Minnesota Planetarium Society
About Us
For more than 50 years the Minneapolis Planetarium served families throughout the state and region introducing them to the night sky, sparking an interest in science and igniting imaginations. Over 4 million visitors benefited from its programs, especially school children. When the Minneapolis Central Library was torn down in 2002, the former planetarium was shuttered with the understanding that it would be rebuilt as part of the new library.
In June 2003 the Minnesota Planetarium Society incorporated as a charitable not-for-profit organization to promote educational programs focused on astronomy and earth science. Its formal mission is to, “seek to inspire, inform and educate children, families, Minnesotans and all visitors about our planet, our universe and the creative benefits of scientific thinking and exploration
Our outreach program began in the fall of 2006, when the Minnesota Planetarium Society purchased a revolutionary combination of technology providing sensational new views of the known universe as previously only displayed in larger planetariums. The system utilizes pioneering software, “Univiewâ€, which digitally contains all the known imagery of the universe. Presentations are shown in an inflatable planetarium which seats 25-35 visitors. We realized the power of this technology and were the first organization to purchase this educational theater and named it, “The ExploraDome†and the programming is ideal for immersive learning.
Confident of our capabilities, we launched this program for K-12 schools in January 2007 to improve science education in Minnesota. Over this time, with the generosity of corporate and foundation sponsors, more than 45,000 school children and 18,000 adults have been immersed and inspired by our dome. Teachers have consistently given high scores in post-evaluation surveys. To date, we have served 125 schools in 63 different districts, which equates to roughly 100 school days in each of the last two years. Site visits average 180 students a day and non-school events have attracted on average 100-400 people.
We have been building organizational capacity and are introducing state of the art teaching experiences in astronomy, astrophysics, earth science, microbiology and nano technology. We also have a greater capacity for improving pedagogy for disadvantaged and rural teachers. This outreach program is also a valuable tool for our capital campaign. The construction of the new planetarium hinges on the success of this campaign.
Our Mission
Our mission is to inspire, inform and educate children, families, educators, and all Minnesotans and our visitors about our planet, our universe and the many benefits of scientific thinking, technological advancement and exploration. Through our work and in concert with allies, the Minnesota Planetarium Society’s goals are to improve student learning on selected state earth and space standards, assist teachers with improving their science curricula, inspire children to continue their STEM education and foster a scientific and environmentally literate public.
Why We Need a New Website
A new website will allow us to expand our mission. As stated in our mission, "visitors about...," is open-ended for this very reason. We wish our website to be a resource for people to visit across the United States of America and our world partners. Accessibility is a very focal theme for our institution. As we have formal partnerships with cutting edge researchers, visitors anywhere with an internet connection can obtain this knowledge in a matter of seconds. Our brand will have influence on our local market, but we wish to make our planetarium and space discovery center a national landmark. In an age of "google it first", call/email second, a website is paramount to our marketing efforts, educational mission and accountability as a non-profit institution.
Unfortunately, when we have asked school children, college students, academics and other focus groups what they think of our website, the most common response is "...it's kind of boring...dull...not very exciting." Aside from its general lack of inspirational and cosmic-inducing user experience, the website does not clearly communicate that the planetarium currently does NOT exist- and that we are in the process to recreate one. This is evident from the many phone calls coming off the website asking about hours of operation! With a new website, we see 5 main areas that would dramatically improve our ability to connect with the public and potential investors:
1. Design. Our website should be breathtaking when a visitor views it. Visually stunning, explosive yet calm and mysterious - akin to space. It should make kids (and adults) want to take a ride on the next rocketship or become curious about what a wormhole is and what happens if you go inside one. We believe a website that is more eye-catching is essential in capturing people's imaginations and getting them excited about what can be.
2. Our Mission. Unless you're on one of our volunteer committees or have been a past supporter, you may not be very clear on just exactly what we're trying to do or even who we are! This is debilitating for fundraising. If the website could more clearly communicate our mission, its impact on education and the many other benefits of building a new planetarium, we would have a much better chance of engaging more of the public, not just those already in the field. Even though we have copy on the home page saying this, it doesn't seem to be effective.
3. ExploraDome. Currently, if you are a teacher and you would like to sign up your school for the ExploraDome using our website, it is an extremely cumbersome process. The ExploraDome outreach program is a main vehicle for driving and promoting the building of the new planetarium. On our website, it gets lost and does not stand out. If we could highlight this area more and simplify the signup process, we feel we could generate more visibility for the program and the number of teachers who actually sign up (before they give up trying to do so).
4. Capital Campaign. Another area that needs to be more prominent (and yes, more compelling about why you would support us).
5. Resource Area. We know it's not enough just to post some interesting news or provide a long list of links to some other sites of interest. If we are indeed to become a local and national resource for astronomy and science lovers, this area needs to be more dynamic and interactive as well as informative. How do we do that? We need help here, too.
And ultimately, if the new website ends up saying to the world that science can be cool too, well that's just a bonus.
How Our New Site Will Help Make the World Greener
Our site, as propelled by our mission, will provide a section of education and information about sustainable living. The Minnesota Planetarium and Space Discovery Center will be LEED certified, and will have a permanent exhibition on how LEED certification is met and examples within the facility. This allows for a teachable moment for educators that can be directly linked to the website in an interactive website/exhibit in the actual facility.
The web site will showcase interconnected drivers of global insecurity: climate change-as physically represented with data and competition over natural resources-with live data among other demonstratable factors. This ties to our mission of the benefit of scientific thinking and problem solving as a core value.
We wish to have all of our forms online. Fax machines are both annoying and wasteful. Mailings for donations can turn into emails, streamlining the process, saving us thousands and saving trees.
Messages From Supporters
When the judges choose which non-profits will be selected to participate in this year's Challenge they will take into account testimonials from beneficiaries, donors, volunteers, board members and other
