Bryan Demapan interned at the Buhl Planetarium from September to December 2015. He learned how to conduct live planetarium shows and run educational astronomy movies for public audiences. He also gained experience writing articles and show scripts. The internship improved his public speaking and science communication skills. While he enjoyed inspiring audiences, Bryan was concerned that planetarium presenting could become repetitive. Overall, the internship helped him explore if working in a planetarium suits his interests in astronomy and science communication.

1. Bryan Demapan
VIBS 664-601
Buhl Planetarium Internship Experience
From September to December 2015, I did an internship as a planetarium presenter for the
Buhl Planetarium at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Within this
internship, I’ve learned how to conduct live shows as well as using planetarium equipment to run
short educational movies about astronomy to a public audience through the guidance of my
supervisor, Dan Malerbo. I learned about using the Digital Sky software, the computer coding
language of SPICE, and the light and sound systems that are used to produce and run
planetarium shows. There was also scientific writing I did when preparing for a script for a live
astronomy show and for articles I wrote for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Buhl Planetarium
and Observatory Astronomical Calendar. I was able to apply much of what I had learned about
science communication and see the importance of gearing information to the type of audience
being addressed. I also obtained a general understanding on the work style in a science center or
planetarium. Overall, I enjoyed my internship at the Buhl Planetarium.
One of the main reasons I wanted to intern in a planetarium was to see whether I could
relive the experience of being inspired by the science of astronomy and to see if I could inspire
others through science communication. I have relived such experiences when being in the Buhl
Planetarium and watching how the dome can change into a virtual representation of the night sky
as I gaze and wonder about distant stars and galaxies. My best experiences as an intern come
from shows such as “Astronaut” and “Cosmic Collisions.” Both of these shows are like short
educational movies that have spectacular visuals, wonderful music, and professional narration.
The visuals and sounds in these shows greatly complement the science being communicated to

2. an audience of all age groups. When a person watches such shows, I feel that they can be
inspired to pursue a career in astronomy or at least show some interest in the field.
The astronomy shows at the Buhl Planetarium come off as forms of infotainment. Indeed,
shows aimed for early morning learners or afternoon general audiences both communicate
astronomical information in a way that is entertaining and educational. For all shows, language
and visuals have to be clear and concise. It is important not to overwhelm the audience in a
planetarium with too much visual or textual information as it can confuse audience members or
make them lose interest. As a show presenter, you have to be professional, enthusiastic, and
interactive with your audience to encourage them to participate and learn something from
watching a show. The public audience is very important for the Carnegie Science Center since
they are mostly supporting us financially since the science center is a non-profit organization.
After presenting many shows to an audience using a microphone, I feel that I have improved my
public communication skills. I have become less frightened of doing public speaking and have
become better in orally planning and reciting science information.
The Buhl Planetarium introduced me to the equipment needed to run all the shows about
astronomy or space science. I learned many new facts about running and managing the dome to
accommodate public visitors. Lights, sounds, and visuals are key aspects to keep in mind when
using the equipment to run planetarium shows. Frank Mancuso, who has now retired as the
planetarium’s producer, told me that a planetarium should be treated like a professional theater.
However, food and drinks should not be allowed inside a planetarium, unlike a movie theater. In
this case, the audience should treat the place with respect as it provides not only entertainment
but also scientific information through informal education and outreach. The most important
tool that I was familiarized with was the Digital Sky software. For many planetariums across the

3. U.S., including the Buhl Planetarium, Digital Sky is used to show the night sky with classical
planetarium functions such as showing stars, constellations, planets, or galaxies. This software
also includes storing and displaying massive data sets from entities ranging of deep space objects
to sub-atomic molecules. SPICE is the computer coding language that is used to run Digital Sky.
I wish I had more opportunity to learn about using the Digital Sky software. I wanted to
create my own planetarium show explaining Earth’s four seasons, which was the subject of a
transformative explanation I wrote for an assignment in the STJR program. I have created a
script presenting information about the seasons I wanted to communicate to a public audience
with help from Dan. Unfortunately, I do not know how to use Digital Sky, specifically to make
SPICE commands, to create my own visuals and audio for my show. The only person who could
have taught me this was Frank. During my internship, Frank was too busy to teach me more
about using Digital Sky, as he was retiring and devoting most of his time training his assistant,
Charissa Sedor, to have his position. Charissa also went to a boot camp in Baltimore to learn all
the advanced functions of the software. Charissa said that during the boot camp she heard that
some other planetariums have various staff members make their own shows rather than give the
responsibility to one person. Charissa plans to teach more about using Digital Sky to all staff and
volunteers for the Buhl. She is teaching what she currently knows of coding to CJ Smith who is a
full time planetarium presenter. During the last month of my internship, CJ has taught me some
basic coding scripts such as setting the location and graphical details of visuals on the
planetarium’s dome as well as putting narration and sound effects for a planetarium show.
The Carnegie Science Center has four floors of interactive exhibits indifferent scientific
fields. During my spare time, I would occasionally visit various exhibits to observe and judge
their displays and the way they communicate science. Most of the exhibits have hands-on

