BATH — Sixth-grade students at Bath Elementary School had the chance to explore the solar system and other parts of outer space yesterday through an interactive planetarium exhibit.

The exhibit, an inflatable planetarium, was brought to the school by the University of North Carolina’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. Science Education Specialist Addie Jo Schonewolf led three groups of sixth-grade students through a special program that was designed by the Center and based on work supported by  National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The program, a half-hour show, allowed students to explore the solar system and learn about the viability of finding another “home” in the system.

“So we have sixth-graders today, and they’re seeing a show called Solar System Odyssey that studies the planets in the solar system and compares them to Earth and kind of look for a new home for us in the solar system, and after, we’ll look at some constellations,” Schonewolf said.

The exhibit is part of the sixth-grade science curriculum, which includes learning about movements of Earth and Earth’s part in the solar system, said Ashley Jones, a sixth-grade science teacher at Bath. The curriculum also focuses on how life can be sustained on Earth and why there’s not life sustained on other planets.

Jones said the program would not have been possible without funding from the school’s Parent/Teacher Organization (PTO).

“They agreed to fund bringing the planetarium in here,” Jones said. “That was just a tremendous asset for our sixth-graders to be able to experience this on campus.”

The school’s PTO raises money each year to fund classroom and school projects and programs through annual events like its Fall Fling event, Jones said.

For more information, visit http://moreheadplanetarium.org.