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 14th
International Planetarium Society Conference
London, England
28 June - 2 July 1998
IPS98 Conference Office
The London Planetarium
Marylebone Road
London NW1 5LR
(+44) 171-487-0310 or -0227
(+44) 171-465-0862 fax
email: ips98.lonplan@madame-tussauds.com
   
   
 The
London
Planetarium looks forward to welcoming old and new
IPS members to IPS98 in the centre of London. Our formal sessions
will take place in a beautiful, historic and air-conditioned
building, the New Connaught Rooms, on the edge of the
Covent
Garden district. It is close to
the British
Museum, the South Bank Arts Centre, theatres, and
Soho with its huge variety of restaurants and street
entertainment. Two evenings will be spent at the Planetarium, and
supping with waxen royalty at
Madame
Tussaud's!
 What
follows is an extract from the IPS98 Registration Pack. Please
apply to the Conference Office for the whole pack, which contains
registration and paper application forms. These forms MUST be used
for your applications to be considered.
Numbers
may have to be limited because of the capacity of some of the
venues we are using, and bookings will be accepted in strict order
of our receiving application.
You
MUST BE AN IPS MEMBER to register for the Conference; but you can
pay the dues (subscription) with the registration fee, and it will
be valid for one year.
Programme
Summary...
Sunday, June 28
eve - Registration & Welcome Reception with distinguished
guests at New Connaught Rooms
Monday, June 29
am - Registration & Business Meeting
pm - Papers, Workshops and Discussions
eve - Demos at Planetarium with Buffet Supper
Tuesday, June 30
am/pm - Papers, Workshops and Discussions
eve - Demos at Planetarium with Buffet Supper
Wednesday, July 1
am - Papers, Workshops and Discussions
pm - Visit by boat to Greenwich Meridian
eve - Farewell Dinner at New Connaught Rooms
Thursday, July 2 (Optional)
All day Visit by coach to Salisbury, Avebury, Wilton House &
Stonehenge
Cultural Visits...
Greenwich
(Half-day - Included in Registration Fee) A cruise down the
River Thames will pass by
St.
Paul's Cathedral,
Tower of
London, and under Tower Bridge. Greenwich has a
number of attractions - you can straddle the Meridian
line, stand in the Octagon Room of King Charles
I's
Royal
Observatory, or marvel at John Harrison's historic
chronometers.
The
National Maritime Museum
and the tea-clipper,
Cutty
Sark, are a walk away across the
park.
Stonehenge
(Full day - Optional extra visit Price £59)
Places visited during the day will include Salisbury,
(the "Melchester" of Thomas Hardy's novels) with its
fine Cathedral and one of the two original copies of
Magna
Carta, England's original constitution, and
Avebury,
one of the many prehistoric monuments around this area. We shall
have supper at
Wilton
House, home of the Earls of Pembroke, followed by
the opportunity to stand within the massive stone circles of
Stonehenge.
Partners and
Families...
If you are planning to bring a companion
with you please bear in mind that we have to give priority to
fully-paid-up delegates for evening meals and cultural visits
(especially Stonehenge).
Non-delegates
will be kept on a waiting list, and, if space allows, they will be
allocated places to them according to the date of booking.
Costs...
Registration Fee -- £295
(£320 if booked after January 31)
Includes:
All
Lunches / teas / coffees
Four
evening meals
Transport
for evenings and visits
Boat
trip and entrance to Greenwich (Old Royal Observatory and
Meridian), Conference Photograph
Non-delegate
costs for meals and visits will be found in the Registration Pack.
Refunds:
Refunds will be made for bookings cancelled before May 31,
subject to a cancellation charge of £25.00. After June 1st
refunds will be made only in very exceptional circumstances.
Grants:
It may be possible for some of you to obtain grants from the
British Council; please ask us for the relevant address in your
country.
Hotel
Accommodation...
 The
New Connaught Rooms are easy to reach by foot being near to both
Covent Garden and Holborn underground stations. If you travel by
car, ample parking is close at hand. There is a wide range of
quality hotels and overnight accomodation nearby.
The official Conference Hotel will be the
Imperial
Hotel, about 10 minutes' walk from the Connaught
Rooms. Other conference hotels and university accommodation are
also within 10-15 minutes' walk. These should be booked through
Hotelscene,
whose forms are included in the Registration Pack.
Price Range: £35 - 110 for two people sharing...
