2025_Planetarium_and_Observatory_Annual_Report.pdf

ANNUAL REPORT 2025

PLANETARIUM & OBSERVATORY

2025 ANNUAL REPORT | 1

Contents

Directors’ Welcome

Another Record Breaking Year

Attendance Breakdown

Observatory Attendance

Focus on Education

Serving the TU Community

Doc Goes to Space!

Supporting Wellness

Student Presenters

Future Tigers

An Award-Winning Film

An Award-Winning Partnership

A Sign From Above

Supporting Sustainability

Christian ReadyDylan Hilligoss

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Welcome to the 2025 Planetarium and Observatory Annual Report. In previous years, we issued sep-arate reports for each facility. But now we’re com-bining them because (1) they’re both dome-shaped, (2) they have something to do with space, and (3) we got tired of hav-ing to explain the difference between the two.

Seriously though, it’s more because the Planetarium and Ob-servatory compliment each other; one simulates the cosmos, the other lets you see it. One teaches through immersion, the other through experience. One visualizes astronomical data, the other captures it.

Together, they are Towson University’s portal to the Cosmos.

Moreover, these facilities contribute to Towson Universi-ty’s strategic plan to EDUCATE, INNOVATE, ENGAGE, IN- CLUDE, SUPPORT, and SUSTAIN its students, faculty, staff, and the greater TU community.

In the pages that follow, we hope to illustrate some of the ways your Planetarium and Observatory contributed toward these goals in 2025.

Oh, and did we mention 2025 was another record-breaking year for both facilities, for the fourth year in a row??? Hey, we're not bragging, we’re #TUproud.

Ad Astra, CHRISTIAN READY

Associate Teaching Professor & Planetarium Director

DYLAN HILLIGOSS

Assistant Teaching Professor & Observatory Director

DIRECTORS’ WELCOME

ad 2025ad 2024ad 2023ad 2022ad 2021ad 2020ad 2019ad 2018qd 2017ad 2016ad 2015ad 2014ad 2013ad 2012ad 2011ad 2010ad 2009ad 2008ad 2007ad 2006ad 2005ad 2004ad 2003

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ANOTHER RECORD

BREAKING YEAR

In 2025, we added a second public planetarium event on the third Friday of each month.

We also saw an increase in usage by classes and re-quests by University organizations.

These and other changes more than made up for 1.5 months of downtime over the summer.

PLANETARIUM VISITORS

+29%

EVENTS

+16%

20252024

Classes & Labs TU Organizations & Events

Field Trips & Private Events Public Events

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Attendance Breakdown Planetarium attendance grew by nearly 30% thanks to an increase in the number of public events and more TU organizations requesting shows. These increases more than offset the loss of attendance from external groups when the planetarium was down during the peak summer field trip season.

Classes & Labs Any regularly scheduled class or lab session.

TU Organizations & Events Events for TU organizations. Examples include internal-facing events such as the TU Office of Sustainability Climate Teach-In and external-facing events such as Educators’ Rising.

Field Trips & Private Events Examples include school field trips, summer camps, birthdays, and community organizations.

Public Any event open to the general public. These include regular bi-monthly shows and special events like International Observe the Moon Night

Types of Events

OBSERVATORY

ATTENDANCE

VISITORS

+37%

EVENTS

+6%

By its nature, the observatory can only be used on clear nights. But the in-crease in the number of public planetarium shows created more opportu-nities for the TU community to view the skies. Photo: Dr. James Overduin.

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FOCUS ON EDUCATION

Both the planetarium and observatory continue their primary missions as classrooms like no other on campus. The following classes used the planetarium and observatory in 2025:

Lessons are tailored to each class' learning objectives. Consider the following examples:

ASTR 161 uses the planetarium to help students understand patterns of the night sky, seasonal changes, and orbital scales in the solar system.

ASTR 181 students visualize the process of star formation, the distribution of stellar populations in the Milky Way Galaxy, and the large-scale structure of the universe in the planetarium.

Students in both of these introductory classes visit the observatory as part of their class instruction on telescopes and as part of their lab, in which students use robotic telescopes of similar design to acquire astronomical data.

ASTR 261 students use the planetarium to learn the celestial coordinate system, Earth’s precession, and retrograde motion. Students are trained in the use of the observatory, telescope, and basic imaging and processing techniques.

ASTR 303 uses the observatory to teach advanced imaging as well as spectroscopic techniques. Students learn to use and even create their own tools to process and analyze their data.

