St. Paul’s Como Planetarium will celebrate 50 years this month with a public “star party” that includes activities, telescopes and the opportunity to see a classic film and original planetarium equipment.
The public is invited to the free celebration from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Como Park Elementary School at 780 W. Wheelock Pkwy. on April 17. The party also will feature the “star ball,” the star projector that was used by the planetarium until around the early 2000s before it was replaced by a digital system.
“And we’ll have activity tables, as well — science-related activities. So people generally can come and they can kind of hop around to those different activities, or the telescopes or the planetarium as it suits them,” said Sarah Weaver, a science teacher on special assignment who leads the planetarium.
In Minnesota, there are only a handful of planetariums, such as the Como Planetarium, Weaver said, though some traveling inflatable ones do exist. Also in St. Paul is the Bell Museum’s planetarium.
Como Planetarium, which can seat up to 55 people, has been in operation since 1975. It is part of St. Paul Public Schools.
A giant globe of the Earth is suspended just outside the Como Planetarium at Como Park Elementary School in St. Paul on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
‘You can do that in a planetarium’
A planetarium provides opportunities a teacher wouldn’t have in other spaces, said Weaver, who started in her role in 2018 and is the fourth planetarium teacher in its history.
“A classroom teacher cannot speed through time and show where the sunrise is changing on the horizon, but you can do that in a planetarium,” she said.
The planetarium typically sees up to 10,000 SPPS students on field trips each school year. Grant funding from 3M Co. supports transportation to the planetarium. The facility also can host groups from outside St. Paul schools.
‘Experiential learning’
The planetarium offers a range of lesson lengths, depending on the grade level and other factors. Como Park first-graders, who simply walk to the planetarium from their classroom, received a half-hour lesson recently. Third-graders, however, have 90-minute lessons.
Weaver works with other SPPS teachers and science specialists to develop her lessons. This has included other teachers on special assignment, such as Julie Hutcheson-Downwind – now principal at American Indian Magnet School – who implemented Indigenous education at the planetarium, teaching students about topics like Ojibwe constellations.
Special Assignment teacher Sarah Weaver teaches Students from Mellissa Anglum’s Como Elementary first grade class about the phases of the moon in the lessons room next to the Como Planetarium at Como Elementary School in St. Paul on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Working with different departments helps support creating the best possible lessons, Weaver said.
“I feel like experiential learning is a great opportunity for interdisciplinary work and for kids to make connections that are not just within one subject area,” Weaver said.
Weaver uses the planetarium’s computer system to teach students about the solar system, locating constellations and other lessons based on the grade level. Fourth-graders, for example, may collect data by measuring the sun’s height in different seasons. An adjoining room also gives students space to do hands-on activities related to what they’ve learned, such as acting out movements of the solar system.
“I mean, part of science is being able to touch things and do things. So I have a tendency to like to teach that way. And while the planetarium is fabulous at showing visuals, it’s nice to have a bigger space for playing with those same concepts, but in a different way,” Weaver said.
‘First time ever’
The planetarium has also hosted other star parties, which is a big piece of what SPPS Community Education does, Weaver said. A recent star party was in preparation for the eclipse last year, Weaver said.
“And still, every single time we do a star party, there are people who look into a telescope for the first time ever,” Weaver said.
Weaver said throughout the planetarium’s history, the focus has been on the kids.
“And I believe the planetarium is an important and critical visual tool, an experiential tool for students understanding the sky and also their place on the planet,” Weaver said.
For details on the star party, go to stpaul.ce.eleyo.com/course/16759/spring-2025-adult/star-party-celebrate-50-years. To learn more about the planetarium, go to commed.spps.org/planetarium.
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