Twinkle, twinkle little star...how I wonder what you are!!!

As I parked my car in the garage, a commercial came on the radio advertising an event at a local planetarium. It stated that the program would start with the unveiling of the evening sky along with a discussion of the constellations a la 'what's what', so-to-speak. Immediately, I was reminded of the field trips to the planetarium where I accompanied my classes both in NY as well as NJ [at the beginning of my teaching career]. From my NJ Planetarium trip, I can recall the very abrupt ending as I heard my name being called at the same time that a hand gripped my arm. My unpredictable student was seated in close proximity [ right next to me], and I guess that in the total darkness...that I maybe had closed my eyes for a second...brought back to consciousness by Harrison yelling, "Ms C...Ms C! The room is spinning! The room is spinning very fast!! Well, not really, it wasn't... the sky was flying by in the making of the overnight sky turn into the day sky.
In NY, it was a yearly event regardless of what grade you taught because we had a planetarium twenty minutes away. I'm not sure exactly when my aversion to all of this started, but I would guess it was in college. I had to take astronomy to be an elementary school teacher, and it was more than recognizing the constellations. Two tests and a final that counted 50% of your grade. I failed the first test, I failed the second test, and the final was my last hope of getting a D[unfamiliar to me, but passing]. I failed the final. I had to retake the course because it was a requirement. The 2nd time was a night class and when the professor announced that she was the editor for the Encyclopedia Britannica, I thought, "I'm in hell!!" I did manage to pass the second time... the only course that I ever failed!!!

Back to the planetarium, at some point in time, I really came to question...no, doubt...I mean that my inner voice was saying,"Are they serious about this constellation stuff?" Aside from the Big Dipper and Little Dipper which are easily recognizable, I think that the rest of them are quite the stretch of the imagination!! My theory is that ...after either one too many' mind -altering drinks or 'mind- altering drugs', the stars in the night sky began taking shape. And one misperception led to another and soon...all kinds of wild things began to take shape. Take Orion as an example: Are ya kidding me? Orion? And his dog is where? And the seven sisters are over there???These sky gazers probably were the actual inventors of the "Rorschach tests!! What I really can't grasp is how these hallucinations caught on enough to make it into a science curriculum. I never raised these questions or shared my opinions with my students. I went along with the program. But I have to ask: Does anyone else believe the 'connect the dots' constellation maps? If so, let me know because...[you knew this was coming.]..I have some land in Florida for sale...cheap!!