The purpose of the Portable Astronomical Laboratory (PAL) is to allow school children to do astronomy experiments and observations at school and in their own neighborhoods. The PAL provides pupils and teachers with the means to become familiar with what we now know about the world beyond Earth and how we know it.
The PAL has been designed to meet the following objectives:
The PAL includes: an inflatable planetarium, a telescope, exploratory activities, computerized programs, video tapes, a slide show and a travelling exhibition of astronomical subjects. A main feature of the PAL is a portable Starlab Planetarium. Built to be set up quickly in any large classroom or gymnasium, the Starlab has many of the basic features of larger planetaria: it shows the night sky for any time of the year and any location on Earth, including stars down to 4th magnitude, planets, and the Sun and Moon. A special projector enables one to display the celestial co-ordinates and constellation outlines.
- To arouse an interest in astronomy.
- To provide basic concepts in astronomy.
- To stress the exploratory learning environment and culture as opposed to the learning environment and culture that emphasis the passive absorption of information.
- To enrich the study of science in a way that schools are usually incapable of due to lack of means towards that end.
- To enable children, students and teachers with a deeper interest in science to continue to study astronomy.
- To enable students to conduct research and advanced projects in astronomy.
Another main feature of the PAL is a computerized 11-inch telescope outfitted with a CCD camera, a computer for storing and analyzing photos, and an assortment of optical equipment for enjoying the night sky.
Activities with the Pal usually last between 4-8 hours, depending on the number of students in the school and the number of stations the school is interested in opening. In operation the laboratory includes the following activities:
- Exploratory Activities: building a paper telescope; sun glasses; a colony on the moon; moon phases; the daily sun orbit; rockets; scale: moon, earth, sun; building a model of the solar system.
- Portable Telescope: daytime activity with the sun; exploring earthly objects with a telescope; night-time activity with the moon; night-time - photographing celestial objects.
- Inflatable Planaterium: the shift from the day to night; becoming acquainted with constellations; location of the planets; the seasons.
- Computerized Programs: orbits; the Sky; skyglobe.
- Video Movies: the Sun; mercury; the moon; astroids and comets; mars; saturn; jupiter; seven Days in Space.
- Slide Show: the Solar System; jupiter and jupiter's moons; from the earthly dimension to the cosmic one; Merssier Objects and Comets; the Sun as a Star.
- A Travelling Exhibition of Astronomical Subjects and Phenomena.
- Games
- Demonstrations by Experts: "Falling Stars"; Paralaxa; Distance Measurement in Space.
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