| Name: AMOGHAVARSHA N |
| Affiliation: Indian Institute of Astrophysics |
| Conference ID: ASI2026_1049 |
| Title: IIA COSMOS-Mysuru: Building Astronomy engagement ahead of a next-generation planetarium |
| Abstract Type: Poster |
| Abstract Category: Education, Outreach and Heritage |
| Author(s) and Co-Author(s) with Affiliation: Amoghavarsha N(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), K. S. Yashaswini(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), Niruj Mohan Ramanujam(Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru - 560034, India), B S Shylaja(Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru, India), S. Seetha(Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru - 560080, India), R. Punith(CESCOM, Mysuru - 570001, India), Sumukha Bharadwaj(Indian institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, India) |
| Abstract: COSMOS-Mysuru is one of the world’s first 8K resolution LED Dome planetaria being built by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in the city of Mysuru. With relatively low prior astronomy activity in the region, a comprehensive education and outreach program was launched three years ago across Mysuru to establish an effective, long-term, district-wide program, catering to both the urban Mysuru city and the rural district. The broad aim was to build enough astronomy engagement in the region for the effective utilisation of the planetarium upon completion.
Following a stakeholder mapping across the district, a diversity of programs were initiated, and this talk will describe some of them, highlighting their contents and the target audiences. These include rural and urban schools, online and offline talks, students and teachers, technical and public talks, English and Kannada, etc. We established collaborations, built networks, and facilitated capacity building. Through more than 150 individual events that were organised over three years, more than 40,000 participants in diverse communities have been reached. Additionally, we host a successful radio program, featuring more than 60 episodes in both Kannada and English. We will discuss the impact of many of our programs and how our continued capacity building has changed the public and student perception of astronomy across the district.
With the impending inauguration of the planetarium, we are planning a transition from these programs to a more structured set of activities that will be based out of our campus, and the challenges of this transition will be highlighted. This includes more academic training workshops on data analysis that use the dome as a pedagogical tool. Lastly, we will also briefly share some technical details of the unique LED Dome planetarium, which will be of interest to the planetarium and outreach community at the meeting.
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