Blog: Remembering Sky World

This is a blog post written by our past staff Tia and Caeleigh on their experience with our Sky World workshops!

Here is what they each had to say:

Caeleigh:

This week was our first real taste of programming. This was an incredible opportunity that allowed us to explore the worlds that exist beyond this planet. The Planetarium Dome showed us amazing illustrations of different constellations from several cultures, including Greek, Inuit, and Anishinaabe. This experience was like a sneak peek into what TRACKS is all about, bridging Indigenous and Eurocentric sciences and knowledges. I learned so much about stories behind different constellations and the science behind the Northern Lights. It was amazing to watch the kids get excited about learning and encourage that excitement! Overall this was an amazing beginning to this summer at TRACKS

Tia:

The Sky World workshops were so much fun and a great way to start my placement with TRACKS. It was exciting and challenging to hit the ground running! We all learned a lot about each other as well as how we facilitate and deliver programming. It was through the Sky World workshops that my co-workers learned about my background in sciences and my love of astronomy, which has very much defined my role moving forward in future programming.  It was really fun to learn more about the constellations from many different cultures and perspectives. I had never learned about systems of constellations other than the Western or Greek depictions. I also had never heard Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee or any other Indigenous Nation’s stories around constellations before.  In the planetarium, we were able to travel to different planets, dying stars and the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. I was challenged to remember concepts I had not studied in years, but I was very proud of myself for how much I was able to share from memory. It was absolutely breath-taking and a bit dizzying to travel through the solar system and see celestial objects in a three-dimensional video image. It is very reassuring and affirming of knowledge to hear the same concept spoken about but in different ways. I am really looking forward to continuing my learning journey and sharing these very important messages with children as the summer goes on. It will be difficult work, but I know it will be very fulfilling and worthwhile!