Imiloa Planetarium Staff Handbook

Version 6.0

Table of Contents

1. Overview – Moving towards “Best Practices”

2. Hours, Timesheets, and Vacation

3. Theater Operations

4. Sky Lectures

5. Weekend Hours and Procedures

6. Theater Maintenance

7. Technical Problems

8. Production

9. Notes/Other

Imiloa Planetarium - Moving towards “Best Practices”

Dear Staff;

This planetarium staff handbook is designed to help move our facility to operating using “Best Practices” in the field. In doing so it will focus on a variety of policies and procedures designed to bring uniformity to the way we approach normal operations. In doing so, it provides a way for us to orient new employees, facilitate communications amongst staff regarding our operations, and provide the best customer service possible to our patrons.

In moving to a “Best Practices” model, we will be making some changes to the ways we do things in the dome. Some of these may seem a bit strange or uncomfortable in the beginning, but be assured they will improve our overall operations in the long run. You cooperation with these changes are vital, and please feel free to discuss questions with me as they arise, either one on one or at our regular staff meetings.

Thank you for your time and attention to this manual.

Sincerely,

Shawn Laatsch – Planetarium Manager

Best Practices in the Planetarium:

Part A

Audience Experience - Make it SPECIAL!

Shows– Quality shows include a welcome and thank you! The presenter interacts with the audience! Quality shows are NOT to be called or considered movies! (Movies are static – quality shows/presentations are dynamic!)

Punctuality – Shows should be punctual, starting and ending on time, doors open on time for presentations

Enthusiasm – All presentations should be presented with enthusiasm and excitement. Engage the audience and make them feel welcome!

Consistency – Every presentation should be consistent in terms of quality, staying on time and on topic...

Integrated – Uses multimedia and live elements to create an experience unique to the planetarium environment!

Accuracy – All information presented in the dome should be accurate, if you are not sure, do not say it!

Leave the audience wanting more – Not too long, not too short –rather the perfect amount of information to leave audiences with a desire to return and learn more!

Part B

Staff – The stellar professionals!

Enthusiastic – With all audiences and guests!

Flexible – Willing to help out and cover for each other, work flexible hours, adapt to changes in procedures and policies, accepting of changes in technology and programming, willing to work to complete projects – even when it requires long or extended hours

Punctual – Arrive on time, keep programs and production on schedule

Communicative – Keep each other in the loop about changes in schedules, problems or tech issues, etc. Talk to each other and respect each other!

Knowledgeable – keeps up with astronomy and space science information/discoveries/current events, explores opportunities to learn more

Cooperative – Works well with planetarium and all science center staff!

Quality - Constantly strives improve quality of presentations

Hours, Timesheets, Vacation....

Timesheets – Pay periods for RCUH go from the 1-15 of the month, and 16 through the last day. Timesheets are usually due 2-3 days prior to the last day of the pay period. Please make sure these are turned in to your supervisor on time! This is critical in making sure you get a paycheck!

Schedules – You are responsible to cover your scheduled hours. If you need to change your schedule, you need to arrange this in advance and make the planetarium manager aware of the changes.

Hours – When recording hours on your timesheet, it is important to only record the maximum number of hours you may earn. If you are full time and work more than 40 hours in a week, if part time you may work up to your percentage (i.e. – 50%). Comp time will be arranged with your supervisor if you work over your amount of hours. Comp time must be cleared in advance, and must be used within the next pay period if at all possible.

Vacation– Vacation hours are accrued as part of you benefit package. To use vacation fill out the vacation request form and turn it in to your supervisor. This should be done a minimum of 4 weeks prior to your desired vacation dates, farther in advance if your vacation request falls over a holiday. When you take vacation days, they are recorded as such on your timesheet. If you will be out when a timesheet is due, make sure to turn it in prior to starting your vacation.

Note: I will do my best to honor vacation requests in the order they are received. In some cases, production schedules, staff absences, or other unforeseen things may come up - this may occasionally cause a request to be denied.

Leave – Leave without pay will be granted under special circumstances. This must be cleared with your supervisor and the executive director.

Theater Operations

Start up – Theater should be powered up early in the day to make sure all systems are functioning. Use grids to check and make sure projectors are aligned.

Console – Keep the console neat and clean! You may have drinks at the console....but they should be in spill proof containers that contain lids. YOU are responsible for your drinks – make sure not to spill them!

Log - Keep log of startup, shows, and any anomalies! This can aid in diagnosing problems. Make sure to note any special presentations and the attendance in the log.

Doors – Open at LEAST 5 Minutes prior to each show! Make sure doors are closed between shows and the theater is clear of audience members between shows.

Announcements of Shows – Coming soon! Eventually staff will announce the opening of doors prior to shows.

Shows – Keep shows starting and ending on time!

Pre Show – Make sure music and light levels are set for audience entry, and announcements are playing.

