The STARLAB® from the Museum of the Rockies (MOR) located in Bozeman, Montana, has been at Zurich Elementary for the past week as students have been studying the Milky Way Starfield, Native American Constellations, Greek Mythology, and the Constellations.

On Monday, April 15, Cleveland School students and their teacher Shirley Fisher joined Zurich students to experience STARLAB. Before Mrs. Colleen Overcast's seventh graders, J.J. Jendro, Elayna Adams, and Amanda Mord delivered their presentations on the astrological constellations, Mrs. Overcast explained the difference between astrology and astronomy: "Astronomy is the science of the constellations, while astrology captures the stories that are connected to the stars and the shapes they form in the night sky."

Adams, Mord, and Jendro then shared their research of the constellations through a PowerPoint slide presentation. Each told the hemispheric location of the constellation, when it is best viewed, the stars that comprise the constellation, bordering constellations, and characteristics of those born under the sign of the constellation.

Many members of the student audience agreed that the strengths and weaknesses identified by their astrological sign did fit them. Mrs. Overcast directed the students to go look for their astrological sign in the STARLAB, which was set up in the Zurich School lunchroom. An inflatable, portable planetarium with software and a projector system, STARLAB gives students an intergalactic experience that brings science lessons to life. While in the STARLAB, Adams, Mord, and Jendro also retold the Greek legends connected to the astrological constellations.

Seventh graders at Zurich Elementary, Elayna Adams and Amanda Mord explain the entry process into the STARLAB to Cleveland School students, Caitlyn and Kendle Lankford and Ashlyn Ben Hofeldt.

When asked what he thought of the STARLAB, Ben Hofeldt said, "It's pretty neat."

Although MOR provides multiple resources that support STEM education, Montana Content Standards, and Indian Education for All, MOR's two STARLABs are used heavily throughout the school year since they provide an opportunity for students who cannot visit the Taylor Planetarium at MOR to experience the night sky at their school.