The Yorkshire Planetarium measures 6m wide by 4m high with the door end being 7m and only operates indoors. It is an inflated black igloo with no floor, so the floor needs to be clean for people to sit on. The whole structure is supported by a fan that blows continuously. The projection system lights the interior and it will hold 30 Primary School children and teachers, or 25 adults. Please note that there is wheelchair access.
There are a variety of shows that are strung together as a modular presentation with opportunity to ask questions at any stage. I work with a film making company and I have a large number of programs at my disposal. The shows can cover everything from the night sky, space flight, numerous aspects of the Solar System, deep space galaxy fly-through programs and many more. A standard show is timetabled for 1-hour due to the time taken for a health and safety talk and for people to enter, settle down and then leave after the show. The length of the show can be changed to suit younger audiences, or limited timetables. A typical morning in a school is timetabled for 9-10am, 10-11am, 11-12pm but this is flexible. A further two 1-hour shows can be fitted into the normal school afternoon.
I normally arrive at a school at 8am for a 9am first show because it takes nearly an hour to assemble and inflate the dome. This is an industrial grade professional unit and provides premium quality shows.
