Ocean County College OceanViews Magazine 2026 Winter Volume 19 Issue 02 - Flipbook - Page 18
GRUNIN CENTER / by Kaitlyn Light
UNDER ONE SKY:
CONNECTING CULTURES
THROUGH the STARS
The Novins Planetarium’s One Sky Project invites audiences
to see the universe through a multicultural lens.
Cara Muscio, associate director of the Robert J. Novins
Planetarium at Ocean County College, says, “People across time
and the world are looking at the sky. And we may not see the
same things, but it’s the same sky.” A powerful message, with a
program called the One Sky Series dedicated to driving it home.
The series consists of six short films featuring artists sharing their
own stories about the stars, specifically related to the star Orion.
It delves into a multitude of cultures, including ancient narratives, like the thunderbird and the celestial canoe, from Greece,
India, Japan, Native Americans in Canada, Hawaiʻi, and New
Mexico. The program presents viewers with astronomical origin
stories from cultures they’ve never encountered before, as well
as an understanding of indigenous astronomy.
Presenters in the planetarium take it a step further and introduce
astronomy through their own cultural backgrounds, including
Celtic and Hindu mythology, as well as insights from archaeologists on indigenous structures built to track the stars. Cara
emphasizes the value they place on increasing exposure to as
many different cultures as possible, always with a connection to
18 Winter 2026
the stars. She says, “It has always been a focus of mine to make
sure that we show more than Greek and Roman mythology, to
integrate other cultures’ stories.”
The program introduces Polynesian culture to viewers through
the well-known movie “Moana” and Maui’s hook in the sky.
It explains how what a specific culture sees in the sky ties
into their customs, as in a fishing society that looks to the
sky and sees a fishhook. The planetarium also introduces
stories like the Chinese fable “The Cow Herd and the Weaver
Girl” and “In Our Lives,” which explores Mayan civilizations
and their practice of astronomy. “Big Astronomy” is another
showing, featuring world-class observatories in Chile and
following the perspectives of each individual involved. This
includes astronomers, accountants, social media personnel, janitorial staff, and others who have contributed to the
missions, highlighting a diversity in careers. Cara shares
that the program has been an eye-opening one for both high
school and college-aged students, shaping their perspectives on careers and the ways they can make a difference.
