ASTRONOMY
Appendix E: Proposal for New Initiatives:
Learn About the Stars - and Science - at Chabot College!
Establishing grade-level appropriate planetarium shows for elementary and
middle-school students in the Chabot College Community.
Description: Fund the acquisition and delivery of 2-3 grade-level appropriate school shows for our fulldome planetarium that can be shown to students in grades 1-2, 3-5, and 6-9 from local schools in our
service area.
Background: Chabot College used to have the budget and reassignment time for faculty to develop and
delivery low-cost planetarium shows for local schools. Over time, that budget and time has been cut due
to necessity, leaving our planetarium less accessible to our community, and unable to help in the
development of interest in younger students in STEM disciplines. Developing grade-level specific shows,
and delivering them with quality, takes significant time, and acquisition of the full-dome features that
can be shown with our equipment is expensive. We cannot charge local schools for the costs of
developing those programs, and even charging a nominal fee per student ($2-5 each is typical), and
offering 1-2 shows a month, we could not recoup the costs over 10 years of shows.
How does your initiative address the college's Strategic Plan goal, or significantly improve student
learning?
We recognize that, in the short term, offering school shows to local students will not directly increase
the number of students looking to meet their educational goals at Chabot. Nevertheless, offering public
planetarium shows for local schools increases the positive impact we offer in the community, and in the
long term, can lead to future enrollment interest. Even more important, though, is the idea of opening
up our campus to young students in our community also plants a seed that can eventually grow into the
desire and confidence for those same students to attend college, perhaps at Chabot itself. With so
many of our students coming from households where they are the first family member to attend
college, it is clear that anything we can do to help our community come to understand and appreciate
what a community college can offer is important work.
On a much smaller scale, we recognize that offering shows also may give us the chance to recruit
selected students interested in “internships” as planetarium and science educators, assisting us in the
development and delivery of the content.
We recognize that the current limited budget climate may not support this initiative at this time, but
want to put out for consideration and reflection that – if funding might be found, through foundation
support or other educational grants – the Chabot College Planetarium can play a very important role in
attracting students and the community to our campus, and further demonstrating our value in that
community as an educational institutions for all.
What is your specific goal and measurable outcome?
Find the funds to purchase, and deliver, grade-level appropriate full-dome shows for grades 3-5, 6-9,
and then 1-2. Advertise the shows with local schools, and test their response.
What is your action plan to achieve your goal?
Activity (brief description)
Find funding for the first show
Develop initial show, advertise with local teachers in specific
grades, and deliver (~6 shows per term, 2 per month initially)
Recruit additional students interested in helping. Expand
adjunct faculty opportunities to lead the shows.
Find funding for additional shows
Create and deliver additional school shows
Target
Completion
Date
Spring
2013
Fall 2013 –
Spring
2014
Required Budget (Split out
personnel, supplies, other
categories)
~$8,000 for show costs
Spring
2014
Fall 2014Spring
2015
~$8,000 - $16,000
~$4,000 for personnel time
and materials costs
~$5000 for personnel time
How will you manage the personnel needs?
New Hires:
X Classified staff # of positions 1, part-time
Reassigning existing employee(s) to the project; employee(s) current workload will be:
X
Covered by overload or part-time employee(s)
At the end of the project period, the proposed project will:
X
Be completed (onetime only effort);
(Once purchased, the shows become the property of Chabot College, and can be reused for future years.)
Will the proposed project require facility modifications, additional space, or program relocation?
X No
Will the proposed project involve subcontractors, collaborative partners, or cooperative agreements?
X Possibly, if we can find funding partners
Do you know of any grant funding sources that would meet the needs of the proposed project?
X
Not at the present time.