Three days a week since July 17, commander Thomas Pasquier and his team of extraterrestrials take the curious in space thanks to a huge inflatable dome of 4.50 meters high which they install in different Mulhouse districts (hillsides, foundry, Drouot). This kind of giant hut, which belongs to the Strasbourg Garden of Sciences and which can accommodate up to 15 people, projects images for almost half an hour from specific software dedicated to the planetarium, digistar 7.
But before they can take off for a cosmic trip, visitors meet two charming extraterrestrials for an animation on the rockets, before meeting their commander, the very famous Thomas Pasquier. This is where Baptiste Kiemes, scientific mediator, comes into scene. Dressed in an aviator outfit, this training engineer by training directs the heart of the animation. In the planetarium, visitors can first observe the sky of Mulhouse and the position of the stars the same evening, before exploring the constellations, the planets of the solar system, the Milky Way and the Galaxies that surround us.
When the sun rises and the animation ends, the questions fuse. The space intrigues and fascinates young and old. At the exit of the planetarium, stars in their eyes, budding astronauts find their extraterrestrial friends for a take -off workshop, before creating their own constellation on a liège board. “It’s our guest book!” “Explains one of the animators.
Make science accessible and fun
Animate a mobile planetarium is learned. It was only after training provided by the Garden of Sciences in Strasbourg that Baptiste Kiemes was able to claim the title of Commander Thomas Pasquier. It must be said that you have to know how to do it, because the use of a mobile planetarium can be technical. “The inflatable structure itself and the equipment inside enter a car, so it is not too complicated in terms of transport, but we need suitable places,” explains the mediator.
Indeed, the itinerant planetarium must be installed in a room so as not to be damaged, preferably a quiet place and not too hot so that the animation is pleasant for all. Inside, the projector is managed from a tablet, musical animation from a phone, all, by commander Thomas Pasquier in person.
The goal of the planetarium is simple: to educate, entertain but also to dream. “The space has always fascinated. We still have a lot of children who are very awake on the spatial issue, ”adds the host. Proof of this craze, all the remaining dates display complete. For the disappointed, Baptiste Kiemes has a solution: “The sky and the stars are free and they are there every night. You have to think about enjoying it and above all never stop being surprised. »»
