I need to thank these people. When I was in primary school, these people, or something very similar, came to my school. They showed us galaxies and the constellations, and the Apollo missions. From that point on I became in love with everything to do with space. I've now got a telescope, and I am planning to go to university to study astrophysics. I can't thanks them enough for what they have done in changing my life.

In where i live,which is Hong Kong,we've got a giant dome shaped space museum as brilliant as this.The documentaries played in the theater there are projected onto the dome, and it's amazing!

Toured our community with an Starlab back in the last century sometimes, and made an show for all the schoolkids. Quite successful.

Adding it to my Christmas wish list.

Well done ! Do you have plans to scale it up? What is the max capacity of this universe ?

Very cool to have a mobile planetarium! I would have been enthralled as a child, even though I was raised rural with a brilliant night sky. I would still have been enthralled! Does the compressor handle air exchange during a session, as well as keeping it inflated? (Not sure if the long entryway is to keep things inflated or to keep things dark).

Portaplanetarium! What a great idea!

@WhiteTiger333 The fan is easily strong enough to keep it up. We usually turn it down even. The dome usually slightly floats (so we have kids sitting on the edge to keep it down), so there's a constant flow of air inside. The entrance tube: Good question. I would say it's to keep it dark. There are other ways to build an entrance, though, some of which don't include crawling. For kids that's usually ok, but for older people (or wheelchairs) it makes things difficult at times.

@Skindoggiedog It depends on the age of the kids what we do. For some groups we simply show them how to find things on the sky and then constellations are really useful. For each constellation, there's a story or some physics behind that you can use, too. Constellations simply help finding things. We do want to teach the PHYSICS behind things, but that only works from a certain age. For younger kids, it still engages them and they'll come back and want to know more.

We thought that in the beginning, but with 2nd-4th graders, you can't really talk much about the science, they never had science in school. We try to implement a bit of 'navigating using the stars and 'how to tell a star from a planet', but it's difficult. We hope that it might still catch the kids attention and interest and they will follow on on it or even come back after years to study astronomy, physics or general science in a more 'proper' manner then.

This reminded me of Seamus and his energy bags. Any news on his work?

@HansTheAtheist We use Stellarium on a normal laptop and projector occasionally. Unfortunately we don't have a spherical mirror ;-)

You came to my school in 1999 XD was awesome! I still remember crawling inside it. (I was very young)

where can i get one of theses domes? setup the Astrostar, put on some Zep, smoke a bowl and chill.

@johncrwarner There are wuite a few other filters to purchase. We only have greek and ancient egyptian, which are already surprisingly different. But there are also chinese, mayan, even inuit. It's really hard to fill a whole 20-25 minute show with them, though.

@BorisHaeussler Nah was in Cumbria, it is a really great thing for kids to have a visit with these things since it has stuck in my memory sitting in a huge dome for an hour and being taught about constellations and things. It sticks with people being led into a big dome thingy. It was one of like 2 memories I have from school; going to Starlab and setting fire to a toilet in Dieppe :D

I'm sure that wasn't us, sorry, we only exist since 2011 ;-) There are several suppliers of this around, but comments like yours and others here motivate us and show us that work like this is important and good, given that people can still remember this many years later.

Stellarium has a spherical mirror projection setting, if you like to experiment.

So cool! I got to sit inside one like this when I was a little girl (twenty years ago)! It's so cool. Makes me want to find a way to replicate it in my tent :D

@djwmunro We've had ~30 primary school kids inside and ~25 adults (plus 2 presenters and teachers). The bigger domes are much more expensive and ours is only 6 months old, so there are no plans to scale up at the moment. We want to keep it portable.

@BorisHaeussler Thank you for the clarification. I smiled at children being chosen to sit along the edge to keep the dome from floating. What fun - they must enjoy that 'job'! :D

@Nelob00b In Nottingham? We purchased it June/July 2011. But yes, I've seen some being around ages ago. It's no magic behind it. The digital ones are newer, but unfortunately twice the price.

