Planetarium / About

Inspiring Stargazers Since 1975

Indian Prairie School District 204 built a planetarium as a part of its original high school, Waubonsie Valley. The high school first opened for the 1975-76 school year. Since then, K-12 students and visitors of all ages have learned about astronomy and explored the night sky under the planetarium's dome.

Today, the WVHS Planetarium is 1 of 2 public school districts in the state of Illinois with K-12 programming. In the 2022-23 school year, 8,000 students visited the planetarium for a field trip lesson and 90% were students from Indian Prairie School District 204.

A planetarium uses a star projector to create an artificial sky, including the sun, moon, stars, and planets, which appears and moves to simulate the real sky. Our 1974 Minolta Series IIB star projector is affectionately known as "Big Blue Guy". His dark starry night without light pollution is awe-inspiring.

William "Bill" Hill
- - 1974 - 1979
    
    Waubonsie Valley High School (WVHS) opened in September 1975.
    
    Bill was the first science department chair at WVHS. He oversaw the construction of the planetarium and the installation of its equipment.
    
    Bill implemented field trip programs for surrounding schools and created interdisciplinary presentations for WV students. For example, he and a social studies teacher created an Ancient Egypt planetarium presentation for social studies classes in 1978.
    
    After a 35-year career as a public school teacher, Mr. Hill retired in 1979.
Dr. Jeffery Hunt
- 1979-1996
  
  Jeff started at WVHS as an astronomy and physics teacher in the science department. He developed public programs to demonstrate the tremendous possibilities of the star projector.
  
  In 1996, Dr. Hunt became the Instructional Technology Director for Indian Prairie School District 204 (IPSD 204). He retired in 2011.
Mary Schindewolf Masui
- 1996-2006
  
  Mary, who had a bachelor's degree in physics, was hired by Dr. Hunt as the first full-time planetarium coordinator. At that time, the planetarium was part of the Instructional Technology department. She developed field trip programs for the elementary science curriculum in IPSD 204.
  
  Mary later earned a master's in education and a teaching certificate to teach high school science courses for the WV science department.
Stephanie Gove Rybka
- 2006-present
  
  Stephanie, a certified science teacher, was hired by Dr. Hunt as the first planetarium director. She was a full-time director until the 2009-10 school year when the role was split between the planetarium (40%) and teaching high school science (60%).
  
  In 2013, the planetarium became part of the core curriculum department for the district. At the time, the science curriculum in IPSD 204 was changing to align with the new state science standards called the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). As a result, Stephanie created planetarium field trip lessons for the science curriculum across all grade levels (K-12).
  
  Rybka applied and was selected as a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador starting in 2023.
  
  stephanie_rybka@ipsd.org
2009 NASA Image Unveiling Event
- The WVHS Planetarium was selected by NASA to participate in a national unveiling of a new image of the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101). Only 118 locations were selected across the United States. On February 20, 2009 four hundred people participated in the unveiling event held at Waubonsie Valley High School. Read the Daily Herald article published on February 5, 2009. The new image permanently hangs in the planetarium for visitors to enjoy.
2009 A Day of Astronomy Event
- The Naperville Astronomical Association & the WVHS Planetarium celebrated the International Year of Astronomy 2009 with A DAY OF ASTRONOMY on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009. The free public event included exhibits from Adler Planetarium, FermiLabs, SciTech, NAA, and Illinois Coalition for Residential Outdoor Lighting. Activities included lectures, planetarium programs, workshops, telescope observations, door prizes, etc. Several hundred visitors of all ages participated in the event.
2016 Night of Science Event
- The WVHS Planetarium celebrated its 40th Anniversary during the 2015-16 school year. Read the Naperville Sun's article about the event. The planetarium hosted a Night of Science on Friday March 3rd, 2016. Several hundred visitors sang 'Happy Birthday' to Big Blue Guy with blue iced cupcakes.
2017 Total Solar Eclipse Article
- Naperville Sun Article about the Total Solar Eclipse on August 21, 2017.
2018 The Universe is at Her Fingertips
- Western Suburban Living article about Stephanie Rybka's path to becoming a planetarium director.
2020 Planetary Alignment Article
- Read Naperville Sun article about the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21, 2020.
2020 Virtual Programming Article
- The WVHS Planetarium celebrates its 45th Anniversary virtually. Read the Naperville Sun's article published on December 24, 2020. Due to the pandemic, the planetarium was closed to in-person visitors from March 2020 to September 2022.
2023 Family Night Feature
- Naperville Community Television (NCTV17) featured the planetarium's public programs called 'Family Nights'. Watch the NCTV17 video released on November 10, 2023.
2024 Cosmic Classroom Article
- Waubonsie Valley High School's Planetarium is a Cosmic Classroom. Read the Naperville Magazine's article published on April 12, 2024.