At-Bristol science centre’s Planetarium celebrates 1st birthday since becoming the UK’s first 3D digital Planetarium!

At-Bristol science centre, one of the UK’s leading interactive science centres, is celebrating the first birthday of its 3D digital Planetarium. On 24 April 2015, the Planetarium was reopened as the UK’s first 3D ultra high definition digital Planetarium, and has since welcomed over 130,590 visitors into the ‘big silver ball’. 

In the past year, the Planetarium has played host to the following: 

• 7 brand new in-house shows produced in 3D and 2D, including seasonal stargazing shows, Space Explorers, Exploring the Solar System and Blue Marvel. 18 presenters are trained for Planetarium astronomy shows; making it the largest presenting team of its kind in the country, and 95% of audiences see a presenter-led show. 

• 10 weddings and 2 proposals (they both said yes!)

• Special events including the launch of Tim Peake’s Principia ISS mission, Bristol Bright Night, and a staff grade 1 trumpet recital! 

• Visitors were able to witness brand new images of Pluto from the New Horizons probe, and of Mars from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (signalling the discovery of water). 

• Sell-out Planetarium Nights events for adults – now running weekly. 

• The launch of the Data Dome, part of the Bristol Is Open project. 

• University of Bristol and UWE students creating mini–projects and full dome art pieces.  

Funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Bristol City Council under the ‘Bristol is Open’ project, the upgrade was intended to act as an investment in Bristol’s future as a centre for education, research, technological innovation and commerce. The extensive refurbishment saw the installation of an Evans & Sutherland Digistar 5 full dome 360° digital 3D projection system. The system utilises ‘active’ 3D technology, with shows projected in 4K resolution (UHD Ultra High Definition) from two projectors, and 7.1 surround sound, creating a fully immersive experience. 

At-Bristol’s vision is to “make science accessible to all”, and currently attracts over 280,000 visitors per annum, including 60,000 school children and teachers. 

Funding for the project in 2015 was made possible by support from a variety of organisations and partners including Bristol City Council under the “Bristol Is Open” project, with the aim of opening up the Planetarium to new opportunities for business growth within the city of Bristol. Technology companies, research organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises are able to utilise the unique data visualisation capabilities of the upgraded ‘data dome’. 

Lee Pullen, At-Bristol’s Planetarium Manager said: 

“It’s been an incredible year for the At-Bristol Planetarium! We’ve learnt so much about using the new system, and our shows are going from strength to strength. Audience feedback has exceptionally positive, and the gasps of excitement we hear when flying through the rings of Saturn or landing on the Moon really show that we’re bringing the Universe within reach!”   

Phil Winfield, At-Bristol’s Chief Executive added:  

“As the only 3D planetarium in the UK we have something very special, which provides an inspiring, memorable experience for all our visitors adding to the huge variety of activities here in At-Bristol. Our visitors delight in being able to explore the night sky and so we’re creating more planetarium shows which reveal even more astounding facts about the universe. We are also working with partners to look at other forms of content that benefit from the immersive projection environment, including creative media and interactivity. Our partnership with Bristol Is Open continues and we look forward to creative ways of using the facility for high impact data visualisation”.

Plans for 2016 include the British Association of Planetaria conference in September, 9 weddings booked so far, a new series of seasonal stargazing shows, a brand new show for October called Exploring the Galaxy, and a special Data Dome event taking place in BBC Digital Bristol Week in May. 

For full information on the Planetarium, please visit www.at-bristol.org.uk