@BorisHaeussler The southern sky is a classic and a good idea as the constellations are not known - they were named by Europeans in the 18th century I assume with names like Microscopium etc.

With all those clever astronomers and astrophysicists, is there any chance of you discussing the Sky Disk of Nebra?

WHERE CAN I BUY ONE1?!?!

awesome

What do those two people do at the University of Nottingham ? Are they lecturers as well ?

@MrSuednym That's exactly what it is, yes.

I loved this when I was a kid in elementary school. But I couldn't help but laugh as a university student studying physics, that the goal of this demonstration is "telling _myths_, not the actual physics and science behind our universe". There certainly is elementary level astronomy material that can be taught to kids that's still entertaining. The theological approach to constellations and mythical stories should just be a little side note to the study of the night sky.

@nocog

10 жыл бұрын

I agree. "Let's get kids interested in physics by personifying ancient games of 'connect the dots' " This just confuses kids. Some think that the stories are real, which defeats the purpose, and some realize right away that the stories are fiction, (and not the kind of fiction that is particularly appealing to them), and so they lose interest before even getting past the stories, also defeating the purpose. As a child, I would have loved one of these stellariums, but I would have hated the muddling of what is real and what isn't. It's too confusing at that age.

@Philrc

6 жыл бұрын

rubbish, it's fun.

Not near the cities or where there is a lot of light pollution. I imagine there is a lack of easily accessible empty space in Great Britain.

@BorisHaeussler Aye, true, that makes sense.

seriously, who dislikes a video like this? why?

How long has this inflatable thing been around? I remember going into a Starlab dome when I was 10 (17 years ago *sigh*)

@djwmunro there are dark skys in the UK. there was an article on the bbc website which showed dark areas over the UK and it was rather interesting.

@johncrwarner We couldn't afford all of the filters, so we chose the ones most likely to being used. One of the activities that we might do with kids at some point is exactly what you say, btw. Simply show them the stars (or the southern sky, where the historical, 'classical' ancient greek constellations don't exist and let them draw their own ones. Then compare the outcome. Potentially a lot of fun. the starlab people have done this before, but we haven't tried it out yet.

When I was in primary school we had some people turn up one time with one of these things, although I think it was general science based rather than astronomy. as all I can remember about it was them using 2 tin cans on string as a phone.

My 4th grade class went to the planetarium in Chicago.

It's just like reading fictitious stories to children. They are meant to convey some kind of moral code or, as in this case, spark interest and/or teach something. Or sometimes plain and simple entertainment.

Hehe, when I saw the word Inflativerse I thought it was a creative name for the multiverse in Chaotic Inflation theory. Perhaps the term should be coopted to refer to that as well.

@BorisHaeussler For some reason, I can picture you saying, "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!" with the lighting as it was in the Starlab. :)

It's too bad that we have to go inside to see stars . I live it Toronto Canada so I only see a few stars at home and wee have to go quite a long way to get away from the light pollution. Are there any dark skies in the UK ?

i want one of those.

Open up the flaps and crawl right in. Love it

I remember seeing this at my primary school! :D

It would be nice to have some other mythological symbols in the sky as projections so that the idea that the constellations are a human projection on the sky is made clear.

You get their attention with the fantasy, they then have SOME knowledge of the constellation which peaks their curiosity. That curiosity fuels them to learn everything they can about the subject.

whats an inflativerse without an emulated methane nebula...?

Great way to describe a house.

oh my god they need to design an HD projector for the dome install high powered low weight speakers and become the ultimate media experience (games movies etc)

I was wondering.... isn't it dangerous? If there are a lot of people inside it and the compressor stops working or if someone tears the shell.... Nonetheless, it's a very nice thing to have!!

Something like this came to my school when I was in primary school.

@BeanTVYWG I'll give that a try in the next secondary school :D

@posro1988 They are the same, just roman and greek name. Some books use the one, some the other. Some books even mix roman and greek names, it's pretty confusing.

