In the dog days of summer, a professor and two students packed up McMaster’s portable planetarium and drove seven hours to Mattagami First Nation in northern Ontario. They had a star show to put on.
The visit came about through a connection between Robert Cockcroft, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Stone Rivers, a member of Mattagami First Nation and Master of Indigenous Studies student who worked as a teaching assistant with Cockcroft’s Perspectives on Indigenous and Eurocentric Astronomy class.
Cockcroft has been on sabbatical since the start of 2026. Some professors might use that time to travel, or write. But Cockcroft, who is the director of the William J. McCallum Planetarium, has been using his time to take the planetarium’s portable version around Ontario. He’s been visiting local communities and schools, turning people’s eyes to the skies.
“He asked if Mattagami First Nation would be interested in having the planetarium go up there for a visit,” Rivers said. She brought it to the Mattagami Aki administration, who were excited about hosting a visit and thought it would be right up their alley – the community endorses STEM research and sends youth to Advanced NASA Space Camp in Huntington, Alabama, each year. “I was excited to see them bring their expertise and knowledge to the show, and see the youth and kids come and get to experience this.” ledge to the show, and see the youth and kids come and get to experience this.”
Planetarium on the move
Finding the right date was complicated. And this June, the community had to evacuate because of wildfires.
They spent two weeks in Barrie before being able to return home. Finally, when the whole community was back, the planetarium visit was scheduled for July 16-17.
Cockcroft and Rivers went up along with Max Dewaele, another Master of Indigenous Studies student who worked with Cockcroft during the 2025 IndigiNerds Research Internship.
They left from Hamilton, portable planetarium loaded into the back of Cockcroft’s car. The drive was “eerie… almost apocalyptic” at the start, Rivers said, with dense wildfire smoke turning everything sepia-toned. But by the time they reached Sudbury, the skies cleared.
Stars align
In Mattagami, they received a warm welcome and set up the star show in the gymnasium of the recreation center. The event was called Giizhebaa Giizhig, which means Revolving Sky in Anishinaabemowin. Rivers chose the name as it was reflective of both the sky and the movement of the planetarium.
The portable planetarium unfolds into a massive, dome-shaped black tent that holds about 30 people. Inside, a high-tech projector gives a 360-degree view of what the sky would look like at different times.
You can see constellations, the movement of the sun, the moon and the cosmos. And it can be sped up by years and years, showing changes in the sky over millennia.
The planetarium has several regular shows: like Introductory Astronomy, Discovering Mars, and Moon Madness. Rivers particularly loves the Celestial Bear show, which was developed by Cockcroft and Tom Deer from Six Nations and shares the Six Nation’s sky lore and language through traditional indigenous night-sky stories. “It’s really beautiful. I love the Indigenous star stories,” Rivers said. “ They’ve been around for thousands and thousands of years. I consider Indigenous people of Turtle Island to be the first astronomers. So it’s really exciting to be able to bring the stars to a gymnasium like this.”
“It just turns into this amazing show for people.”
Over two days, the team put on full days of shows for the community, with stargazers young and old. Cockcroft also set up a sun spotter device outside.
People loved it, Rivers said. She heard oohs and aahs, from kids and adults alike, as they experienced the immersive show. “They were amazed.”
A view inside the planetarium.
On the second day, Rivers arranged for a feast for the community – to “give back and just be reciprocal in the kindness that they’ve always shown me as a member of Mattagami First Nation.” The caterer, it turned out, had been a good friend with Rivers’ grandmother, and spent time sharing stories about her grandmother: a woman who had nicknames for everyone, who always had soup on the stove and a bed for anyone who needed it. “It kind of felt that she was there in a sense, because of the stories that I got to hear.”
It was a great meal, and “so nice to see people gathered around the tables.” In one special moment, Rivers saw eagles flying overhead. Another special moment came during lunch when she glanced over and saw a row of young children, eagerly waiting outside the planetarium for the next show. “Just sitting there waiting for everyone to go into the planetarium show.”
Kids waiting for the show to start.
The McMaster orbit
The visit included lots of stellar connections: Keeping with the astronomy theme, the McMaster team stayed at the Stardust Motel. They got to chat with Jason Michaud, who runs a company called Stardust Inc – which aims to break down barriers for space careers – and who supported the portable planetarium’s visit.
They also got to meet Ian Vaithilingam, a high school teacher at Keewaytinook Internet High School in Mattagami who stopped by to see the show. Vaithilingam had a telescope and a passion for astronomy; after he and Cockcroft started talking, they discovered that they not only both went to McMaster, but had the same research supervisor – Bill Harris.
Vaithilingam chatted with the McMaster group about new ways to use the planetarium’s technology. “We were all learning something new,” Rivers said. “And getting new views of what the planetarium can offer.”
While facilitating the shows, Rivers also got to learn a new skill. “Rob was kind enough to teach me how to navigate the system, to have a turn at the technical part of it,” she said. “He’s just such an amazing ally and so kind and so generous.”
The sun spotter device.
Rivers hopes that the planetarium visit can help show the kids, youth, and her community that loves learning, “the opportunity that university can bring… and everybody can have that opportunity to possibly come to McMaster.”
“I’m really grateful to be able to give back to my community, as they’ve been so generous to me and my family,” Rivers said. “I have so much gratitude and thanks for them to open the space to us.”