At first glance, the Cedar Crest High School planetarium in southern Lebanon County doesn’t look like much.
Two rows of outdated circular benches provide viewers access to a high, domed ceiling. Conventional desks, pushed against the wall, are a stark reminder of the traditional classroom setting.
But when the lights go out, the stars come out—as well as the planets and the constellations and seemingly infinite possibilities. The planetarium sparks one’s imagination that parallels the universe being portrayed.
“From 5 year olds up to people rolling in here in a wheelchair, it always causes the same reaction,” said Cedar Crest astronomy teacher Rich Fried. “They come in here and the lights are turned off and you turn on the stars for the first time, and the first word from every single one of them is, ‘Wow’ or ‘Whoa.’ I can talk to you about a supernova exploding. But why would I just talk to you about it when I can show you?”
If astronomy is the coolest of all the major sciences, then a planetarium is the ultimate visual aid.
“It’s a supplement to the normal classwork,” Fried said. “We get to take it one step further by actually seeing and immersing ourselves in the topics we are studying. Now that I’ve been teaching with a planetarium for so long, I personally would find it challenging to go back to the paper-and-pencil way. It’s easier to learn things by seeing them rather than just reading them, and the planetarium allows us to do that.”
Not only is the Cedar Crest planetarium a unique teaching tool, it’s also uncommon. It is believed to be the only functioning planetarium in Lebanon County, and one of the few in central Pennsylvania.
“At the high school level, planetariums are exceedingly rare,” Fried said. “It’s an uncommon perk or uncommon benefit. The type of planetarium we have is typically reserved for museums, as well as university-type learning. I’m not going to say it’s the only digital planetarium at the high school level in the state, but you can count the number of them on one, or perhaps two hands.”
Ever Evolving
In the planetarium, Fried teaches two different astronomy courses—a historical one and one focused on deep-space topics—to six to eight different classes. But the Cedar Crest planetarium is also used as a field trip destination for elementary- and middle-school-aged students and is made available as a community outreach tool for older local residents.
“It is something that kids from the youngest of ages can look up at the sky and just question, ‘Why?’’’ Fried said. “It’s that simple fascination with trying to put your life here on earth in perspective with a greater universe. Astronomy very often deals with things beyond our comprehension, things that are very, very old, things that are very, very hot or cold, things that are so very, very distant. Astronomy challenges the perceptions of life here on earth.”
It’s also ever evolving. We may know more about the universe today than we did yesterday—and not as much as we will tomorrow—but we may never know everything about it.
“In the planetarium, we can look forward 100,000 years and look back 100,000 years,” Fried said. “You can speed up time and you can slow down time. Where we’re at right now in astronomy is we’re starting to figure out what we know and what we don’t know. We’re at this interesting point where the mathematics is outpacing our technological abilities to study the universe.”
Part of the Cornwall-Lebanon school district’s original plan, the planetarium was constructed when Cedar Crest High School was built in 1966. Upgrades and the maintenance of the planetarium, including the installation of a digital projection system in 2006, have afforded thousands of students an opportunity to indulge their fascination with astronomy over six decades.
That type of commitment is at the heart of learning and education.
“I would argue that planetariums were more common back in the ‘60s and ‘70s,” Fried said. “Of course, back then, we had the Apollo missions front and center, the race to the moon. Astronomy was perhaps very much mainstream back then; it was ever-present in the news.”
Times have changed, people have come and gone, and the love for astronomy has spiked and waned. But as a course of study, astronomy will always be relevant.
“It’s fascinating to think about, not just how many people, but how many generations have gone through these doors,” Fried said. “Some of them have been so interested in the sciences that they have focused on a career in them.”
With this one tool, the school has brought both young and old together, under one roof, to learn something fascinating.
“As a teacher, I find that to be the most rewarding component of my time spent here,” Fried said.
Cedar Crest High School planetarium is located at 115 E. Evergreen Rd., Lebanon. For more information, visit www.clsd.k12.pa.us.
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