Post Show – Ask if the audience has questions, thank them for attending, open doors for exit, close after last patron leaves. Reset for next show.

Integrity – Remember that we serve the most advanced astronomical observatories in the world! We must do our best to be as accurate as possible, maintain the integrity of our imagery and our programming. When asked questions, answer honestly! If you are not sure about something, ask the planetarium manager. DO NOT make answers up!

Button Protocol – Buttons should be organized and neat! Buttons in progress should be worked on in your personal page. Once you have used it with the public, it needs to be in the public pages. Make sure it is named in a way that is easy to understand, and show it to the other operators/planet manager at weekly staff meeting.

SKY (Under Imiloa Tab) – See this button for correct organizational protocol! Labels at top in all CAPS in same color, functional buttons color coded, vertical organization. If part of sequence, number appropriately.

Sky Lecture Guidelines

Do’s:

1) Atmosphere must be ON whenever you show the sky from planet Earth

2) Sky set to 100, Milky Way set to 13) Always give basic directions/orientation4) Use public buttons SKY, IMILOA, SOLAR SYTEM, etc.5) Make sure to share the current navigational star line in your lecture6) Share current info about visible planets and the current Moon phase7) Constellations – rule of thumb, no more than 1 per minute (i.e. in a 5

minute sky lecture, 5 constellations max) 8) Constellations – share at LEAST one or two stories/legends, multiple

cultures if possible

Do Not’s

1) NO planet orbits showing when on Earth2) NO zodiacal/horoscope references (i.e. – “How many Leo’s do we have in

the audience?) 3) NO FLYING – unless you know the science and can explain it along the

way. This creates HUGE misconceptions if done incorrectly.4) NEVER go backwards in daily motion without explaining what is

happening, and that folks will never see this in the real sky

5) ABSOLUTELY NO ROLERCOASTERS OR FLYING FOR FUN during educational programs!

6) DO NOT Modify default sky settings without planetarium manager’s permission!

7) Once you use something with the public, IT MUST GO into the public folders and be shared with everyone! NO EXCEPTIONS!

Weekend/Holiday Hours and Procedures

Check In – When working weekend hours, holidays or special events, please check in with the front desk 30 minutes prior to the first show. You must do this in person! This lets the desk know you are onsite and who to contact regarding shows.

Arrival – Please arrive 30 minutes prior to the first show. Power up the dome and make sure it is presentable for shows. Be ready to present programs when you arrive!

Cleaning – Make sure the theater is clean. Do spot checks after each show and pick up any trash or items left behind. A vacuum is available if needed.

Problems – Contact planetarium manager to report any equipment problems or other issues. If minor and you solved it, just email the issue. If major, call immediately. These can be tech issues or other problems – keep the manager informed of any problems!

Interns – From time to time we may have planetarium interns which are high school students. Interns must be SUPERVISED and are not to do shows without a staff person onsite. High school students MUST be accompanied at all times through their presentations.

Under NO circumstances are interns allowed to do theater maintenance or trouble shooting! This is a safety issue and a liability one!

Theater Maintenance

Cleanliness - Theater and cove areas (behind the dome) should be kept clean. Presenters should monitor this between shows.

Vacuuming – After full install, the theater will need to be vacuumed daily for the first 3 months. This is important as dust from construction can cause issues with equipment. A schedule for this will be established prior to the time of install.

Once a week the cove areas (including floors and shelves) will need to be vacuumed. This is a permanent requirement!

Lamp Changes – Lamp changes in projectors should reported to the planetarium manager. Training on lamp changes will take place during the install – all staff will be required to learn how to change projector lamps!

Vendor Assistance – Sky Skan offers excellent tech support of their products. All of their techs are on skype, and often there are folks available 24/7 due to all of the time zones they operate in. When contacting Sky Skan, make sure to copy the planetarium manager on emails, and update with an email synopsis if using skype or the phone.

Technical Problems/Other Delays – Procedures and Protocol

On rare occasion a technical problem may take place that interferes with public programs. If such an event happens, please follow this procedure:

STEP 1 – Contact the front desk and let them know you have a problem and you expect to delay the show. Give them a brief description of the problem, and an expected amount of time to fix the issue. Ask them to inform volunteers and ushers of the situation that will assist in informing the public of the possible delay.

Step 2 – Contact the planetarium manager. If I am not onsite, ring my cell phone at 252-412-4964. I will try to assist you with the problem. If you do not require assistance, fix the problem, but still call me to give me an update. If you do not reach me by phone, leave a message with the nature of the problem so I can get back to you. The next step would be to contact Chris Phillips or Ahia Dye for assistance, and if that does not work, contact Sky Skan. Note there is a directory of numbers on the next page with all planetarium staff contact numbers.

