It doesn’t look like much from the outside. A huge, black inflatable dome that’s 17 feet in diameter and 20 inches high, but what’s inside, is purely magical.
Putnam Museum’s Discovery Dome is an airlock dome that gives students an “out of this world” experience! The portable inflatable dome theater brings stars, planets, scientists, and much more to schools and is a vehicle for teaching Earth and space science.
Students literally feel like they’re traveling through space!
Washington Jr. High School science teacher Emilie Heald coordinated with the Putnam Museum to bring the dome to Washington.
All of Washington’s sciences class were able to participate. Heald who teaches 7th-grade science, say the dome’s curriculum perfectly fit into what her students are currently studying.
“It enhances their understanding of what’s happening on Mars,” said Heald.
The dome helped give her students a more immerse look at the geology of Mars.
This partnership was made possible through a grant, only offered to Rock Island schools.