Students get intergalactic lesson

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Students at Carlisle Elementary School in Delaware got an up-close and personal lesson about the stars and the solar system during a presentation in the Skydome.

On Monday, students at Carlisle crawled into the Skydome, an inflatable planetarium, and heard a 45-minute presentation from David Killion, an independent contractor and educator with Mobile Ed Productions, an educational entertainment company.

Killion and the Skydome were at Carlisle to mark the end of a read-a-thon, which had the theme “reading is out of this world.”

Carlisle Principal Paula Vertikoff said the Carlisle PTO arranged for the visit as a celebration for students.

“We love our PTO,” Vertikoff said. “We’re so lucky to provide this (presentation) to our students.”

Vertikoff said the school was still tabulating how much students read during the read-a-thon, but she said read-a-thons are great for students’ reading abilities.

“For some students, it’s a game changer,” Vertikoff said. She added events like read-a-thons really increase students’ reading ability and stamina.

During the presentation, Killion projected images of the night’s sky and stars on the inside of the dome, and he told the students about constellations and the planets in the solar system. Killion taught the students about Polaris, the North Star, and how they can find it and always use it to orient themselves at night, because it never moves.

“The information fits in well with their classes,” Killion said.

Killion added when he simulated the night sky for the Carlisle students, he chose Delaware’s exact latitude and longitude so it would be the same night sky as the one they would see that night.

“It’s a different learning environment,” he said. “When they see this sky, it’s the real sky for Delaware.”

Killion added he enjoyed the opportunity to share his Skydome presentation with all the students at Carlisle.

Educator David Killion gives a presentation about the solar system to a group of Carlisle Elementary School students Monday afternoon. Killion gave presentations to all the students at Carlisle. He talked about the eight planets and the dwarf planets in the solar system, constellations and the North Star.
https://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2018/10/web1_DSC_0735.jpgEducator David Killion gives a presentation about the solar system to a group of Carlisle Elementary School students Monday afternoon. Killion gave presentations to all the students at Carlisle. He talked about the eight planets and the dwarf planets in the solar system, constellations and the North Star. Glenn Battishill | The Gazette

By Glenn Battishill

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Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.

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