Step 3 – Try to work through the problem. Begin by doing a RESET ALL on the system if it is a computer problem. It that does not work, try stopping Digital Sky and restarting the program. Last step is to do a full shut down, wait 5 minutes and then power back up. If it is a lamp or projector problem, try re-firing the lamps. If none of these work, and you cannot get a full time planetarium employee’s assistance contact Sky Skan via phone or Skype (it is on the operators computer).

Step 4 – Update the front desk. If the trouble shooting is taking longer than expected or is pushing shows back significantly, call the desk and give them a status update. Do not be afraid to ask them to cancel or postpone a show. The front desk should inform patrons about refunds, ticket re-issues, etc.

Step 5 – Contact the desk when you are ready to re-open the doors and resume the show. After this, please email a report of the problem and how it was fixed to the planetarium manager who will share with appropriate Imiloa management and staff.

Production

File Management:

Folder Hierarchy and Naming Conventions : folders should be organized and consistent.

Organization:   There are various files that our shows require and different file formats. 

Planetarium: Only Final versions of current use items should be on slaves. Once a show is finished, we should archive all assets offline.

Producer station: All asset hierarchy should be consistent.  When naming and placing hierarchy, each project should have same hierarchy. 

Each Show is a project or presentation, it gets a folder and a consistent abbreviated name.  In that folder go ALL assets.  Assets are anything that makes up the show: images, animations, titles, command scripts, resources, notes, etc.Naming of assets should be consistent with the project and clear.

Priorities: The planetarium manager sets production priorities, these include projects in production and routine priorities. All planetarium projects or productions must be cleared with the planetarium manager.

3D Shows in the Planetarium

Not recommended for children 5 and under

Content contains some loud noises and scary scenes which are inappropriate for young children.

Requires use of 3D glasses which are fragile and large (may not fit small children’s heads).

General 3D Glasses information:1) Glasses are fragile and should be handled with care! We need to reuse them

and they are designed only to work in the planetarium.

2) Please DO NOT touch the lenses as this may cause smudges or scratch the surfaces.

3) DO NOT attempt to clean the lenses! Again they are fragile, so wiping them with your shirt, or facial tissues can damage the lenses

4) Glasses and 3D content are SAFE for use by all ages, but the glasses are large and fragile, so are not recommended for young children as they will not fit them well.

Plan for 3d Glasses Distribution

1. Planetarium Hallway Pre-Show: a quick introduction to the process of getting into a 3D show a. How to Receive the glasses b. Introduce who will be helping them (volunteers) c. A quick agenda of the show (not a movie theater-walk out early) d. Our zero-tolerance policy - we reserve the right to refuse service to malfeasance

Planetarium Operator: Aloha folks! Welcome to the ‘Imiloa Planetarium! Our next show uses 3D glasses, and I would like to share some instructions for their use.

- Please handle the glasses with care as we need to reuse them. - Hold on to them by the edges and please avoid touching the lenses.- If you are an eyeglass wearer, these will fit over your eyeglasses like sunglasses- If you need assistance, including cleaning, just hold the glasses up and one of our volunteers will come around and help you.

We will be distributing the glasses as you enter the dome, and the best seats are toward the middle and back of the theater.

2. Dome Pre-Show: a. Welcome and 3d Glasses Instructionsb. The Agenda again c. Show and Sky Tour

Planetarium Operator: Aloha everyone! Thank you so much for coming in to see the 3d stereo show… are you ready?  Just a reminder, please do not touch the lenses! And please be very careful with the glasses - they are our only set!

Today you will be watching (insert name and short description of the show), followed by a tour of the night sky.

If you do have to leave early, please know that you can't come back in - it's too dangerous to be return into a dark planetarium, and you will need to return your 3d glasses to our volunteer ushers before being permitted to leave the planetarium theater.

3. Dome Post-Show: given before people get up and leave a. Exit procedures b. Thank you

Staff Directory

Planetarium Phone Numbers:Cell/Home Office

Shawn Laatsch 252-412-4964 969-97356slaatsch@imiloahawaii.org

Ahia Dye 808-896-9766 969-9722adye@imiloahawaii.org

Chris Phillips 808-333-4666 969-9724cphillips@imiloahawaii.org

Emily Peavy 541-417-1608peavey@hawaii.edu

Dome 808 -969-9727

Front Desk 808-969-9703

Sky Skan

Office 800-880-8500

Steve’s Cell 603-494-4547

Ginger’s Cell 603-860-5832 (Emergencies Only – Try Office First!)

Skype Contacts Username Email Function

Steve Savage steventsavage savage@skyskan.com Prez, tech support

Ginger Savage gingersavage office@skyskan.com Finding techs

Johan Gijsenbergs johangijsenbergs gijsenbergs@skyskan.com Programming/Tech

Ed White mespild ewhite@skyskan.com Programming/Tech

NOTES/OTHER