WELCOME TO THE ASTRONOMY DEPARTMENT

      Graduate from Lycoming College and you could end up running the universe. That is exactly what Lycoming alumna Kim Arnold does every day as planetarium director at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Station in Hutchinson, Kansas.

       The astronomy major is designed to train students in the field of planetarium education and may serve as a basis for state certification as a secondary school teacher of general science. Classes at Lycoming have an emphasis on lab-based instruction and are small enough to give all students an opportunity to receive individual attention.

       "Astronomy and physics at Lycoming differ from many other institutions because of the emphasis on lab-based instruction," states department member Dr. David Fisher. "It helps students grasp theoretical concepts if they can see them in practice rather than just read about them in a textbook. From their freshman year, we encourage our students to use whatever equipment we have in their areas of interest. It can be very rewarding."

       Classes at Lycoming are small, giving all students an
opportunity to receive individual attention. There are three
full-time professors, all with doctoral degrees, in the
astronomy/physics department and an open-door policy
that gives students easy access to them. The lab-based
courses, combined with the individualized attention from
professors, are a few of the reasons why Rugg's
Recommendations on the Colleges
rated Lycoming's astronomy
program "among the top 25
programs in the country."