Institute
Join Us for Summer Institute 2026, Cosm’s Annual Training and Professional Development Event. We’ll explore planetarium education, focusing on fulldome digital presentation for science learning. Courses cover curriculum and realtime planetarium demonstration for teaching. We’ll also explore the production and automation skills needed to create state-of-the-art educational programs.
Professional development for users of the Digistar planetarium software. Designed for both beginning and experienced users, but will best serve attendees who have completed their initial Digistar training.
Please note a limit of 2 registrants per site.
For those attendees who have not completed their initial Digistar training, we are offering a short afternoon course that covers the fundamentals of Digistar in preparation for the rest of the week's sessions.
Participants can sign up for the course at the registration link.
We’ve secured a discounted rate at Home2 Suites By Hilton, located at 75 Applied Bank Blvd in Glen Mills. Home2 provides free hot breakfast, free WiFi, a fitness center, an indoor pool, and they’re pet-friendly.
Studio Suite 1 King or 2 Queen beds : $134/night OFFER EXPIRES July 1
Discount Code : CHTSSI
or call 610-358-4716
Driving: Summer Institute takes place at Spitz, Inc. – A Cosm Company, located at 700 Brandywine Drive, Chadds Ford, PA 19317, within easy driving distance of much of the eastern seaboard. Ample free parking is available both at Spitz and at the host hotel, so driving is a good solution if you’re near enough.
Flying: Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is about a 30 minute drive from Spitz. We’re available to help with local transportation to and from the airport during certain dates and times. Contact us to arrange airport transportation.
Shuttle: Spitz will provide a van from Home2 to the Institute at the beginning and end of each day. Guests staying in other area hotels must provide their own transportation.
Summer Institute is not intended to be a substitute for Digistar training. We’ve designed our sessions to complement and build on existing training, provide a look at new features and use cases, and as a unique networking and collaboration opportunity. Session tracks are designed for both beginning and more advanced Digistar customers, as well as educational sessions that focus on topics beyond Digistar operation.
Attendance will be capped at approximately 45 attendees.
Partners and children may visit Spitz during the scheduled open house on July 28. Please let us know if you intend to have guests attend with you.
Four meals in total: an open house buffet Monday evening, and lunches on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, as well as our annual “Ice Cream, You Scream Feedback” session on Friday afternoon. The hotel provides a free hot breakfast. Snacks and refreshments will be provided throughout the week. A reusable water bottle will be provided to each attendee!
Cosm vans can pick you up at Philadelphia International Airport during the following times, for transport to Home2Suites:
Afternoon/Early Evening July 26 & 27
We will also provide van transportation each morning from the hotel to Spitz, and at the end of the day back to the hotel. Finally, we will provide limited transportation to the airport Saturday afternoon. Please contact Michael McConnville to make transportation arrangements.
Institute is casual; the building is well air-conditioned, so you may get chilly during seated sessions if you wear shorts/short sleeves. It will be hot and humid outside. Typical August weather in southeastern Pennsylvania is high temperatures in the 80s, with lows in the 60s.
You will not need to bring a computer for the sessions. If you already have a Digistar laptop workstation, please feel free to bring it for your personal use (you would not need to share a desktop workstation). There is excellent wireless internet in the building and space is available for attendees who may need to work during the week.