Schools & Group Immersive Dome Experiences

‍Arctic: Our Frozen Planet (Feature Length Film)

At the very top of the globe, lies a spectacular, frozen realm. But don’t be fooled by appearances…this place is not frozen in time. It’s a dynamic ecosystem and for thousands of years, its indigenous people and wildlife have found ways to survive and live in harmony with these extremes.

Embark on a yearlong adventure across the seasons and three continents. Be immersed in the astounding world of narwhals, belugas and polar bears as they navigate ice floes. Hear the thunderous sound of stampeding caribou and muskox trying to escape hungry wolves. Be amazed by hooded seals that blow up red balloons and ice-covered bumblebees that emerge glorious from their winter lairs.

As the planet’s climate is experiencing rapid changes, so is the Arctic. But the changes here are happening faster and more dramatically than anywhere else. Can it keep pace? Join a breathtaking expedition across the Earth’s other pole in ARCTIC: Our Frozen Planet.

Running Time: 42 minutes

BUGS: A Rain Forest Adventure

Get a view of the fascinating universe of insects magnified up to 250,000 times their normal size in ‘Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure’.

Become immersed in a miniature world, where a leaf weighs as much as a car and a single raindrop can quench the largest thirst.

Highlighting the extraordinary world of insects, ‘Bugs!’ focuses on the life cycles of a praying mantis and a butterfly from their birth to their inevitable encounter in the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia, where predator meets prey.

Running Time: 40 minutes

Experience The Sound

For more than 100 years, from the early days of black and white silent film to sound, colour and now 360 degrees, moving images have recorded Plymouth’s relationship with the ocean.

Real Ideas and local museum The Box have partnered to re-imagine rarely seen moving image and paper materials from the South West Film and Television Archive into a stunning fulldome film that explores the city's strong connection to Plymouth Sound.

Running Time: 35 minutes

Legend of the Enchanted Reef

When their home reef is destroyed by a fishing trawler, three brave fish set out on a quest across the vastly polluted ocean to find the Enchanted Reef – a mythical underwater haven free from humans…

The lively perciform Shorty, his smart sister Indigo and Jake, a daring sawfish, thrive in a bustling and colourful coral reef. One day, out of nothing, an enormous trawl devastates their reef, forcing the trio to leave their destroyed habitat and go on a search for a new and safe home.

‘Legend of the Enchanted Reef’ is an imaginative and humorous, as well as exciting and touching, animated movie for the whole family: the quest of three lovable characters for a safe home reveals the moving beauty of the seas but also their endangerment through massive human impact.

The story combines entertaining and educative elements into a sustainable message about the great importance of our oceans.

Running Time: 45 minutes

World 2 War

‘World 2 War’ is an action packed fulldome documentary that combines cinematic battle scenes with informative overviews of the battlefield and historic reference from photos and videos.

World 2 War will put you right in the middle of World War II’s biggest battles.

Running Time: 45 minutes

Whale Super Highway

Whale Super Highway explores the mysteries of the humpback whale, following their migration from the top of Western Australia to Antarctica and back again — one of the longest migrations on the planet.

The humpback whale, which was hunted to the brink of extinction, has made one of the greatest comebacks ever. This ecological success story is on display on the whale super highway: a stretch of water travelled by more than 35,000 whales annually. The whale super highway is more than 4,000 miles long, and stretches down the coast of Western Australia to Antarctica. Tens of thousands of whales travel this route, from their breeding grounds to their feeding grounds.

While the humpbacks thrive, the largest mammal on the planet, the blue whale, travels these same waters and struggles to survive. In Whale Super Highway, marine biologists follow these majestic creatures on their migratory journey, in search of answers.

Running time: 45 minutes

Astronaut

The exploration of space is the greatest endeavour that humankind has ever undertaken.

What does it take to be part of this incredible journey? What does it take to become an astronaut?

Experience a rocket launch from inside the body of an astronaut. Explore the amazing worlds of inner and outer space, from floating around the International Space Station to manoeuvring through microscopic regions of the human body.

Discover the perils that lurk in space as we subject ‘Chad’, our test astronaut, to everything that space has to throw at him.

Running Time: 23 minutes

Antarctica: Ocean Exploration Uncovered (Short Film)

In Antarctica’s most isolated seas, an international team of scientists deploy underwater robots to map hidden volcanoes on the ocean floor. Their mission: to explore uncharted depths and uncover submarine geohazards that could unleash tsunamis across the globe. Despite covering over 70% of our planet, less than a quarter of the seafloor has been mapped and we know far more about the surfaces of Mars and the Moon than our own oceans.

Join Plymouth accociate professor in ocean exploration Dr Jenny Gales on this gripping expedition that plunges you into a world of icebergs, hurricane-force winds, towering waves, and erupting volcanoes —all captured in 360° immersion—revealing astonishing discoveries hidden beneath the waves.

Funded by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, the University of Plymouth, and the University of Plymouth Explore Award and supported by Real Ideas.

