David Fowler, Planetarium/Astronomy Teacher
The Falls Church High School planetarium opened in September of 1968. The planetarium was added to the school when the former Whittier Intermediate School was renovated and became a high school. The planetarium uses a Spitz A3P projection system, and has 39 permanent seats and 29 folding chairs in a chevron seating pattern. The primary projection system is supplemented by a three-projector programmable slide dissolve system, and a remotely controlled X-Y axis slew projector with a 6:1 zoom lens. A renovation of the planetarium, which was completed in February of 1990, added an auxiliary console with 16 slide faders controlling four banks of four AC outlets for panoramas and other special effects. The most recent addition to the planetarium is a NEC MT600 Video Projector which is supplemented by a Sony 1270Q Video/Data projection system that was generously donated by TRW. Either video projector can project a twelve foot wide image on the dome, with input from a video tape player, a laser disc player, or a computer.
Dave Fowler has been the planetarium teacher at Falls Church High School since September 2005. Dave has taught in Fairfax County for five years and has been in education since 1991. He earned his B.S. in Earth Science from Longwood University and a Master’s of Education from Shenandoah University. His Master’s thesis focused on the effectiveness of the planetarium in science education.
Visit the Falls Church H.S. Web site
Main | About | Ask a Planetarian | Constellations | Interactive Projector | Curriculum | Monthly Celestial Events | Sky Events Calendar | Links
 |