Karrie Berglund
Tuesday, Oct 20
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
50 seats – $30
Courtyard Hotel – Directors Room A
Workshops
GLIPSA: Workshop on Live, Interactive Programming
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.
A Typology of Planetariums
Cora Braun
Wednesday, Oct 21
3:00 pm – 3:45 pm
Courtyard Hotel – Ottawa Room
This short course provides an overview of the key results from a survey of 164 planetariums within the GDP and GLPA community. Using descriptive statistics and cluster analysis, recurring patterns within the planetarium landscape are identified to systematically reveal underlying structures.
The findings are contextualized from a media studies perspective and discussed with regard to their implications for the development of planetariums.
The aim is to bring the results of this PhD research back to the community and to create space for exchange, fostering dialogue on equal footing about current and future developments. In doing so, the course seeks to open up a broader perspective on the planetarium landscape.
Practice Makes Perfect, but Games Make It More Fun
Heidi Westrick and 1-2 students TBD
Wednesday, Oct 21
3:00 pm – 3:45 pm
Courtyard Hotel – Grand River Room
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. Games include Explain it to me like I’m 5, Space objects charades, draw what they describe, and more.
The Written and Spoken Word - Effectively Communicating Astronomical Concepts
David DeBruyn
Wednesday, Oct 21
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Courtyard Hotel – Kent Room
A panel discussion with up to five highly experienced planetarians and astronomy communicators, including one of our featured speakers, Dr. Michael West. Mike Murray has committed to participate and Bob Bonaduer and Martin Radcliffe have invitations pending. We will be considering concise and yet effective scripting, narration, and presentation skills, with examples drawn from our multiple experiences over decades as astronomy communicators.
Tell Me a Story
Karrie Berglund
Wednesday, Oct 21
3:50 pm – 4:35 pm
Courtyard Hotel – Grand River Room
Storytelling is a key component of interactive programs. However, some commonly presented interactive programs lack a story line – for example, solar system tours and live night sky overviews. In this interactive session, we will work in groups to create storylines to anchor common programs.
UNIVIEW Users Group: Getting the Most Out of Your System and Our Community
Anna Green
Wednesday, Oct 21
3:50 pm – 4:35 pm
Courtyard Hotel – Ottawa Room
This session is more like office hours and a community discussion to bring together UNIVIEW Users. Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop with UNIVIEW if possible and to use this opportunity to get to know the UNIVIEW User Community/How to best use this powerful software.
Collecting Your Favorite Free Content
Diana Yoder
Wednesday, Oct 21
4:40 pm – 5:25 pm
Courtyard Hotel – Grand River Room
There are tons of free resources available to planetariums, from imagery to fulldome films. But where are they? This workshop asks YOU to stop by and share your favorite free resources with the rest of our community. I will collect these recommendations and share them with the wider planetarium community.
Digistar Office Hours
Cosm Staff
Wednesday, Oct 21
4:40 pm – 5:25 pm
Courtyard Hotel – Ottawa Room
Join Cosm staff for “Digistar Office Hours” – bring your scripting questions, in-progress content, and new ideas as you connect and network with other Digistar creators.
While this is classified as a commercial session, the workshop is intended for current Digistar operators.
Teaching Astronomy Through Inquiry: Student-Centered Investigations with Modern Sky Tools
Tony Smith
Wednesday, Oct 21
4:40 pm – 5:25 pm
Courtyard Hotel – Kent Room
This workshop prepares educators to teach astronomy through student-centered, inquiry-based investigations that mirror the observational practices of ancient and modern sky watchers. The workshop emphasizes how modern tools like planetariums can recreate classical astronomical observations such as tracking the Sun, Moon, and stars over time while engaging students in data collection, scientific reasoning, modeling, and prediction.
During the session, participants will experience an example interactive lesson in the role of a learner by actively collecting data, analyzing patterns, and constructing evidence-based explanations of celestial phenomena. Following the example lesson participants will begin brainstorming their own inquiry-driven activity for use in their own planetarium or classroom. The workshop culminates in a discussion and reflective analysis of the lessons brainstormed by participants. An online folder will be created for participants to share their lessons with each other after the conference concludes to continue giving and getting feedback and utilizing each other’s lessons.
Excursions and Tours
You are invited to a midweek excursion to Veen Observatory on Wednesday night. This conference highlight is included with your GLPA registration, and bus transportation will be provided to and from the observatory in Lowell. Join us to get an up-close look at the observatory telescopes and see the results of recent construction and improvements at the facility.
You are invited to an optional post-conference excursion to the Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park on Saturday, following the conclusion of the conference.
The botanical garden features 158-acres of botanical gardens, an indoor tropical conservatory, and a sculpture park rated #1 in America by USA TODAY’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards.
Please note that this activity requires an additional registration fee, which includes round-trip bus transportation for all participants. Lunch is not included, but the Meijer garden has multiple food and drink options available.