Museum visitors are going to have a ball with sphere

Published on Friday 18 February 2011 11:10

A GIANT sphere that has made appearances at the Eurovision Song Contest, Disney World and a Coldplay concert is set to offer insights into the Earth as part of the newly revamped National Museum of Scotland.

GLOBE: Lyndsey Clark, interactive display manager at the museum, enjoys a preview. Picture: NEIL HANNA

The PufferSphere will form the centrepiece of the museum's new Restless Earth gallery, which will examine how our planet has changed, shifted and formed over millions of years.

The two-metre sphere will project images and videos from the inside out, offering visitors to the museum a 360 degree view.

Lyndsey Clark, interactive displays manager for National Museums Scotland, said: "The sphere will be a centrepiece of the Restless Earth gallery.

"The gallery looks at how the Earth is continually shifting under our feet, with powerful events deep below the Earth's crust creating volcanoes and earthquakes, throwing up mountains and pulling continents apart, and the sphere reflects this story.

"What we are trying to do is show our geology specimens and communicate what we can find out about how our planet works by looking at these rocks.

"It really makes our specimens come alive and it looks like a really realistic planet.

"One of the big messages of the gallery is the fact that the Earth is really dynamic and the sphere allows us to show that.It's mesmerising to watch."

The museum has worked in partnership with Edinburgh-based company Pufferfish, which makes the giant spheres.

Sales and marketing manager Ben Allan said: "The spheres are used quite regularly in the events industry, but the way that the museum will be employing it as a globe is one of the most natural ways to use it. Using state-of-the-art technology to convey messages is an interesting trend in what's going on in museums, but it needs to be accompanied by good content. The sphere will appeal to all age groups, everybody will be able to take something away from it."

The revamped museum, in Chambers Street, will fully reopen on July 29 and is expected to attract almost 200,000 extra visitors and 40 million to the Capital each year.

The redevelopment has included creating a new street-level entrance hall, two new restaurants, new shops and other public facilities.