Mobile Planetarium in Kenya Inspires STEM Careers

KENYA, AFRICA-- An astronomy company in Kenya is giving school children and families the opportunity to see the stars through their mobile planetarium.

Image: Traveling Telescope

The Traveling Telescope is an organization that includes a team of astronomers who travel to give educational tours and organize outreach activities.

The company claims in the past few years their team has been able to educate nearly 100-thousand kids in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Traveling Telescope claims its team dedicates itself to the advancement of science and technology through astronomy.

Educational programs include visual lessons inside an inflatable planetarium and the opportunity to view space from the largest telescope in Kenya.

Image: Traveling Telescope

The companies co-founder Susan Murabana says her love for the planets gave birth to her desire to help kids in her community develop a relationship with science and technology.

Murabana’s work began when she was in Ghana teaching about the solar system and finding ways to improve science education in developing countries.

As her interests grew she began a project to deliver five-thousand children solar-safe glasses so that they’d be able to view the total lunar eclipse in 2013.

Daniel Chu an astronomer and filmmaker who came to document Murabana’s efforts In Kenya soon become her business partner and husband.

Image: Susan Murabana (far left) and Daniel Chu (far right) meet with visitors to their outreach company in Kenya. via Traveling Telescope

The company’s website says their mission is not to persuade everyone to become astronomers but to instead give opportunities that people in the urban and rural communities don’t normally have.

The Traveling Telescope has also started a crowdfunding project to build a permanent planetarium in the heart of rural Kenya.

Murabana says the company will still travel and take the telescope to those who cannot travel to the planetarium once it is built.

She also says they hope the permanent planetarium creates a place that families can come to whenever they want to be closer to the stars.

The permanent planetarium is said to also include a state-of-the-art science learning center.

Additionally, The Traveling Telescope is partnering with The Airbus Foundation and The Little Engineer to introduce the Airbus Little Engineer (ALE) robotics program to Kenya.

The program aims to use hands on robotics to integrate children with science and technology into education.

The programs outcome will hopefully create a pool of talent for future careers in science and technology.

Watch: Al Jazeera Reports--The Traveling Telescope educates Kenya's children

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