Why Choose Us?

 17 Reasons to Choose Us

1. Quality over quantity - we don't overfill our domes, ensuring everyone in the audience enjoys an excellent view. Modern mobile digital planetariums are unidirectional and the audience should not be seated further forward than about half way.
   
   
2. Well-maintained domes - our parent company Dome Club Ltd regularly cleans, repairs and maintains all our equipment.
   
   
3. We utilise true 4K projection - meaning both our projector and the videos we screen are 4K in resolution; thereby equalling the image quality of most fixed dome planetariums.
   
   
4. We don't lecture from the front - why would a presenter choose to stand in front of a beautiful image of the Cosmos and ruin the effect by casting a huge, unsightly shadow on the dome? Children spend enough time being lectured by adults from the front. Our presenters surround audiences with magnificent visuals and inspire with their voices alone.
   
   
5. We utilise separate video displays - so you won’t see unsightly desktop icons projected on the dome.
   
   
6. Optimised spherical mirror alignment - very few mobile dome operators accurately calibrate their spherical mirror projection system (due to the process being complex and time-consuming), yet the difference is very noticeable. Additionally, some of our competitors seat the audience facing the wrong way, blinding them with light.
   
   
7. We don't use PowerPoint - believe-it-or-not, in this day and age of affordable 360° ultra-high-definition (4K) mobile planetarium technology, some of our competitors are still using PowerPoint in their domes.
   
   
8. We use five audio speakers - thereby filling our domes with true left-right stereo.
   
   
9. Our domes are fully accessible - meaning we easily accommodate wheelchair users plus the elderly and infirm. Children don't need to crawl into our domes and adults don't duck under the side - everyone enters and exits comfortably and safely via a door.
   
   
10. Our programme content is fully accessible - the planetarium software applications we use are free and open source, and we encourage (and train) teachers to use them in the classroom. All our 360° films can be previewed in full on our website.
    
    
11. Courteous & responsible - we respect school regulations and don’t secretly check our phones or use them to tweet whilst on school premises. We disinfect our Famous Meteorite after it has been handled by a group.
    
    
12. More programming choice - with over 250 titles, our fulldome (360°) catalogue is the largest in the world. Yes, the world.
    
    
13. More dome sizes & booking options - our 4m, 5m, 6m and 7m dome sizes ensure we have a suitable planetarium for almost every indoor space, audience size and school budget. Interest-free payment over 6 months is also available, as well as funding support.
    
    
14. Quality certified - we are the first UK mobile planetarium operator to receive the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge.
    
    
15. Recommended - we have more genuine 5-star Google, Facebook, Yell, TrustPilot and FreeIndex online reviews than any other UK operator, as well as numerous web pages brimming with recent customer feedback.
    
    
16. Data Protection - our Privacy Policy is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), so your contact details are safe with us.
    
    
17. Whole School Capacity - due to the size of our domes and diversity of programme content, we are one of very few operators able to accommodate an entire primary and secondary school in a single day
    

Additional Reasons to Choose Us

Due to an increase in poor quality 'fly-by-night' mobile planetarium operators, we feel it's our duty to point out the following:

• Fake Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Certificates - unfortunately these are becoming more common. Always ask to see the original DBS certificate together with a document proving photographic identity.
  
  
  
• Fake Social Media Profiles - some operators purchase large numbers of bogus social media followers eg. note the geographical location of our Facebook followers (left) compared to those of two UK competitors (right):
  
  

  

   

• Soliciting Online Reviews - it is a guideline violation of platforms like Google and Yelp to request an online review in return for a discount or opportunity to win a prize.
  
  
• Fake Online Reviews - this is a growing problem worldwide, yet it's easy enough to tell which reviews are from real teachers and which aren't. We add our online reviews to our official feedback pages, where the name of the school, website, and booking date can be seen. Also, look out for companies soliciting meaningless reviews from volunteers, family members and business associates.
  
  
• Selling Fake Products - don't be fooled into buying 'genuine' Astronaut Ice Cream or similar gimmick products. Freeze-dried 'astronaut ice cream' has never flown in space. Since 1972 astronauts have had freezers on-board and therefore always enjoyed real ice cream.
  
  
• Undercharging - look out for mobile planetarium operators charging surprisingly low prices and even offering free bookings. Such business practices border on illegal Predatory Pricing and are attempts to draw customers away from established businesses.
  
  

• Impressive-looking Letters - postnomen letters (fancy letters after an individual’s name) aren’t necessarily something to be impressed by:
  
  
  • MInstP (Member of the Institute of Physics) - simply means the individual is a member of the Institute of Physics. Anyone with a degree in physics and three years work experience can become a member.
    
    
  • FRAS (Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society) - simply means the individual is a member of the Royal Astronomical Society. Anyone working in an astronomy-related field can become a member. Immersive Theatres director Mario Di Maggio was elected a FRAS in May 2004, but decided the 'prestige' wasn't worth the high annual renewal fee.
    
    
  • FBIS (Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society) - simply means the individual is a fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Anyone can become a member of the Society and then after three years anyone working in an astronautics-related field, or anyone making a significant contribution to the work of the Society, can become a fellow.
    
    
    

• Equipment Safety Standards - with an increase in low-quality inflatable and outdoor geodesic dome systems entering the UK, be sure to ask for:
  
  
  • the Dome Fabric Flame Resistance Certificate
  • a recent electrical Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) Certificate
    
    Ours are available on our Booking page, together with other important documentation such as Risk Assessment, Method Statement, Public Liability Insurance, Child Protection Policy, etc.

DISCLAIMER

Regarding the similarity in name and branding of Immersive Theatres and Immersive Experiences.

We are a separate and completely different company from Immersive Experiences. We do not endorse, support or necessarily agree with publicity and other material disseminated by Immersive Experiences.

It is unfortunate the similarity in name and branding causes ongoing confusion with customers and the public.

We encourage customers to carefully research the differences between the two companies and thereby determine which one will serve their needs best.

Immersive Theatres was established in June 2011 (although Mario Di Maggio has been delivering mobile dome experiences since 2001); and Immersive Experiences appeared in January 2017.

Immersive Theatres became a trademark registered company in the UK in November 2017. Find out more about the early history of Immersive Theatres here.