MATH 525 and MTED 613 are graduate courses for teachers in the Mathematics Education program. Teachers visit the planetarium to appreciate how math facilitates our understanding of our place in the universe, how to connect resources from NASA’s Space Math materials to grade school math standards, and potential field trips for their students.

PHSC 303 uses the planetarium to teach education students diurnal motion, lunar phases, and seasonal changes. These visits also demonstrate the effectiveness of teaching in a fulldome environment.

PHYS 185 visit both the planetarium and observatory as part of their introducto-ry seminar in physics. These visits allow physics majors to become familiar with the astrophysics concentration as part of their undergraduate education.

Students from ASTR 161 line up to glimpse the

Moon through the Towson University telescope.

For most students, this was their first time looking through a telescope and examining the lunar surface in detail.

Photo Dr. James Overduin

Planetarium Observatory

ASTR 161 The Sky and Solar System ✓ ✓ ASTR 181 Stars, Galaxies, and the Early Universe ✓ ✓ ASTR 261 Introduction to Astrophysics ✓ ✓ ASTR 303 Observational Techniques ✓

MATH 525 Mathematical Problem Solving ✓ MTED 613 Mathematical Modeling in the Classroom ✓ PHSC 303 Earth Space Science ✓ PHYS 185 Introductory Physics Seminar ✓ ✓ SCIE 376 Teaching Science in Elementary School ✓

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SERVING THE TU COMMUNITY

Planetarium events were held on behalf of several different organizations across campus. Some were internally focused (for example, student clubs) while others had an external focus (for example, summer camps for non-TU students). The planetarium hosted the following organizations in 2025:

Organization Event / Audience Events Attendance

TU Astronomical Society TU students 22 353

FCSM Dean's office Meditation and matinées for TU faculty, staff, & students 8 125

Department of Mathematics Baltimore County Public Schools Elementary students 5 227

Office of Sustainability TU faculty, staff, & students 4 64

Building STEPS High School students 3 110

Tigers Connect Baltimore City middle & High School 3 95

College of Education Educators Rising (Baltimore City High School students) 2 95

Office of Student Affairs Staff Development & Engagement Committee & families 2 62

Camp InSpECT Elementary - Middle 2 63

Department of Mathematics Math Education club (TU faculty & students) 1 7

Department of Geography Geospatial Summer Camp (High School) 1 21

TU Athletics Women’s Volleyball team, coaches, and staff 1 20

Office of Graduate Studies TU Faculty & Staff 1 10

Family Weekend TU Students, Staff, & Families 1 115

Total 56 1367

Doc Goes to Space!

Towson University's very own Doc the Tiger joined the Maryland

Astronaut Corps in 2025, adding to his already im-pressive résumé as mascot, athlete, scientist, doctor, and striped-scholar.

This striking version of Doc was de-signed by undergraduate student Charlotte Fetters (Mass Communications), following TU's branding guidelines.

Initially created for the Towson University Astronomical Soci-ety (the student-run astronomy club), Astro Doc was immedi-ately adopted by the planetarium and now greets visitors as they enter the dome for shows. We're grateful to Ms. Fetters for an incredible design!

Towson University Astronomical Society (TUAS), the student-run astronomy club, uses the planetarium and observatory for weekly meetings. Photo: Sohaila Smith

Right: "Astro Doc", the mascot designed by Charlotte Fetters (Mass Communications) for TUAS was adopted to represent Towson University in the planetarium as well. Illustration by Charlotte Fetters

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With its soundproof walls, low lighting, and calming visuals, the planetarium is an ideal space to quiet one’s mind.

That’s why FCSM Assistant

Dean Dr. Ming Tomayko be-gan hosting meditation ses-sions in the planetarium in the spring of 2025.

Dr. Tomayko sees the medi-tation sessions as a way for

SUPPORTING WELLNESS

Dr. Ming Tomayko, FCSM Associate Dean for Teaching and Student Success.

FCSM to support Towson Uni-versity’s commitment to the well-being of its faculty, staff, and students.

The 25-minute sessions fea-ture a calming scene of sun-sets, stars, and the Milky Way, set to relaxing music.

Sessions are held on the third

Friday of each month at noon.

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Despite its official capacity of 50 people, turnout for public events in the planetarium routinely ex-ceed this amount. While this is a good problem to have, visitors must wait in long lines for a second—and in many cas-es—even a third showing.

In fact, there hasn't been a single pub-lic event with less than 50 people since September 2022. In 2025, we tried some new strategies to address high turnout.

