Cosmosdyssee Portable Planetarium

This resource is the property of the East of England Science Learning Centre and is available for schools to borrow at a cost of £100 for a loan period of up to 2 weeks. TSN 'hosts' the Planetarium for half of each school year to facilitate borrowing for schools in Norfolk and Suffolk. The SLC insists that teachers and/or technicians attend a training session before the planetariun is borrowed. These sessions will take place at the John Innes Centre at regular intervals throughout the year. They cost £70, for which 3 people from the same school can attend.

The Cosmodyssee offers a wide range of advanced features. It can project the entire Northern and Southern celestial sphere, show a realistic version of the Milky Way, the phases of the moon and images of the planets. A planetarium allows astronomical concepts to be demonstrated in a 3D environment that significantly aids spatial understanding. The inflatable dome is 3 metres high with a diameter of 5 metres and is large enough to accommodate a group of 20 students.

The photograph below shows the 3 components of the Cosmodyssee:the blue bag (aprox 120 x 60 x 50 cm) contains the inflatable dome, the small brown box (50 x 50 x 25cm)contains the pump for the dome and the large brown box (75 x 62 x 50cm) contains the planetarium. The second photograph show the 3 components packed into the back of a car and the third one shows the inflated dome and entrance doorway. The last photograph show the planetarium in place inside the dome.

For more information please contact Carol Hince at TSN carol.hince@bbsrc.ac.uk or Kaitlynn Shaw at the SLC k.1.shaw@herts.ac.uk

going in

inside the dome

Click here to see the Booking information
Click here to see the Teachers Notes (will appear here shortly)