I would like her to tell me an astronomy story in the inflativerse.

@BorisHaeussler oh, I see, neat! Thanks.

So basically it's a mobile planetarium?

@nottinghamscience you're right we should be using the SI units: Super Dupers. he's at least 3 Super Dupers hot.

@Nyphur Depends on the kids. At that age I found myths boring and was very interested in science.

@BorisHaeussler I remember the Carl Sagan Christmas lectures where he moved the night sky to another planet - circling another star and then made up his own constellations and then said - what would people say to the suggestion that there was intelligent life on a planet going round a star at the arse of a six legged horse. The difference is the crucial bit - that you can look at the sky and see things differently and the constellations of the greeks are no better than those of the chinese.

the perfect camping tent

That is COOL! :)

@johncrwarner Oh no, of course not! The greek ones are the ones we are used to and heard/know most about. And some of the others, although just as valid, are much less interesting because there's not much on it. A show about this would merely run out of things to say (at least for me) pretty quickly. Please have a look at all the available filters at starlab.com/starlab_cylinders.html . That does of course not mean that the other ones are 'worse' or 'wrong' in any way.

That guy could play a hobbit in a movie.

I can picture her taking off her glasses, then undoing her hair and shaking it in the air.

A comment by the guy who's in the actual fricking video flagged as spam. I don't know if there's hope for humanity.

@juggaloryan3 its a shame nobody seems to get that, but i do

Oh look, the universe is expanding.

So, will Mrs./Dr. Johnson ever be seen on Sixty Symbols?

I don't understand the point of teaching 'constellations', or signs of the zodiac, in any context other than a brief aside to history. What relevance could they have outside of that?

I wish she would teach me about astronomy XD

3:25 oops!

did she say king Neptune, she must've been thinking of Poseidon

Judging from vid's name, was hoping its something about inflation theory :[

@johncrwarner Yes, most constellations down there have pretty bad names. I only know a few, but they include 'Fornax [Chemica]" (chemical furnace), the 'telescope' and stuff like that. Much more romantic in the north, I'd say. ;-)

Oh that's interesting. I thought it was only a function of "flag as spam" but to use the content, too ... a good idea I guess if it wasn't so poorly implemented as almost everything is that's related to KZread comments.

*adorkable

The spam algorithm goes nuts on links, or stuff that looks like links.

Everybody who went into a planetarium like this in elementary and is now a pothead wants to spark one up in there and hotbox it. t(^_^)t

Can you just take the kids outside at night and have them look up?

da'amn, Evelyn!

@dilibau Dr Boris is indeed a very handsome and clever man... but "super hot"?

I want one, nice.

Come down to the Inflativerse! All you inflatable needs, at low low prices!

@invadingrabbid Hehe, she actually tells that correctly in the shows, but well spotted. That makes it 3 errors, I guess. :D

I want to have a inflativerse at my home

adorable or adorkable?

@puretroubleman Are they due to the Mother ship parking there through the night?? LOL

claustrophobic firetrap

Why do we continue to perpetuate mythology from ancient cultures?

she's adorable

So i waited 3 minutes and 44 seconds for this attractive woman to appear and she never does... YOU... LIED... to... ME!

what if you're like 234589692348576 pounds???

it was epic

Nowadays to show someone stars you have to use artificial machines, because there are no stars in the sky in the cities... :(

@Philrc

6 жыл бұрын

Not during school hours...

0:19 Isn't it kind of sad that we need a fake version of the night sky to show kids...the night sky? :|

Isn't it a bit contraproductive, science-wise that is, to tell stories about the signs?

@Nyphur If kids liking something was justification enough for a class or exhibition we'd have Chocolate Eating, and Running Around Nude In the Middle Of The Street classes. It doesn't answer the question.

I wish my professor were somewhat as pretty as her...

Claustrophobia in an inflatible dome......geeeez

well no because they are interesting stories for children that young... and its not like they tell them as fact XD