Running time: 22 minutes

Back To The Moon For Good

The show opens with the first era of space exploration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. We see what that era of landers and orbiters taught us about our nearest neighbour including the discovery of the Moon’s origin, composition, structure and the accessibility of raw materials on its surface.

The Google Lunar XPRIZE is designed to democratise space and create new opportunities for eventual human and robotic presence on the Moon. We see the engineering and innovation steps taken by the internationally distributed teams competing to land a spacecraft on the Moon and vie for additional prizes. We highlight the human spirit of competition and collaboration as teams take on this audacious challenge. Who will win the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE?

The audience is taken through a successful launch, landing and lunar surface travel. The show ends with a stunning glimpse of a plausible scenario for our future on the Moon.

Running Time: 25 minutes

BIG

One of the most asked questions about the Universe is “How big is it?” and that’s one of the hardest to answer.

‘BIG’ has been produced to tackle this question and does so by taking the audience on an immersive journey to the far reaches of the Universe that we are currently able to observe.

‘BIG’ combines a light-hearted storytelling style with computer animation, stop-motion character animation and a surround sound musical score to bring a really big subject down to Earth.

Running Time: 23 minutes

Bambini Symphonique

nspired by the resounding success of Bébé symphonique and in its continuation, GSI Musique is pursuing this adventure by offering a musical journey around the world, revisiting some of the most beautiful nursery rhymes and children's songs from different countries. Sixteen pieces from thirteen countries across five continents are brought together in this new album entitled Bambini symphonique, as well as in the immersive dome film.

A musical journey around the world that will enchant both young and old alike!

Running time: 32 minutes

CAPCOM GO! The Apollo Story

On July 20th 1969, 600 million people around the world gathered to witness a historic moment of human achievement broadcast live from the Moon.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” exclaimed Neil Armstrong. The world celebrated as the astronauts took their first steps on the Moon. But few people were aware of just how huge an effort it had taken to get them there. These Apollo 11 astronauts were just 2 of nearly 400,000 people who had worked over ten years towards this goal.

But how did they do it? What did it take to put humans on the Moon?

Running Time: 26 minutes

Cell! Cell! Cell!

You are made of 70 trillion living cells. They work. They talk. They think. They are what make you alive.

This is the story of the trillions of cells that form our bodies, from our beginnings as a single cell to the complexity of a whole body: it’s the story of who we are.

Join Raj and Sooki on a totally ex-CELL-ent immersive journey. Get shrunk down by the Shrink-a-tron, go back in time with the Retroscope and see an exploded view of all the body systems courtesy of the Cell-o-tron.

Running Time: 24 minutes

Colour Your Senses (sensory)

‘Colour Your Senses’ is a journey of swirling particles that collide, overlap and disperse, enveloping the dome in glittering lights.

Combined with custom-created spatial audio, the experience begins with colourful flecks of light that gently grow and evolve into a beautiful bioluminescent symphony which then calmly wind down to a tranquil ending.

Running time: 26 minutes

Follow The Water (sensory)

A ‘real world’ 360-degree video experience comprised of 4 chapters following water on its journey, from meandering rivers to the joys of the seaside and water activities.

This show is great for showing the water cycle in real life, and for giving those who may not be able to take part in water activities, such as paddle-boarding, the chance to experience them in 360 degrees.

Without dialogue, voice-over or music this show provides a real immersive sense of 'being there'!

Running Time: 25 minutes

Forward! To The Moon

Just as the Greek Moon goddess Artemis is the twin sister of the god Apollo - so NASA's 21st century Artemis programme will send humans to the Moon as the Apollo programme did in the 20th century.

Artemis will also land the first woman, and the first person of colour, on the surface of the Moon.

This huge undertaking is already underway, and includes the launching of robots to explore the lunar surface and test new technologies necessary for future missions.

Share in the excitement of the Artemis programme, the next step in humanity's mission to explore the Universe.

Running Time: 30 minutes

Into The Fruit Bowl (sensory)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in the centre of a watermelon, an orange, or a lemon?

‘Into the Fruit Bowl’ is a fun, playful, explosion of fruit and colour, created by Immersive-Me.

Watch as fruits fall, dance, and drop around you, before splatting onto the top of the dome, enveloping you inside the fruit!

Running Time: 22 minutes

Mars

What happened to Mars? What happened to the water? Was there once life? Could there still be life… somewhere?

The awe-inspiring history of the planet unfolds to the space age and the dusty, cratered world we know today.

Join the armada of probes and rovers in the race to find liquid water and life. Finally, take a speculative look into the future – and the presence of humans on the planet.

Take your seat for a 4.5 billion year story.

Running Time: 25 minutes

One Step Beyond

One small step was just the beginning. Now, we take one step beyond – driven by curiosity, bound for Mars, and ready to write the boldest chapter in human exploration.

Experience the thrill of launch, the challenges of life in space, the cutting-edge technology of NASA’s Artemis program, and the search for life that could transform how we see our planet, our past, and our place in the cosmos – as we prepare for humanity’s biggest step yet: setting foot on Mars.

