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‘Planetarium@home’: Digital Astronomy Outreach During the Covid-19 Pandemic (page 38)
Christoph, J.; Hüttemeister, S.

Summary

The Planetarium Bochum is one of Germany s largest, most frequented, and modern multi-functional planetariums. It is known for programmes ranging from educational astronomy shows for adults and children, music concerts, and numerous live events covering scientific, cultural, and immersive live performances. When the German government decided to implement the first national lockdown in mid-March 2020, the planetarium s communications team knew they needed to act quickly. They produced a consistent, educational, and entertaining digital offer to fill the gap of not having any visitors for an unknown length of time. Correspondingly, they came up with a range of digital activities under the content bracket, ‘Planetarium@home’, online and on the planetarium s social platforms of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. One activity that requires highlighting is the weekly video series ‘Streifzüge durch das Universum’, translated into ‘Expeditions through the Universe’, a highly edutaining science format delving into topics like ‘the possibility of life on other planets’ to last December s Jupiter-Saturn conjunction.