Falkirk Science Festival: Dynamic Earth's portable planetarium comes to town

The team from Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth will be in the shopping centre’s atrium on Friday and Saturday as part of their science outreach tour around Scotland.

It brings the science centre’s learning experiences and cutting-edge technology outside the capital to new audiences.

The Portable Planetarium, which has a capacity of 30, has been enabled by lead sponsor Baillie Gifford.

The six metre inflatable Go-Dome features a mobile fisheye projection system and presents science through stunning imagery and live presentations, developed and delivered by Dynamic Earth’s astronomers.

The dome uses cutting-edge Digistar software to immerse viewers with fully digital 360 degree projections.

Locals and visitors are invited to visit the Portable Planetarium to be inspired by the high-quality shows which are usually on at the main Planetarium in the Edinburgh attraction, including bespoke presenter-led content.

Over the course of the weekend, members of the public can experience two of Dynamic Earth’s most popular shows: You are Here – a dramatic journey to the very edge of our solar system and back; and What’s Up? – an ever-changing look at the night sky and some of the most exciting astronomy and Earth-science news stories.

Hermione Cockburn, scientific director at Dynamic Earth, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to have the support of Baillie Gifford and our other funders to facilitate our brand-new Portable Planetarium and we’re thrilled to launch it this spring.

"The technology gives us the opportunity to share the incredible content from our fixed dome in Edinburgh, to create live shows and take our Dynamic Earth Planetarium experience on the road – reaching people who might not be able to visit us in the Scottish capital.

“This new addition gives us the ability to address major climate and environmental issues – all through some amazing live shows. We’re looking forward to educating and inspiring new visitors of all ages and we can’t wait to see their reactions.”

Sam Pattman, from Baillie Gifford added: “The Dynamic Earth team has worked incredibly hard to develop the fun and educational science shows and we’re delighted to be able to support their ambitions to share this with others across the whole of Scotland.”

To find out more about the local events click here