession of the earth’s rotation axis, identifying and locating constellations using real-time data, the orbits of the planets, cellular biology, and coral reef exploration. The planetarium will be used to encourage STEM learning among students of all ages in the community, particularly through school events.

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