Shelley R. Bonus, an astronomical historian and lecturer, is also an award winning performer, writer, and photographer who has worked with both Lily Tomlin and Melvin Van Peebles.
Shelley, a.k.a. "Janet Plant", is currently giving planetarium programs at Santa Monica College at the John Drescher Planetarium. Below is a description of the program:
All of our school shows are presented by "Janet Planet"
(aka, Shelley Bonus), an acclaimed expert at communicating the
fun and excitement of astronomy to children of all ages. The length
and content of each show is scaled to the age/grade level of your
group. Pre-school and kindergarten groups will have a show about
30 minutes long. Grades five and above will have a show about
50 minutes to an hour long. We always allow 10-20 minutes (at
the teacher's discretion) after the show for the children to ask
any questions they would like about astronomy or space exploration.
This summer, Janet Planet kicks off the very first Summer Camp Shows at the John Drescher Planetarium. Go to www.smc.edu/planetarium for all the details, and be prepared to hold on to your seat as Janet Planet takes your children on an unforgettable voyage through the cosmos!
Santa Monica College's Planetarium has been serving Southern California for thirty years.
Shelley has experience with all age levels, from pre-school to senior citizens. Since her shows are presented live, she can tailor show content to fit any teacher's particular needs and specifications. Shelley can schedule shows at your convenience, any hour of the day, any day of the week. She can also give presentations at your school or summer camp if transportation is a problem. She can even provide evening telescope "star parties" or daytime sunspot viewing sessions.
Janet Planet's school show begins by introducing children to the planetarium theater to help them feel at home. The Digistar-2 projector recreates the starry sky as seen on a clear dark night so your class learn to find the constellations and planets from their own backyard. After seeing the phases of our moon, we "visit" it to see what the astronauts discovered there. Contrasting the airless moon with our living Earth, we find that, while very different, both worlds are also similar. We then tour the Solar System, exploring all the planets. Looking beyond our Solar System, we find that all stars are similar to our our Sun, but that they differ enormously in size and color. We view our "city of stars", the Milky Way galaxy, a vast spinning pinwheel of nearly a trillion stars and other galaxies of various types by the billions stretching out as far as our telescopes can see. Finally we return home to Earth at the end of our tour.
In addition, Bonus has received a NASA Group Achievement Award as a member of a team of telescope operators, who, for many years have been operating the T.I.E. 24-inch reflector, on behalf of the Telescopes in Education project at Mt. Wilson Observatory.
Shelley has taught K - 12 teachers how to teach astronomy for the Space Foundation, and she has her own "What's Up Stargazers?" course starting in Fall 2001 at the Westside Extension branch of West Los Angeles College. Bonus is also the creator of the "Janet Planet Show", a fun and fact filled show for audiences of all ages about astronomy!
A real 21st Century renaissance woman, Shelley, (who among
other things is a mother who holds the distinct honor of being the first
woman ever to be hired to clown for Circus Vargas), has been doing Astronomy
Lectures and Telescope Tours of the night sky on behalf of the Los Angeles
Public Library's Astrofest program for the past two years, and she has been
teaching at UCLA Extension for the past ten.
A superb bilingual (English/Spanish) educator and communicator, and an inspired star gazer,
Shelley, who believes that we are all the brothers and sisters of stars, has
become renown amongst her audiences for her enthusiasm, her sense of humor,
and her unique ability to master her subject, therefore making the mysteries
of the night sky come alive for not only professional, but amateur
astronomers of all ages as well.
Shelley Bonus is available for lectures, star parties, Autostar custom tour authoring, and "Shelley's Out of This World Astronomical Fun and Facts" for your for your customer's interest and enjoyment. They won't grow old when they're on hold instead they'll be thinking of what to buy next. Those seeking Ms. Bonus's services can call or send e-mail.
