Meeting IYA Goals for Diverse Planetarium and Science Museum Audiences

The International Year of Astronomy (IYA) in 2009 provides the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois with a chance to bring astronomy into the city of Chicago and beyond. The Adler serves diverse audiences in the Chicagoland area and elsewhere. Each audience has unique needs to be taken into account when designing for IYA. The Adler has created a suite of pro- grams for IYA that addresses a number of topical strands, tailored for the many audiences that Adler serves. Adler has found synergy between some existing pro- grams designed for these audiences and IYA thematic strands. One advantage of this is that it increases the likelihood of program sustainability. The authors will outline some of Adler’s program plans to date from person-to-person community outreach programs such as Caf ́e Scientifique programs, to a citizen science light pollution observation program, to programs within the institution, such as a new temporary exhibit about the roles of telescopes in our understanding of the cosmos. The presenters will focus on the range of programming and how they bring together IYA topics as well as addressing the needs of our identified audiences