Education

Fancy an out-of-this-world 360° educational experience?

We offer a broad range of educational digital dome shows for Early Years to Key Stages 1-5 to adults. Our mobile planetariums are operated by a dedicated team of experienced science communicators and astronomy presenters.

Educational institutions enjoy discounts across all bookings, making our digital dome experiences possible for the equivalent of £2.81 per student (with the 4m dome and 8 sessions) down to £1.34 per student (with the 7m dome and 8 sessions) and giving your school access to:

• an unlimited selection of over 200 shows (we proudly make available the largest planetarium show catalogue in the world)
• an inflatable 4m, 5m, 6m or 7m indoor digital dome for either half a day, full day or split across lunch
• as many performances as we can squeeze into the time allocated

Please note:

• there is a travel cost of 45p per mile
• there is no VAT to pay.
• we do travel to greater London, but only for Full Day 7m dome bookings (or with a smaller dome, but at the same price). This applies to any location approx. three hours drive from Bristol. We also have less calendar flexibility for the London area, as we need to group at least two bookings together to make the challenging journey viable.

• over the three weeks in March that include British Science Week, we only accept Full Day 7m dome bookings (or bookings with a smaller dome, but at the same price). This is our busiest time of year and our 7m planetarium becomes fully booked.

BOOKING COSTS

4m dome : up to 20 small children (+1 teacher) or 8-12 secondary school students (+1 teacher) or 8-10 adults or up to 15 mixed.

• Half Day (unlimited shows all delivered before or after lunch) = £300 + travel
• Split Day (unlimited shows straddling lunch finishing approx. 14:00) = £350 + travel
  
• Full Day (unlimited shows throughout the school day) = £450 + travel
• requires a clean indoor floor space 4.5 x 4.5m with 2.7m high ceiling (see diagram and photos).
• the 4m dome requires 60min to set up initially and 15min to pack away.
• it can temporarily be taken down for lunch and requires 10min to take down and 20min to put back up.
• audiences are seated on the FLOOR
  • audiences need to remove their shoes before entry.
  • schools are encouraged to provide gym mats or we can bring our foam flooring for an extra £50.
  • libraries, museums and other customers are encouraged to provide similar soft flooring. Additionally, for safety reasons non-school venues require an assistant outside the dome at all times. If customers cannot provide such an assistant, we can do so for £8 per hour.
  • if the audience may include elderly, infirm or pregnant visitors, the venue is urged to have on stand-by no more than one small chair / stool.
    
    

 5m domes : up to 30 small children (+2 teachers) or 10-15 secondary school students (+1 teacher) or 10-12 adults or up to 20 mixed.

• Half Day (unlimited shows all delivered before or after lunch) = £350 + travel
• Split Day (unlimited shows straddling lunch finishing approx. 14:00) = £400 + travel
  
• Full Day (unlimited shows throughout the school day) = £500 + travel
• require a clean indoor floor space 6 x 6m with 3.3m high ceiling (see diagram 1, diagram 2 and photos).
  
• the 5m domes require 60min to set up initially and 20min to pack away.
• they can temporarily be taken down for lunch and require 15min to take down and 25min to put back up.
• audiences are seated on the FLOOR
  • audiences need to remove their shoes before entry.
  • schools are encouraged to provide gym mats or we can bring our foam flooring for an extra £50.
  • libraries, museums and other customers are encouraged to provide similar soft flooring. Additionally, for safety reasons non-school venues require an assistant outside the dome at all times. If customers cannot provide such an assistant, we can do so for £8 per hour.
  • if the audience may include elderly, infirm or pregnant visitors, the venue is urged to have on stand-by no more than one small chair / stool.
    
    

6m dome : up to 45 small children (+3 teachers) or 20-25 secondary school students (+3 teachers) or 20 adults or 25 mixed or 6 small wheelchair users or 4 large wheelchair users.

• Half Day (unlimited shows all delivered before or after lunch) = £400 + travel
• Split Day (unlimited shows straddling lunch finishing approx. 14:00) = £450 + travel
  
• Full Day (unlimited shows throughout the school day) = £550 + travel
• requires a clean indoor floor space 6.6 x 6.6m with 3.7m high ceiling (see diagram and photos).
  
• the 6m dome requires 60min to set up initially and 25min to pack away.
• it can temporarily be taken down for lunch and requires 20min to take down and 35min to put back up.
• audiences are seated on the FLOOR
  • audiences need to remove their shoes before entry.
  • schools are encouraged to provide gym mats or we can bring our foam flooring for an extra £50.
  • secondary schools must have at least three teachers / adults with the students in every performance.
  • libraries, museums and other customers are encouraged to provide similar soft flooring. Additionally, for safety reasons non-school venues require an assistant outside the dome at all times. If customers cannot provide such an assistant, we can do so for £8 per hour.
  • if the audience may include elderly, infirm or pregnant visitors, the venue is urged to have on stand-by no more than two small chairs / stools.
• NOTE:
  • due to on-going challenges involving poor behaviour of secondary school students in the dark environment of the 6m dome, we are now insisting that at least three teachers / adults be present with the students in every session please. Teachers are encouraged to emphasise behaviour expectations inside the dark confines of the dome before the visit, in keeping with our Audience Code of Conduct and the fact that the school will be liable for damage to equipment as described in our Terms & Conditions.
    
    
    

7m domes : up to 70 small children (+4 teachers) or 40-45 secondary school students (+4 teachers) or 40 adults or 45 mixed or 10 small wheelchair users or 6 large wheelchair users.

• Half Day (unlimited shows all delivered before or after lunch) = £450 + travel
• Split Day (unlimited shows straddling lunch finishing approx. 14:00) = £550 + travel
  
• Full Day (unlimited shows throughout the school day) = £750 + travel
• require a clean indoor floor space 7.6 x 7.6m with 4.2m high ceiling (see diagram 1, diagram 2 and photos).
  
• the 7m domes requires 60min to set up initially and 30min to pack away.
• they can temporarily be taken down for lunch and require 25min to take down and 40min to put back up.
• audiences are seated on the FLOOR
  • audiences need to remove their shoes before entry.
  • schools are encouraged to provide gym mats or we can bring our foam flooring for an extra £100.
  • secondary schools must have at least four teachers / adults with the students in every performance.
  • libraries, museums and other customers are encouraged to provide similar soft flooring. Additionally, for safety reasons non-school venues require an assistant outside the dome at all times. If customers cannot provide such an assistant, we can do so for £8 per hour.
  • if the audience may include elderly, infirm or pregnant visitors, the venue is urged to have on stand-by no more than three small chairs / stools.
• NOTE: 
  • due to on-going challenges involving poor behaviour of secondary school students in the dark environment of the 7m dome, we are now insisting that at least four teachers / adults be present with the students in every session please. Teachers are encouraged to emphasise behaviour expectations inside the dark confines of the dome before the visit, in keeping with our Audience Code of Conduct and the fact that the school will be liable for damage to equipment as described in our Terms & Conditions.
  • with reception age children, please allow a full 10min to fill the 7m dome and another 10min to empty it. With all other students please allow a full 5min to fill the dome and 5min to empty it.
    
    

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• If the venue is not located on the ground floor, then an elevator will be necessary. The equipment is heavy, bulky and transported on a narrow trolley (that can fit through standard doorways). Please let us know immediately if there is no elevator, as the venue will need to provide a number of strong assistants to help carry the equipment (both up the stairs and later back down the stairs).
  
  
• prices are for standard business hours (8am - 6pm). Bookings extending after 6pm are charged an extra £50 per hour.