The Department of Physics and Astronomy hosted a demonstration Tuesday of an advanced digital projection system in the WSU Planetarium, where they hope to make this technology a permanent attraction.

SciDome, the digital projector and control desk, can show moving graphics, three-dimensional views of Earth and space and homemade videos, said Scott Huggins, director of marketing and development for Spitz, Inc., the creators of SciDome.

Huggins said the technology can take education far beyond any previous projector by Spitz, Inc.

“A lot of learning can happen,” Huggins said.

Beyond access to the Spitz, Inc. Starry Nights database of over 500 million astronomical elements, planetariums featuring SciDome can also display materials from other databases, including those featuring biology and geology materials, Huggins said.

“We want to be able to teach anything in the dome, and we don’t want professors to need a month of training to use it,” Huggins said.

Guy Worthey, associate professor for WSU’s Department Physics and Astronomy, said the educational value SciDome would bring to the planetarium and the department would be insurmountable.

“There is no question about the value it would have,” Worthey said.

The SciDome has the capacity for a remote as well as laser-pointer interaction. It can manage many remotes at one time, allowing for more interaction in a classroom setting, Huggins said.

Joyce Town, director of sales for Spitz, Inc., explained that SciDome can also be downloaded online for students to make their own videos and other projects, which they can then transfer to the main projector via USB drive.

“The greatest promise for all of this stuff would be WSU’s student involvement,” Worthey said. “Students would be up to their elbows creating their own shows in all different fields.”

Another advantage for the Department of Physics and Astronomy would be the ability to stage public shows, which the planetarium cannot do with the current projector, Worthey said.

The current projector in the WSU Planetarium was installed in 1968 by Spitz, Inc. and is limited to showing only planets, stars and constellations.

The least expensive SciDome, which has a resolution of 1600-by-1600 pixels, costs close to $180,000, Town said.

The planetarium has been trying since 2010 to raise money for an update in technology.

“We have an account at the University Foundation for donations,” Worthey said. “Anyone is welcome to donate.”

To donate visit foundation.wsu.edu. For more information about SciDome visit the Spitz Inc – Educational Planetarium YouTube channel.