Hotelscene
can also help with obtaining suites or family rooms, but will NOT
deal with 2-star or cheaper accommodation,
and cannot guarantee availability after January 31.
If
you want to share, you must find your own room-mate, as it is not
possible for us or Hotelscene to do so. If the demand for single
rooms is great, it may be necessary to use some additional hotels
in the medium price range.
Alternative budget accommodation may be booked independently
through the
London
Tourist Board - apartments, budget hotels and
bed-and-breakfast accommodation. We are not able to arrange coach
travel to or from these hotels so you will have to make your own
way to the Conference sessions and back from the evening events.
Price Range: £45 to 150 for two people sharing...
Some
of you may be able to claim back the VAT on your hotel invoice, so
make sure you keep the receipt. More details in the Registration
Pack.
All the attractions of the West End and
London's theatreland are also at hand. This is Galileo Galilei as
seen in the display of famous astronomers at the London
Planetarium.
The London Planetarium is just a hop over on
the tube! Here is a "behind-the-scenes" look at the
control console with one of the planetarium staff on duty.
Travel...
Our official travel agents,
American
Express, will be happy to advise on international
and domestic journeys, as well as accommodation, if you wish to
extend your stay in the UK, Ireland or Europe. Their form is
included in the Registration Pack.
Tours...
Pre-Conference Day-Trip to Jodrell
Bank
Saturday, June 27
It is a 2-hour train ride to
Jodrell Bank Radio
Observatory, with its great
Lovell
Telescope. You can also have a glimpse behind the
scenes, as well as enjoying the
Planetarium,
Science Centre
and Solar System Trail in the
Arboretum.
Day-Trip
Fee: £40 -- Includes train and coach travel. Meals &
extra night's hotel in London (Friday and/or Saturday) will be at
your own cost.
Post-Conference Tour to Ireland
Friday, 3 July
Flight to Dublin.
Afternoon on your own
Dinner and overnight at Trinity
College
Saturday, 4 July (Optional)
All-day visit by coach to
Armagh
Planetarium/Observatory and Navan Centre Dinner on
your own, overnight at Trinity
Sunday, 5 July
All-day visit by coach to
Birr
Castle (Rosse
Telescope) and Shannon Bog Railway. Lunch provided
Dinner on your own, overnight at Trinity
Monday, 6 July
Morning and lunch on your own
Afternoon visit by coach to
Newgrange
Dinner Dunsink
Observatory, overnight at Trinity
Tuesday, 7 July
Return to
London
Heathrow Airport.
NB Tour ends here
Our base will be the charming and sophisticated
city of Dublin,
with its Georgian terraces, historic monuments, museums,
galleries, and shops, pubs and restaurants.
Accommodation will be in
Trinity College,
an architectural delight. It also houses the
Book of
Kells (a wonderful 9th century illuminated
manuscript).
Visits
Dublin itself is a lively capital city, with museums,
galleries, 2 cathedrals, mummified bodies, shops, pubs, and
beautiful Georgian terraced streets. There are also plenty of day
trips into the surrounding countryside.
We
have some interesting visits planned, including the 4000-year-old
chamber of Newgrange where the winter solstice
brings sunlight into the chamber for the only time in the year.
The day will will end with supper at Dunsink Observatory.
We
shall visit another 19th century observatory - Birr
Castle, whose owner, will show us some of the family
archives - and give us lunch. The day will end with a ride on the
Shannon Bog Railway.
Tour Fee £530 (£540
if booked after January 31st)
Includes:
Air
and coach travel (returning to London)
4
nights' accommodation with breakfast
Two
evening meals and one lunch
Entrance
fees to all places listed
Optional Extra Day-Trip to Armagh
Don't miss the opportunity to visit
Armagh
Planetarium and the Navan Centre,
fascinating capital of ancient Ulster.
Tour Fee: £12 does not include lunch.
Call
for Papers...
We invite your contributions for Papers,
Poster Papers, Workshops and Panel Discussions. We have suggested
some themes but feel free to offer others if you like. The
deadline for applications is January 31st.
Themes
for the Discussion Papers have been chosen to arouse controversy,
and we will select panel members with opposing views to get
discussion going! Panelists with strong or unusual viewpoints will
be most likely to be selected.
There
will be at least one Portable Planetarium available, so Portable
users will be able to present their own practical demonstrations.
