Making a flat screen work when you can't use the dome

NOVA—The Netherlands Research School for Astronomy—coordinates a group of three inflatable mobile planetariums that visit around 200 primary and secondary schools per year (approximately 30,000 students/year). After an initial stop in activities (March-June 2020) due to the COVID-19 crisis, NOVA has invested in a high quality screen in order to resume planetarium operations safely during the pandemic. The same interactive shows as present-ed in the dome are now given in a large, darkened room projected onto a flat screen with students sitting on cushions in a close group (current Dutch regulations allow close contact between children under the age of 18). A test of this COVID-19-safe “mobile planetar-ium” at a summer school for primary school children (ages 7-11; 180 students; 20 teachers) was highly successful. The evaluation showed that all participants found the experience to be highly inspi-rational. The expert presenters felt that the setup with the screen enhanced the interaction between the presenter and the students.