InPark Magazine: Urânia Fulldome, a Brazilian company in educational technology, is transforming the way students across the country learn about astronomy through its innovative project, “O planetário móvel vai às escolas” (The planetarium goes to schools). This ambitious initiative brings immersive, 360-degree educational films directly to schools in different states across Brazil, using mobile domes equipped with Christie Inspire Series 1DLP® laser projectors.
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Projects like the Christie Projector are incredibly important to the education of students around the globe, as they provide a more hands-on experience with the sciences that integrates students of different learning styles and engages children in a fun way. Accessibility to events like this can really elevate a student’s experience in school and create a basis for their future in education and the workplace. When I was in elementary and middle school, learning about the universe and sciences was never enjoyable for me. My classes consisted of reading textbook pages and then doing worksheets, an older method that almost always turned into me memorizing facts for the test and forgetting them immediately after. With inventions like this projector coming across the globe to give students a more memorable and accessible experience that excites them, helping them realize that the sciences can be fun, will help foster a better educational environment full of new ideas, excitement, and the education of new young scientists in the future.
I believe that everything that we do in our lives is to benefit the generations that come after us. We are where we are today because of all those who have come before us, in all aspects of life as well as in the theatre world. Additionally, the newest technical element being commonly adapted into Broadway shows is the use of projection. Therefore, I am very moved and inspired by the use of projection and in this aspect of learning in Brazil. Projection changes so much, making concepts feel more real and interactive. This is especially special in Brazil, where many young students do not have access to the same level of educational interactiveness as we here in the United States of America do. It is inspiring to see the fostering of young minds so that one day the world can become an even better place for all.
This is so cool; I think that this type of organization is so important. Bringing the planetarium to students in Brazil is amazing because it educates the students about the world around us and introduces them to concepts of astronomy and science, but also because it brings cool technology and almost art to the students. A projector dome that can inflate in minutes isn’t something that these students likely see often, or rather would likely not have the opportunity to see if it weren’t for this organization, and I think that that experience must be so cool and inspiring to the students. I’d like to think that some of the students would be inspired to look more into technology and blending technology and art later in their lives, whether that’s further on in education or just as a personal interest. Getting students involved in or just interested in or interacting with technology is so important, and this group seems to be doing a great job and also have their system down really well; being able to serve 600 students in one day is awesome.
I am thoroughly impressed with how fast they say it is to set up, only setting up in minutes is such a fantastic time. I can assume that it has helped them stay on schedule and travel to more schools because of the reduced set up time. High quality compact projectors are so cool to see, the relatively small size must give a lot of flexibility in terms of spacing within the school for where the portable planetarium can be set up. However it is sad that there is such a need for these planetariums, not just to give students an up close structured view of the stars to study from, but also to just see the stars in general. For a lot of people, planetariums are the only way they will see stars, not by looking at the sky due to light pollution or air quality issues. Having this set of planetariums travel around to young children is such a good way to introduce the stars and sky to people who may have otherwise not known.
The state university near my house has a planetarium in their astronomy department. Their shows are free to the public, and so when I was a child my parents would bring me there for planetarium shows. The shows instilled in me a love of astronomy and the night sky, and became a life changing experience. I would recommend planetarium shows to anybody, and so I was delighted to come across this article and see that this sort of program exists. The fact that they are portable is great because they can go to the students directly, and I think it is an amazing achievement to have given a million students the opportunity to experience the magic of the planetarium for themselves.
In the future I hope that similar programs will spring up around the world. It would be nice to bring other experiences to schools besides planetariums, especially to children in underfunded school districts. Everyone deserves access to the same opportunities, regardless of their area of residence.
I am so glad that people are making space education accessible and portable. I remember having so much fun learning about space and science as a kid, particularly in middle school because we went on field trips and did many things that reminded me of this. I remember going to a women in STEM event in middle school and having the best time. I wonder if this technology could be utilized in theater. When I was younger, I went to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios in CA, and one of the rides they had used a miniature IMAX projection screen to make you feel like you were flying. I would love to see that used in theater because one of my favorite stories/movie franchises, How To Train Your Dragon, couldn't be adapted to the stage faithfully without significant SFX, such as this mini IMAX screen. I would love to see something like that in my life, unfortunately, I don't think any theater would have the money for something like that. I know that IMAX is ridiculously expensive to produce, something around $2,000 a minute to convert.
This is a really cool project! Astronomy can be a really difficult topic to teach because its concepts can be very hard to grasp. I’m sure that these planetariums are really beneficial to the students they serve. Astronomy and exploring space are becoming more and more prominent, so it’s great that this project is able to expose students to something like this while they’re still in school. It’s funny how this application parallels a touring show, for example. The equipment has to stand up to being set up and taken down every day, fit in a truck, and stand up to being shipped often. The inflatable domes a pretty unique approach, but it sounds like a great solution. I’d be interested in knowing more about the process to set up one of these domes. Not being a projections expert, I’m also interested in how the projector is able to project on a spherical surface.
This is so fun! I’m glad this innovative project is happening in schools around Brazil, and I think it could totally expand beyond that. Astronomy is so interesting (and to foster that interest in young kids is a great thing) and the visual, in-person aspect of learning is just so vital- and I think that has been highlighted post-Covid. These thirteen powerful and large domes travel far distances to impact school communities. Seemingly, they use fancy projectors - Christie 4K860-iS projectors - to show the wonders of the cosmos through Full HD and 4K films. They participated in an international annual high-school-level astronomy and astrophysics competition this past August, which sounds incredibly impressive. Each session provides sixty students with what I’m sure is a very immersive experience. The article states that since the project’s launch, one million students have been impacted - which is certainly not a number to scoff at.
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