SAN DIEGO — You don’t need to head to the desert OR to Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles To take in the beauty of the night sky.
UC San Diego’s Cosmic Tour gives students a natural celestial experience.
Anxiously waiting, fourth graders at Ocean Beach Elementary School stepped into space inside an inflatable planetarium.
As UCSD Physics graduate student, James Wiley projects the universe inside the inflatable, you can hear the children’s oooh’s and ahh’s.
“That’s my favorite moment,” said Wiley.
Wiley led demonstrations for the Cosmic Tour, a volunteer, education, and outreach program that brings the universe to students in kindergarten to 12th grades.
“Just seeing people get that excited about something that I’ve been excited about my whole life is definitely amazing,” said Wiley.
Christian Sawyer says he was a little interested in space before stepping into the dome but after learning more about the solar system it piqued his interest.
“It felt like I was actually there,” said Sawyer.
Students explored Mars and its moons.
“I think it was amazing. Because we got to see Titan. And Titan is most likely to have life out of all the moons other than Earth's,” said a student.
NASA says although there is so far no evidence of life on Titan, its complex chemistry and unique environments are certain to make it a destination for continued exploration.
They got an up-close look at Saturn’s rings and a look at the Milky Way.
“I really like what the stars are from a long years ago,” said a student.
Creating celestial experiences like this brings researchers back to their childhood.
“The main memory I have is watching a meteor shower with my dad,” said Wiley. These moments show you can have a bright future in astronomy.
“There’s not a whole lot of astronomers in the world. So, we definitely need more of them. And yeah, the more we could get the more we’ll know about the universe,” said Wiley.
If you are interested in having a cosmic tour at your school visit Cosmic Tours.
WATCH RELATED: AI program creates personal chatbots for students