4. interactive features appropriate for young children so they can learn and have fun with the
science presented to them. In this way, children can actively participate in performing and
analyzing scientific phenomena to understand how things in the physical world behave. For
example, the exhibit “Planetary Soup” can help kids understand the changes of gravity for
different massive objects by feeling how an object’s weight changes on a different planet. Other
exhibits, such the “Miniature Railroad and Village” and the “USS Requin Submarine,” can
greatly fascinate kids as they can see and touch impressive works of technological advancement
by human ingenuity. I have observed that more adults than children would read the labels for an
exhibit. The texts for the labels are around elementary to middle school reading levels with little
to no technical jargon. Such writing is appropriate for the general audience who visit the science
center as I feel that people who come here are mostly families looking to have fun rather than
being burdened with so much scientific information thrown at them.
My supervisor for my internship was there for me when I needed him. Dan is the
educational coordinator for the Buhl, where he presents astronomy and aerospace classes and
workshops for educators, students and families. He also teaches an introductory astronomy class
at a community college in Pittsburgh. I did not need to arrange a meeting with him once a week
since I generally saw him every day at the Carnegie Science Center and so had the opportunity to
ask. Through Dan, I was able to get feedback when writing articles or presenting live
planetarium shows. He also provided me on information on getting planetarium jobs.
Throughout my internship at the Buhl Planetarium, I have been writing for the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette newspaper and the Buhl’s astronomical calendar. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is the
largest daily newspaper for Pittsburgh. I had an article called “Black Holes” published in the
online version of the newspaper in early November. The Buhl Planetarium & Observatory

5. Astronomical calendar is like a newsletter that is published seasonally in the science center. This
calendar provides important night sky observations for Pittsburgh almost each day as well as
articles about special astronomical events for the seasons. I had my article on the 2016 leap year
published in the winter edition of the calendar, but the article does not have my name on it’s
against the rules for the calendar to contain bylines. From the STJR program, I have made great
progress for being clearer and more concise in my writing. However, writing for the Buhl
Planetarium has truly tested on my capabilities in writing concisely. For the Post-Gazette, I had
to write in about a 5th grade reading level and had a limit of 315 words. For the astronomical
calendar, my writing had to be aimed toward a more technical audience, which I envisioned to be
amateur astronomers, and I was limited to 250 words. For me, it takes so much time and effort
to write so few words while communicating all the necessary scientific information needed for
the target audience. I cannot decide if writing more or fewer words is more challenging when it
comes to effective science communication.
One final thing that I need to be concerned about is the tediousness of being a
planetarium presenter. When pursue a career, I do not wish to have a job that has a routine cycle
of task with little mental challenges that excite me. In the Buhl Planetarium, I am presenting the
same shows almost every day until a new schedule of shows comes next month or next season.
The short astronomy movies to run can be repetitive and boring, especially the early-learner
shows. In this case, I will need to find productive means on using my time when such shows run.
However, doing live astronomy shows is always an exhilarating experience as you have to
prepare and perform your oral presentation while manually using planetarium controls. It’s
exhilarating for me since I feel that I am always being judged and that there are ways to improve
my performance in terms of communicating astronomy through oral and visual means. I am also

6. more engaged with the audience members because they might accept, inquire about, or reject the
science you are communicating depending on how your presentation went.
For four months, I have been living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to do an internship at the
Buhl Planetarium at the Carnegie Science Center. Planetariums are great places to engage public
audience to learn the science of astronomy through oral and visual communication. My
experiences in the Buhl Planetarium have helped me explore whether working in a science center
or planetarium would suit me. I feel that working in a planetarium suits my career as an
astronomer and a science communicator since such a setting combines both professions that
complement each other. In a planetarium, I can pass on all the information I have learned from
astronomy to a public audience in a fun and interactive way.