Volunteer Educator Rosemary Walling shows a group of Montessori Borealis first through third graders images of the Earth on Friday at the Marie Drake Planetarium as part of a special presentation of the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Volunteer Educator Rosemary Walling shows a group of Montessori Borealis first through third graders images of the Earth on Friday at the Marie Drake Planetarium as part of a special presentation of the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

A journey to the stars was the final field trip of the year

Kids treated to the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight.

There’s nothing quite like seeing the world from a bird’s-eye view and thanks to the Marie Drake Planetarium, Juneau students had the chance to do just that.

Marie Drake Planetarium concluded its final field trip for the year on Friday with a presentation of the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight, which is one of the best-known Indigenous stories in Southeast Alaska, according to Volunteer Educator Rosemary Walling.

While the story focuses on how Raven’s curiosity brought daylight to Earth, Walling explained how the tale is a jumping off point for exploring other planets, too.

“There are four treasures in the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight,” Walling said. “One is the stars, then the moon, the sun and then there’s daylight, it weaves in an art aspect and cultural aspect and then at the end we get to talk about those four things, plus there are a few things Raven didn’t quite get in one of his boxes like planets, so after the story I usually go to the moon and the Mars because we can fly places.”

Rosemary Walling shows Montessori Borealis students close up views of the moon in between recorded segments of the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight on Friday as part of the Marie Drake Planetarium’s student field trips made possible by a grant from Douglas Dornan Foundation. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Rosemary Walling shows Montessori Borealis students close up views of the moon in between recorded segments of the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight on Friday as part of the Marie Drake Planetarium’s student field trips made possible by a grant from Douglas Dornan Foundation. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Walling said over 700 students took field trips to the planetarium this year, which was largely due to a $1,000 grant from Douglas Dornan Foundation that allowed for students to be bused in from different schools. Montessori Borealis teacher Becca Gaguine’s class of first through third graders were the last of this year’s students to partake in the unique educational experience.

Ted Wilson, director of teaching and learning support for the Juneau School District, said one goal of the school district’s Teaching and Learning Support Center has been to include planetarium activities back into the school curriculum and also to add place-based and culturally responsive content and the Raven and the Box of Daylight is an “excellent place to start with that effort.”

“Several years ago friends of the Marie Drake Planetarium had started working on reinvigorating the planetarium, so they did some fundraising to purchase a new digital projector and as they were doing that they wanted to work with the school district to have opportunities for students to use the planetarium because it had been a lot of years since students had access to the planetarium,” Wilson said.

Tlingit weaver and storyteller Lily Hope tells the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight through recorded segments shown on the projector screen at the Marie Drake Planetarium on Friday for the final student field trip of the year. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

Tlingit weaver and storyteller Lily Hope tells the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight through recorded segments shown on the projector screen at the Marie Drake Planetarium on Friday for the final student field trip of the year. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

The show combined recorded segments of Tlingit weaver and storyteller Lily Hope with the sky as presented in the planetarium. Walling said in the future, she hopes to expand the show to include live storytelling or book reading.

“This is the first iteration of the Raven and the Box of Daylight; there’s so much more I’d like to do differently, but it’s just a matter of time. Over the summer it’s something we can improve,” Walling said. “If there was a storyteller that wanted to come in, it would be easy to replace the video segments with a real person.”

• Contact reporter Jonson Kuhn at jonson.kuhn@juneauempire.com.

More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for the Week of May 28

Here’s what to expect this week.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Three people found dead on boat anchored off Sandy Beach

Drug use a possible factor in deaths of one man and two women during three-day span

The Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding area is seen under an overcast sky on May 12. A federal order published Friday bans mineral extraction activities such as mining in an expanded area of land surrounding the glacier for the next 20 years. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Feds expand ban on mineral extraction near Mendenhall Glacier

20-year prohibition on mining, oil drilling applies to newly exposed land as ice continues retreat

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Thursday, June 1, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Bulk food in Food Bank of Alaska’s Anchorage warehouse on April 21. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
State roughly halves the number of Alaskans waiting on food aid, but more than 8,000 remain

By Claire Stremple, Alaska Beacon Mary Wood has been waiting for food… Continue reading

A white butterfly rests upon a fern Saturday at Prince of Wales Island. (Courtesy Photo / Marti Crutcher)
Wild Shots

Reader-submitted photos of Mother Nature in Southeast Alaska.

Photos by Lee House / Sitka Conservation Society
Aliyah Merculief focuses on her run while snowboarding at Snow Camp.
Resilient Peoples & Place: Bringing up a new generation of Indigenous snow shredders

“Yak’éi i yaada xwalgeiní” (“it is good to see your face”) reads… Continue reading

A polar bear feeds near a pile of whale bones north of Utqiaġvik. (Courtesy Photo /Ned Rozell)
Alaska Science Forum: Polar bears of the past survived warmth

In a recent paper, scientists wrote that a small population of polar… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Wednesday, May 31, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Most Read