The Planetarium as a Non-formal Environment for Teaching About the Solar System

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a non-formal educational activity, developed in the planetarium of a higher education institution, in which thirty-three high school students from a public school in a small city near São João del-Rei (Minas Gerais) participated. The research intended to explore the educational resources of the planetarium as an environment for teaching about the celestial bodies of the Solar System. The activity consisted of a session inside the planetarium dome featuring the exhibition of a film about the Solar System. The same questionnaire was applied before and after the activity. The results were compared by means of statistical tests, pointing to a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-test results. The planetary potentialities as a non-formal environment for promoting education and its interface with the basic school are discussed, in order to supply the demand for astronomy teaching.