Ballooning Portable Planetariums

Space and time may be intrinsically related but the tight relationship is rarely as apparent as it is demonstrated by the Inflativerse. The blow-up dome is a mobile Starlab planetarium, bringing the wisdom of the stars easily and directly to students.

Dreamed up by Evelyn Johnston and Boris Haubler of the University of Nottingham, the inflatable orrery can be speedily pumped up in just five minutes' time. The extraordinary Inflativerse structure is equipped with a projector and an assortment of cylindrical filters which cast glowing images across the expansive darkened interior.

But the Inflativerse exhibits more than constellations, it also shows children maps of the world's ocean currents and the Earth's plate tectonics. It is an accessible setting that will inspire kids' interest in outer space and their own planet, experienced conveniently from their very own schools.