NEWS Everyone who is curious about the advanced technology behind the dome theater is welcome to the second of four very special weekends at Curiosum at Umeå University. Curiosum offers a fascinating film premiere, dome technology talk and exciting and fun space activities for all ages.
The second of four special weekends, 4-5 December, focus on the dome theater and space.
ImageMattias PettersonWith the second special weekend 4-5 December, Curiosum continues to celebrate that the whole house has opened up for visitors, with the dome theatre and space in focus. In the dome theatre, there is a premiere screening of the film "VAST - A Cosmic Journey through Space and Time" with Eva Röse as narrator.
Advanced dome technology at the forefront
The dome theater is a large building with a dome-shaped screen, where images can be projected on the inside. The dome's role as a planetarium has a long history. Already thousands of years ago, dome-shaped buildings were built to artificially recreate the starry sky. This weekend's focus on the dome theater therefore has a natural connection to space, which is also a topic that engages and fascinates many. Therefore, space will be the theme for activities throughout the house.
The construction of Curiosum's dome theater was financed by a donation from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. It is part of the national project Wisdome, the purpose of which is to develop scientific visualization for science centers. At the first special weekend, the Wisdome production "Making Magic – a visual effects story" premiered in Umeå and now it's time for the second Wisdome production "VAST – A Cosmic Journey through Space and Time" to be premiered at Curiosum.
“The film is based on Open Space, which is an open database with data collected by astronomers around the world. We get to go on a fascinating journey into space, and back in time, from Earth to the very first light after the Big Bang. The film addresses issues such as: How far have we sent satellites? How far is it to the sun's nearest star?”, says Marianne Eik, pedagogue at Curiosum at Umeå University.
In connection with the film screening, visitors will learn more about the technology behind the dome theatre and what it takes to project an image inside a dome.
Space Escape and space craft
One of Curiosum's space activities is the escape game "Space Escape".
“We think it will be a great fun activity for the slightly older children. In the game, the participants are a crew on Apollo 13's lunar journey and the task is to solve a number of problems together and get codes under time pressure. The goal is to get home to Earth safely,” says Marianne Eik.
Other things that happen in the house are, for example, "Dare to Ask!" where visitors can meet and ask questions about space to two astrophysicists. In Makerspace, visitors can try to simulate the physics of space with the program Algodoo and in the Chemistry lab they can explore density with the question if a potato planet floats. In addition, there are puzzles and crafts about space for different ages.
Special weekends show the breadth
Through four festive special weekends, Curiosum wants to show its range and arouse curiosity and interest in science and technology. With the first special weekend about digital worlds, visitors got to explore visual effects in film and find new ways to create their own worlds and scenes with digital technology.
“Now we focus on a central part of our activities - the dome theater and the opportunity for everyone to travel digitally into space. It is very exciting to continue to discover, be amazed and become curious about all the fun things that can be done with science and technology,” says Madelen Bodin, director of Curiosum at Umeå University.
Due to stricter covid-19 restrictions and to protect visitors and staff, we have limited the number of seats in the dome theater. Feel free to pre-book to get a place for the desired performance. Curiosum also encourages adults and children with cold symptoms to stay at home. We are open to the public every weekend and there are always new exciting things to do!
Wisdome is a national collaboration between world-class digital labs and learning environments, involving five of Sweden's leading science centers: Visualization Center C in Norrköping, Curiosum in Umeå, the Technical Museum in Stockholm, Universeum in Göteborg and Science Center Malmö Museum
Curiosum is Umeå's new science center, which invites you to a magical world for exploration on the Art Campus. The aim is to increase the interest and knowledge of children, young people and the general public in science and technology. Curiosum is run by Umeå University and is part of the strategic partnership with Umeå Municipality.