Running time: 25 mins

Rainbow Aurora (sensory)

Created by artist Simon Le Boggit, ‘Rainbow Aurora’ is a celebration of colour and sound. Feel yourself relax as you watch strips of light dancing around the dome, with sounds that follow their gentle movement. Take a break from the fast-paced nature of everyday life and enjoy the simplicity and beauty of this audio-visual experience.

This film was created as part of a co-production with pupils, parents/carers and teachers from Cann Bridge School and Woodlands School. Thanks to all for their help in bringing this experience to life.

Running Time: 22 minutes

S.E.T.I.

The prospect that we may not be alone in the universe is taken as a fact by the movies, writers and a great many scientists.

As yet, we have no hard evidence of another living thing outside Planet Earth.

S.E.T.I. – The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence explores all sides of this topic, from the planets we are finding around other stars, to the feasibility of travelling to these stars.

Will we make contact in our lifetimes?

Running Time: 25 minutes

The Great Solar System Adventure

Join showman extraordinaire “The Great Schiaparelli” as he takes the audience on a death-defying space-time adventure within his wondrous Observatorium.

From the sun-scorched surface of Mercury to the icy expanses of Pluto and beyond, prepare to be subjected to the myriad dangers and wonders of our Solar System, on a breathtaking tour that reveals just how precious our home planet really is.

Be warned though, the Observatorium isn’t just for show. It will transport the audience right to the heart of some of the deadliest locations in our slice of the heavens. It’s going to take some fancy flying to get everyone back in one piece!

Running Time: 25 minutes

We Are Aliens!

Earth. It’s now a small world. The human race is connected better and faster than ever before but what about elsewhere?

Could we one day be part of a galactic community sharing our knowledge and ideas?

Or is Earth the only planet with life?

‘We Are Aliens!’ takes you on an epic ride in the hunt for evidence of alien life.

Running Time: 25 minutes

We Are Astronomers

Do you know what an astronomer does? Today’s astronomer is not the lone observer of past centuries.

‘We Are Astronomers’ reveals the global collaboration, technology and dedication required to answer the unresolved questions of the Universe.

Running Time: 25 minutes

We Are Guardians

In a world out of balance, ‘We Are Guardians’ explores how ecosystems are intrinsically connected and, with the increasing use of Satellite Monitoring, examines the links between human activities and climate change.

Running Time: 25 minutes

We Are Stars

What are we made of? Where did it all come from?

Explore the secrets of our cosmic chemistry and our explosive origins. Connect life on Earth to the evolution of the Universe by following the formation of Hydrogen atoms to the synthesis of Carbon, and the molecules for life.

Narrated by Andy Serkis.

Running Time: 26 minutes

World 2 War

Standard length version World 2 War’ is an action packed fulldome documentary that combines cinematic battle scenes with informative overviews of the battlefield and historic reference from photos and videos.

World 2 War will put you right in the middle of World War II’s biggest battles.

Running Time: 29 minutes

Astronaut George

Join Astronaut George and blast off into space to find out what an astronaut needs when travelling through outer space. Follow him around our solar system and discover how different the planets are and why there is no place quite like Planet Earth.

Suitable for under 5s

Running Time: 15 minutes.

Biosphere

A day in the life of a year on the planet.

Stunning 360 computer animated visuals and amazing ambisonic audio combine for a relaxing immersive experience.

Running time: 9 minutes

Devonport: A Tide Of Memories

This 360 immersive experience invites you to explore the rich history of Devonport, focusing on three iconic landmarks: Market Hall and its Clock Tower, Devonport Column, and Devonport Guildhall. Using a blend of game development tools, 360 drone footage, immersive audio and traditional film techniques, the documentary chronicles Devonport’s formation, evolution, and the challenges it has faced over the years.

Key moments include its integration into Plymouth, the devastating impact of WWII, and ongoing regeneration efforts in the 21st century. Featuring contributions from students at City College Plymouth to musicians and filmmakers, the film is produced by Five29, merging innovative technology with compelling storytelling to offer an engaging look into Devonport’s past and future.

Running time: 19 minutes

Out Of The Toybox

Blocks, numbers, and letters tumble and fall from a huge open toybox!

An experience to encourage creativity.

Running time: 20 minutes

Terrific Travels (sensory)

Step into a storybook from the comfort of a beanbag.

Experience trainspotting in a wild forest, venture into the city with cars and planes, before heading to the stars. Finally, dive underneath the sea with submarines swirling around.

Running time: 17 minutes

Tim Peake's ISS Tour

Watch British ESA Astronaut Tim Peake take you on an immersive tour of the International Space Station from the comfort of the Market Hall dome.

Hear Tim explain what it is like to live and work in space whilst hurtling around the Earth at 17,150 miles per hour!

The project was supported by the UK Space Agency and ESA - European Space Agency with additional support from Explorer Dome, Centre for Life and the National Space Centre.

Running time: 9 minutes