Your application to give a Paper will only be considered if you
use the official forms in the Registration Pack, and is more
likely to be selected if it fits at least some of the following
criteria:
It
links in with themes listed below
It
provokes questions and discussion
It
presents innovative and practical ideas
It
has not before been presented at an IPS Conference (otherwise a
Poster Paper may be more suitable)
There
are also guidelines (which should be followed) in the Pack for
submitting your abstracts etc.
Late
entries will not be considered, and the selection made by the
Papers Committee will be final. The Committee also reserves the
right to convert an application to give a Paper into a Poster
Paper.
Papers
10 minute talks with 3 minutes for questions. Should be aimed
at as wide an audience as possible - and at people of varying
experience.
Portable
users may prefer their papers to take the form of 10-minute
presentations in a portable dome.
Suggested
Topics:
Innovative
programmes for children, the disabled or those with special
needs...
Astro-Navigation...
Non-Astronomical
programmes...
New
products...
Planetaria
built/refurbished since 1996...
Using
the Internet...
New
Resources for Portables...
Custom-made
solutions for Portables...
Pre-Christian
astronomy or Archaeo-astronomy...
Astronomy
& Space now...
European
astronomers...
Outreach
work...
Workshops
60 minutes of active participation for all. (this is NOT an
opportunity for a long lecture). Numbers will be limited to 20-25.
Participants will sign up on arrival, and we may ask Workshop
Leaders to repeat their Workshops if demand is heavy.
Suggested
Topics:
Scriptwriting...
Low-tech
solutions...
Practical
observing in the dome...
Slide
masking...
Video
techniques...
Making
projectors & effects...
Making
sundials or other instruments...
Marketing...
Linking
up for the 1999 Eclipse...
Discussion Panels
60-90 minutes long. 3 or 4 panellists offer views, followed
by open discussion. An opportunity to explore subjects relevant to
all of us in more depth than usual.
Suggested
Topics:
Is
the future of large planetaria in commerce not science (Large = 50
ft)...
Fixed
or portable - which is the "real" planetarium?...
Are
interactive shows just gimmicks?...
Is
buying shows is a waste of money?...
Is
it too difficult to use Digistar II for live shows?...
Do
Planetarium shows encourage misconceptions?...
Do
good interactive astronomy exhibits exist?...
Can
international co-operative ventures ever become reality?...
Are
astronomers, teachers and planetarians too far apart to make
links?...
Do
non-astronomical shows demean astronomy & confuse the
public?...
Poster Papers
20-30 minutes for discussion around a poster display. The
best presentation method for a one-to-one or small group
discussion. (We will provide a rigid display panel approximately 1
metre square).
Any theme you like; "back-to-basics" topics aimed at
those new to the profession could be useful, or recycle an old
paper!
 About
the Bird...
This little feathered friend is waiting for you at the next
IPS meeting in London in 1998. It has joined us all over the world
and has become a symbol of friendship among planetarium friends
and professionals.
See you in London in 1998!
Here are the issues of the daily news digest
from IPS98 that are currently available. More will be posted as
quickly as they can be composed and installed at the site. We hope
that you enjoy them!
27 June
- pre-Conference activities
28 June
- Opening Reception
29 June
- Business Meeting
1 July
- Greenwich Tour
2 July
- Stonehenge Tour
Other Useful Links...
(Please note that inclusion here does not imply endorsement)
 British
Tourist Authority
Virtual London
-- an extremely popular London web site that gets over one million
hits per month!
 Madame
Tussaud's -- please note that this is not an
official web site, but it does provide background information.
 The
British Museum -- one of the most famous museums in
the world.
Natural
History Museum -- another of the most famous
science museums in the world.
 The
National Maritime Museum -- located near the Royal
Greenwich Observatory.
 The
Science Museum -- seven floors and more than 40
individual galleries of science exhibitions featuring 15,000
objects.
Victoria
& Albert Museum -- the largest museum of the
decorative arts in the world.
 UK
Weather -- from the national weather service.
 Currency
Exchange Rates -- many world currencies compared to the
British Pound.
 A
Day in the Life of the Beatles... at IPS98 -- while the
Beatles are no longer together, there are a variety of
group-related historical events that happened in and around London
on the same dates as IPS98. Note: This web page is ChromaDepth®
3D glasses compatible.
You can continue to find out more about IPS
events in:
Planetarian's
Calendar |
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