DOUBLING UP TO 2 EVENTS A MONTH

Starting in February 2025, a second public event held on the first Friday of the month was added to the schedule, two weeks before the traditional third Friday event. January is the exception as the first Friday occurs when TU is closed for the holiday break.

But additional events brought addition-al interest; despite doubling the num-ber of public events, the average turnout at each event remained the same as in 2024. It probably didn't help that we did a different show at each event, which re-sulted in some repeat visitors.

TIGER-FRIDAY MATINÉES

At the suggestion of Dr. Ming Tomayko, we offered matinées on the first Friday of each month at noon. These events are ex-clusive for Tigers only, so that they may enjoy a presentation before going home for the weekend. Commuting students who work on Friday nights are able to at-tend these matinées as well.

The introduction of matinées hasn't brought any significant reduction in the turnout later that evening. However, they're offered as a convenience for fac-ulty, staff, and students with work obliga-tions to enjoy the planetarium.

Gwendolyn Cudek (Art & Design) waits in line to attend one of three planetarium shows given on November 21st, 2025.

Photo courtesy Gwendolyn Cudek.

LOW CAPACITY

HIGH DEMAND

Exceeding capacity at public events since 2022.

Average attendance at public events since the planetarium and observatory's opening in 2021.

Doubling the number of public events in 2025 did not reduce average turnout.

20252024202320222021

132 136

3 events

9 events 11 events 10 events

19 events

Above: The planetarium was over capacity in an effort to ensure everyone could see the show.

Below: With the line extending around the Science Cafe, visitors were very generous with their patience. Very generous.

Photos by Christian Ready.

260 visitors came to the October 3rd, 2025 show. This was the largest single-night turnout ever. It was also the start of a record-breaking weekend.

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The record-breaking turnout on Friday Oct.

3rd was followed by the Family Weekend and

International Observe the Moon Night events the following night on Saturday the 4th, bring-ing the weekend total to 495 visitors.

The Waxing Gibbous Moon on October 4, 2025 as PAGS-hosted International Observe the Moon Night. Photo: NASA

Second from Right: Henry Martin (Geology) of the TU Astronomical Society helps visitors look through one of the 8-inch telescopes on the observatory rooftop on October 4, 2025. Photo: Dr. James Overduin.

Students and their families enter the planetarium during TU's Family Weekend event on October 4, 2025. Photo: Dr. James Overduin.

A Tiger's mother inspects craters on the Moon in detail during the Family Weekend event October 4, 2025. Photo by Dr. James Overduin.

Alan Jackson and Christian Ready begin one of three planetarium shows for Family Weekend and Observe the Moon Night on October 4, 2025. Photo: Dr. James Overduin.

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STUDENT PRESENTERS

Mastering the art and science of the planetarium.

U chechi Imegwu began her Spring 2025 semester with a vis-it to the planetarium. A Pre-Ac-counting major, Uchechi enrolled in ASTR 161 the Sky and Solar System to satisfy her Core 7/8 science requirement.

But during her visit, Uchechi saw a unique opportunity to combine her fasci-nation with space with her love of help-ing young children. “I knew I had to find a way to help out in here,” she recalled.

Uchechi quickly learned how to use the planetarium system, and soon joined the small cadre of planetarium operators.

Most students volunteer as ushers, direct-ing visitors to rest rooms, the observato-ry, and even setting up small telescopes on the rooftop. Most importantly, they manage the lines at public events, pre-venting too many people from entering the Planetarium.

Those who wish to create and present shows undergo extensive training on all aspects of the planetarium system.

Trained presenters are paid for their time spent creating and presenting shows.

In 2025, about 15 students volunteered to help with events, or began training on the planetarium system As of the end of 2025, there were four then-enrolled stu-dents trained as presenters, with two more having since graduated.

Student presenters are ideally suited for school field trips. Visiting students will find someone not much older than they are guiding them through the cosmos.

Such experiences can only help visiting students to find representation in their presenters. The impression from these visits may inspire them to attend Tow-son University one day.

Skyler Higgs (Physics) gives a talk on Gamma-Ray Bursts for visitors waiting for the planetarium show to begin on November 21st, 2025. Due to the large turnout, Skylar gave her talk twice. Photo: Christian Ready.

Uchechi Imegwu (Pre-Accounting) gives a tour of the solar system to Senior Box Office, a senior citizens' learning group on September 12, 2025. It was one of six shows she presented at in 2025. Photo: Christian Ready.

Welcoming

FUTURE TIGERS

K–12 students visited the planetarium in

2025, many with their parents in tow.

