GLIPSA is a one day event modeled on LIPS, the Live Interactive Planetarium Symposium. GLIPSA specifically focuses on live, interactive lessons: connecting with your audience, enhancing performance skills, classroom management techniques, sample activities, etc. Previous GLIPSA sessions have included “Explain it Like I’m Five,” questioning strategies and techniques, hiring and training staff to do interactive programs, and more. Come prepared to share your ideas and experiences!

The fee will cover morning break food and lunch.

This workshop takes place in the Como Planetarium. Participants will have to carpool for transportation to the Como Planetarium from the hotel (7 miles). The conference hosts will arrange for a passenger van to be available for transportation as well.

Each participant walks away with a simple fulldome render and a foundational understanding of how Blender can be used for dome visuals. Participants must bring a computer with the latest version of Blender LTS installed. A three-button mouse is recommended.

The fee will cover morning break food and lunch.

This workshop will take place at the Bell Museum. Participants will need to carpool for transportation. The museum is 2 miles from the hotel.

Training presenters can be a challenge, especially preparing them for audience interaction. While practice is key, it doesn’t have to be memorization and continuously repeating a speech. In this workshop we will play some of the games I use to teach/practice presentation skills and content knowledge, including “Explain It to Me Like I’m 5,” “Space Objects Charades,” “Draw What They Describe,” and more.

Integrating Indigenous content for schools and planetariums requires time, preparation, and collaboration. Deepen your approach with grounding in historical and contemporary Indigenous communities and perspectives. We will share some of our work in St. Paul Public Schools, including science lessons rooted in Ojibwe contexts for the planetarium, and beyond. Participants will explore key topics that focus on integrating authentic, culturally responsive content into the planetarium. Hear our “take” on partnerships, interdisciplinary lessons, academic standards alignment, and resources that broaden the education for all our students.

Join Cosm staff for the Digistar Scripting & Content Workshop! Bring your scripting questions and in-progress content as you connect and network with other Digistar creators in an “office hours” environment. We’ll also offer several short “feature deep dives” to further inspire your work, and make sure you leave GLPA with fresh ideas to take back to your domes. This is a commercial session, but is focused on current Digistar operators.

Have you ever been curious about creating content in Unreal Engine? Do you enjoy learning in a supportive environment with your peers? Join us to take your first virtual steps in Unreal Engine.

This workshop will provide a very basic beginner introduction to the gaming engine, as well as resources that might be useful to developers in dome environments. Together, we’ll create our first projects, learn to navigate the interface, create landscapes, place and modify actors, add and control scene lighting, and more.

This workshop will be best suited for those who have never used Unreal Engine before.

IMPORTANT: In order to participate in this workshop, you will need a laptop that is capable of running Unreal Engine 5.3. The program will need to be installed before the time of the workshop. Instructions will be sent out prior to the conference. Technical specifications can be found here: https://bit.ly/UnrealSpecs

A mouse that has at least left and right buttons, as well as a center scroll wheel, is highly recommended.

Dive into the Dark Matter Universe in this hands-on, working session. All are welcome! Current users can get the most out of the workshop by bringing their production laptops to work and learn. They will be able to get help, collaborate with others, and walk away with new, ready-to-use content.

For others, we’ll have a couple of laptops available to share/observe, as we all (even spectators) can work together to create awe-inspiring dome experiences whose resources can be shared online later. While this workshop will be very participant-driven, we’ll plan to split the workshop into three overarching themes of 20 minutes each: Interface Introduction, Assembling Assets, and Power Programming For All.

The best practices discussion returns and once again needs your help! In 2024, attendees helped to identify their best practices under the dome through my interactive poster session. I’ve now compiled these suggestions and sorted them into 10 defining practices. During this workshop, I hope to use all of your expertise to elaborate on these practices and to provide resources for new planetarians to achieve these goals. Please come prepared to share your favorite resources and advice. After the workshop, I will compile our notes into a single document to share with all of GLPA (and WAC!)

After a long day of paper sessions, workshops, and networking you will have the opportunity to visit the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory for our midweek trip at this year’s GLPA conference!

We will have a bus to provide free transportation, and attendees are welcome to drive their own vehicle and park for free near the facility. The park is a 15 minute drive from the hotel and avoids major highways.

The zoo features exhibits such as the Wolf Woods, Polar Bear Odyssey, and Gorilla Forest, and also includes large cats, African hoofed stock, birds, and aquatic animals. The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory has two acres of indoor and outdoor/displays including a Lily Pond, Bonsai Collection, Japanese Garden, Fern Room, Palm Dome, and a garden with economic plants.  You might even get the chance to see a sloth hanging out in the Tropical Encounters Garden!

During our visit there will be a Seal Show and a Zookeeper Talk, and we’ll share other events that are added to the schedule as we approach the date of the conference!

The Zoo & Conservatory is located right near Lake Como with ample walking and biking trails for attendees to run with beautiful views of the local plants and wildlife.

After the conference has concluded, join us on a post-conference trip to the Hoċokata Ṫi Cultural Center in Shakopee! Admittance to the trip will be $30, including lunch by Native Harvest Catering. It will be a build your own buffet of rice bowls with long-grain wild rice, braised bison and/or braised black beans (vegan), Dakota toppings, and drizzle.

Hoċokata Ṫi (pronounced ‘ho-cho-ka-ta tee’) means “lodge at the center of the camp” in the Dakota language.The Cultural Center opened in 2019 and is a place for the local native community to gather and celebrate their local heritage, language, and history.

During our visit, we will get a guided tour of the public exhibit Mdewakanton: Dwellers of the Spirit Lake. With the tour, the history of many of the displays and interactives will be given more context from the perspective of the Mdewakanton Dakota people. The exhibit shows the history of the Native Peoples of Minnesota from before European settlers arrived to the present day.

The facility also has an excellent gift shop with a variety of Native-made art, books, jewelry, health, beauty, and home goods, and crafting supplies.