-- Our Beautiful Planet --

Thought I would share this video... Makes you see our planet from a different perspective. Revel in the beauty of all our natural phenomena, such as the lightning storms, the cloud formations and the Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights... So much enchantment and wonder condensed into this marvel we call home!! Have a look :) 

-- Interesting display methods - Dark vs. Light --

The following exhibits are examples of how the interior designers have played with light and dark to achieve a sense of intrigue and a visually stimulating sensory experience when interacting with the displays:


CERN:

The Globe of Science and Innovation which houses "The
Universe of Particles" exhibition, as well as the famous
LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at the European Organisation
of Nuclear Research, also known as CERN.

The Globe lit at night - situated in the NW suburbs of Geneva. 

The Universe of Particles exhibition housed inside the Globe

The use of light and dark to achieve a visually
interesting space

The seating area/pause area makes use of round built-in chairs
mimicking the rest of the fixed displays and light fittings

Interactive and informative displays showing the 
integration of technology and design - inspiration being 
drawn from the molecules that the scientists study 
there in the world's largest particle physics library 

THE MAX PLANCK SCIENCE TUNNEL: 

German's top research company, the Max Planck Society, has chosen to do a travelling exhibition which offers a relaxed environment and fascinating new insights and perspectives on the global challenges we face, and the 21st century megatrends that are growing in our complex world. 

Conceptual layout of the Science Tunnel divided into its 8 Chapters,
namely The Universe, Matter, Life, Complexity, The Brain, Health,
Energy and The Society.

Layout of the displays inside a space

Fish-eye camera shot of the pause area within the
Tunnel

With the information about each display mounted on
custom light-boxes, and the bulkhead lighting overhead,
the concept of light and dark also plays a part
in this exhibition design

Exhibition with the educational displays which include
illustrations, objects, films, interviews and experiential
media spaces with which audiences can interact

To learn more about these two companies or their provided exhibitions, services and functions, visit: 
https://www.mpg.de/6412686/Science_Tunnel_3_0 &
http://home.web.cern.ch/about

-- Bloemfontein's new digital planetarium --

So, I've heard a lot about the new Bloemfontein Planetarium and how amazing their digital software is, so I decided to do some digging and this is what I found out... 

For those of you who aren't aware, Central South Africa is becoming known as the astronomical heartland of the country. There’s SALT, the Southern African Large Telescope, in Sutherland; the development of the incredible Square Kilometre Array, or SKA, near Carnarvon; and now the city of Bloemfontein is going to have the first digital planetarium in sub-Saharan Africa in a domed structure in the Lamont-Hussey Observatory on Naval Hill!!

SALT (South African Large Telescope) in Sutherland, Western Cape

Cross section through the SALT showing the telescope
inside the observatory

SKA (Square Kilometer Array), the largest radio telescope
in the world, in Carnarvan, Northern Cape.

The digital dome recently fitted on to the existing observatory structure is a 12m seamless aluminium screen complemented by a powerful surround-sound system and multiple data projectors, together offering a multidimensional experience of the digital universe. It will be operated by the UFS (University of the Free State), which is responsible for developing the concept and for implementing the project in the first place. 

Construction process of Bloem Planetarium's dome

Construction process of Bloem Planetarium's dome

Construction process of Bloem Planetarium's dome

Completed renovations on Naval Hill Planetarium 

Right and responsibility to set up the planetarium was granted to them by one of the other partners in the development, namely the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. The project is part of the overall upgrading of Naval Hill. Other partners involved include the Free State department of economic development, tourism and environmental affairs, which is also a founding partner, and the national Department of Science and Technology, as well as a number of private sector founders.

Section through Naval Hill Planetarium 

Architectural rendered section of Planetarium

Architectural rendering of dome interior

View of perforated steel done installation

Digital control station behind auditorium seating

Projector playing videos onto surface of dome installation

View of audience experiencing the new digital planetarium

Documentary being played in the dome 

For a more extensive visual representation and more information about this planetarium, visit:

http://www.saastec.co.za/p35%20planning%20a%20multi%20functional%20digital%20planetarium%20-%20mjh%20hoffman.pdf

Who? What? Why???

Hi there - welcome to my new blog! This blog will become a virtual diary for the best part of a year in order to document the process of developing my BTech design proposal and hopefully inspiring others interested in the same or similar design fields. I have always been in awe of space and the vastness of it. 

There is so much for us to learn about space and so many things we still need to discover as our technologies improve and become more and more advanced, allowing us the opportunity of exploring different planets, stars and even galaxies. Anyone who is interested in astronomy or cosmology will know that, in order to enter this field of work, one must excel in both mathematics and science as they are the foundation and core of the technologies used, the discoveries made and answering all the questions asked about space and its different facets.

The Emission Nebula GC6357

The Eagle Nebula also known as the Pillars of Creation

The starburst galaxy known as Messier 82

Our own Milky Way galaxy showing a "hypervelocity"
star, which is a super-hot blue star which has been
hurdled out of the galaxy by the giant black hole within the
Milky Way and is travelling at incredible speeds
(All photos above were taken by NASA's Hubble telescope)

My proposal will focus on bringing passion and excitement back to those core subjects by targeting children from the ages of 6 and older. What better way to get kids excited about maths and science than by allowing them to interact with it?? That is why my focus for the year is to develop and propose a Phase 2 for the current UDDI's (Uitenhage Despatch Development Initiative) Phase 1, namely the Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Center in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape. Phase 2 will comprise of a Planetarium and a Cosmic Museum showcasing aspects like SALT (The South African Large Telescope) in Sutherland, SAAO (South African Astronomical Observatory) in Cape Town and the NASSP (National Astrophysics and Space Science Program) hosted at UCT for those who are interested in entering into that career path.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Centre
in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape

The main aim of this proposal is to create awareness in the Eastern Cape of the dwindling numbers of students taking maths and science in high school as core subjects and how astronomy and the right kind of exposure to maths and science can be a catalyst to get children to become more motivated and determined to tackle the harder subjects and pursue a career which will benefit both the student and the country alike. Join me in my journey to fusing design and astrophysics... and hopefully a very happy and successful ending!