Students from the following schools and youth programs—several of which were hosted by Towson University—visited the planetarium in 2025. These visits (many of which included parents) may inspire them to return as Towson Tigers!

Schools

PRE-K / ELEMENTARY

■ Catholic Schoolhouse of Towson

■ Celebree School of Carney

■ Central Presbyterian

■ Harlem Park Elementary

■ Henderson Hopkins Elementary

■ Kiddie Academy of North Bel Air

■ May's Chapel Elementary

■ New Covenant Christian Academy

■ Prettyboy Elementary

■ Sandy Plains Elementary

■ Watson Hall Montessori

MIDDLE

■ Lillie May Carroll Charter School for Girls

■ Loch Raven Middle

HIGH

■ Dundalk High

■ North County STEM Magnet

UNIVERSITY

■ Loyola University

SPECIAL NEEDS

■ Baltimore County Self-Directed Young Adults

■ Chesapeake High PSFALS

■ Perry Hall Middle

■ Ridgley Middle

HOMESCHOOL

■ Inspire Homeschool

■ Together Homeschooling and Enriching Co-op

Youth Programs

SCOUTS

■ Boy Scout Troop 35

■ Cub Scout Pack 133

■ Cub Scout Pack 1742

■ Girl Scout Troop 2156

■ Girl Scout Troop 4112

■ Girl Scout Troop 4152

■ Girl Scout Troop 4364

MIDDLE–HIGH SCHOOL

■ Building STEPS (TU/Nonprofit)

■ Cultured Pearls of Service (Nonprofit)

■ Educators Rising (CoE)

■ Geospatial Summer Camp (CLA/Geography)

■ Teacher Scholars Summer Institute (CoE)

■ Tigers Connect (TU/Baltimore City)

■ UniFIED Efforts (Nonprofit)

Photo: Christian Ready

Above: High school students attending the Teacher Scholars Summer Institute (CoE) come face-to-face with the edge of the known universe on June 25, 2025. Photo: Towson University.

Below: Uchechi Imegwu and a fourth-grade student from Prettyboy Elementary student demonstrate Earth's path around the Sun on December 5, 2025.

Photo: Christian Ready.

Mauro Sgromo (Physics) presents to Watson Hall Montessori school on March 14, 2025.

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The production was made possible by a 2022 seed grant from the School of Emerging Technologies (SET). The film was completed in late 2024 and pre-miered at Towson's (crowded) planetari-um on March 28 ,2025.

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

During her 2025 sabbatical, Tomlinson served in residence as a Bogliasco Fel-low in Italy. While visiting the nearby Ge-noa Observatory and Planetarium, she screened a number of projects created at Towson, including Our Colorful World.

Since winning Dome Fest West, Our Col-orful World has been screened at more than 30 planetariums in 18 countries.

The film was also selected and screened at the Portland Festival of Cinema, Ani-mation, and Technology in Oregon, the RAM Film Festival in Italy, and the Ma-con Film Festival in Georgia.

OH MY GOD WE [redacted] WON!!!, Christian Ready frantically texted his colleague Lynn Tomlinson.

Their first project, Our Colorful World, just won the award for Best Educational Film at the 2025 Dome Fest West film fes-tival in Boulder, Colorado.

The festival, held at Fiske Planetarium at the University of Colorado Boulder, se-lected 44 films submitted from around the globe, many from well-established studios. Of the 44 selections, 21 were in the Education category alone.

So the win came as a bit of a surprise.

Our Colorful World follows a curious character who learns about the electro-magnetic spectrum, the wave-nature of light, and how our eyes and brains trans-late light into color. The film was animat-ed by current and former Electronic Me-dia and Film (EMF) students and faculty.

Lynn Tomlinson, MFA (Electronic Media and Film) wrote and directed Our Colorful World.

Top: Christian Ready (center) accepts the award under the Fiske Planetarium 65-foot dome.

Written & Directed by Lynn Tomlinson

Produced by Lynn Tomlinson & Christian Ready

Animation by Lucian Laiteng (Film, Audio, Media Arts, 2023)

Additional Animation and Art Direction by Electra Lowe (MFA Studio Art, 2026) and

Kevin Harper (Film, Audio, Media Arts, 2026)

Titles & Credits by Sue Borchardt (ART)

Narration by Kalima Young, PhD (EMF)

Sound, Mix, and Score by Adam Schwartz (EMF)

Voice of Ojo Millie Schwartz

Creating an Award- Winning Film Our Colorful World wins Best Educational Film at the 2025 Dome Fest West film festival.

