There's something special about entering a space within a space: a secret cavern in the woods; that cupboard under the stairs in the house; or even a blanket fort built in the living room. That's what our new inflatable dome brings to programming both at the Museum and at site visits such as schools. Not only does it provide a place for us to learn about outer space, it also allows us a special spot for blacklight programs, special events, and even extra amazing dance parties!
We purchased our inflatable StarLab dome in January and immediately started planning programming around its use.
We used the inflatable planetarium and the star projector that came with it during our Beyond the Stars afterschool program in February: we learned about constellations that we see in our night sky, and even made our own constellations with stories and myths to project on the walls in the darkened dome.
Soon after that we started offering our inflatable dome for birthday party rentals, as we realized that it is absolutely the best place for a super stellar dance party! With stars projected on the walls, galaxies on the ceiling, and glow sticks around the floor, these parties have been incredibly successful and amazingly fun.
We have also used the dome a few times to host blacklight Mobile Museum activities, taking advantage of our fluorescent and glow-in-the-dark materials and pieces.
And we are continuing to realize just how versatile this space within a space can be: for example, we plan to use it as part of our Culinary Kids afterschool program to talk about fluorescent drinks and glowing foods (electric pickle, anyone?).
We have even more fun planned this spring! We have come to realize just how handy our inflatable dome can be in bringing programming to our community. In April alone there are four programs that will bring local kids into our dome: two school visits, our Outrageous Outer Space Day at the Museum on April 1st, and a public event on April 7th in celebration of the Week of the Young Child hosted at the Alfond Youth and Community Center.
Before spring even ends we will have welcomed several hundred people into our inflatable dome!
We are so excited to continue using our inflatable dome for unique and engaging programming at the Museum and out in the community.
If you get a chance to come by and see it it's definitely worth the visit!