Supporting an Award- Winning Partnership Culturally Responsive Mathematics Activities for

BCPS Students recognized for their impactful work.

Dr. Diana Cheng sees Mathemat-ics not as a subject students must grapple with, but as a gateway to a career in STEM. The key, she says, is to approach the subject in a way that seems familiar and relevant to students’ lives.

In partnership with Baltimore County Public Schools, Dr. Cheng created the Culturally Responsive Mathematics Activ-ities for BCPS Students program.

“Many of our pre-service students and in-service teachers have become real-ly excited through this work,” said Dr.

Cheng. “Our students recommend our master’s degree program to their col-leagues because they know that Towson really values these social justice math lessons, culturally responsive teaching, and we have great technology classes.”

The program visits the Planetarium to experience its immersive learning capa-bilities, including a tour of the universe.

BCPS teachers then bring their middle and elementary classes to campus for a day of math and STEM activities, which includes a visit to the Planetarium.

“In Baltimore County, we have students who have never been exposed to a col-lege campus,” said Dr. Cheng. “The Plan-etarium is a great way for students to see themselves in future STEM careers.”

Diana Cheng, Ed.D., co-created the Culturally Responsive Mathematics program, earning the 2025 BTU Partnership Award.

Top: A BCPS middle school student approaches the International Space Station.

Teachers liftoff from Towson University on a voyage through the universe. Photo: Towson U.

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A Sign From Above

A mural for the Planetarium was installed in November 2025. Fea-turing a portrait of the Milky Way and large, contrasting letters, the sign is easily visible from the 2nd floor corridor.

This is the first decorative sign installed in the Science Complex since it first opened in 2021.

It is unclear how this got approved, given the policy on signage in the building. But we’re grateful to FCSM Dean Matthew Nugent for making this happen!

Right: The original sign was easily visible from as far as 23 feet away. 25 if you squinted.

Photo courtesy Alula Tesfay.

SPREADING

THE WORD

2025 saw redesigns, additions, and an overall increase in advertising. Among them are:

1,250 Email contacts as of this writing; a 97% increase from 2024.

New Landing Page Our new web presence launched in early 2025. Its new content areas include:

■ Upcoming shows

■ Email signup

■ Donation link

■ Recent mentions in local media.

■ Request a private show

We appreciate the great work by Tow-son University’s Marketing & Communi-cations division. Thanks to their efforts, the Planetarium is really looking sharp on the Towson website.

Outdoor Signs Creative Services invited us to create out-door digital signs in early 2025. Outdoor signs typically run during the week lead-ing up to a public event, which coincides with the indoor digital sign schedule.

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S U P P O R T I N G

SUSTAINABILITY

Climate Teach-In and Sustainability Week were new events for the Planetarium in 2025.

As attendees entered the Plane-tarium, they saw planet Earth, slowly rotating in space. But in-stead of soothing spacey music to set the mood, it was Throwing Stones by the Grateful Dead that filled the theater:

Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free Dizzy with eternity

Thus began the first Climate Teach-In at the Towson Planetarium. It was the first of two events organized by Patricia “Paddy” Watson and her team in the Of-fice of Sustainability.

April 18 featured Towson’s climate scien-tist Dr. Michael Allen (CLA/Geography).

His presentation featured an immer-sive discussion of the effects of climate change, with an emphasis on its local ef-fects in Maryland, and what we can do about it on the local level.

October 10 marked the end of Sustain-ability Week at Towson’s campus. PAGS’ Dylan Hilligoss, Associate Teaching Professor, discussed the little-addressed problem of light pollution, its effect on wildlife and human beings alike, and how Towson can restore its nighttime sky while still providing safety at night.

Both events visualized datasets from NASA and NOAA, layered onto Earth using OpenSpace.

Left: imaging data showing the global impact of light pollution. Right: the ten-year rise in global mean sea level from 1993 to 2023. Credit:

NASA, NOAA, and the OpenSpace project.

Below: Dylan Hilligoss discusses the problem of light pollution during Towson’s Sustainability Week on October 10, 2025. His presentation addressed the problem on both global and local scales, and what Towson can do to restore its night skies while preserving campus safety.

Photo: Christian Ready

Paddy Watson, director of the Office of Sustainability at Towson University.

Michael Allen, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Dept. of Geography & Environmental Planning.

A fulldome film on climate change was presented as part of the Climate Teach-In on April 18, 2025. Photo: Christian Ready

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