This Book Is a Planetarium: And Other Extraordinary Pop-Up Contraptions

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These shows are presented live by a Royal Observatory astronomer with several adaptations from our normal planetarium sessions, including: At some point in time, you feel sufficiently confident to scan your crappy-paper-form and make “dielines” which can be cut on a plotter. Refine, cut, glue, repeat. Planetarium features all aspects of space, from the Sun and our Solar System, to the lives of stars, the Milky Way and the Universe beyond. With stunning artwork from Chris Wormell and informative text by Professor Raman Prinja, Planetarium is the perfect gift for anyone with an interest in this fascinating field.' - World Book Day

As long as humans continue to have hands, we can continue to think with them. And we can be moved, surprised, and enlightened by what our hands tell us about how materials, actions, and behaviors are structured. Go on an amazing guided tour of the galaxy with this stunning big-format book, and explore the solar system, the Milky Way and the universe beyond.' - The Week Junior'https://cdn2.dropmarkusercontent.com/19290/37c369f2a1f89ad8afb8205ef48a0a89d2534df1/blinking-lights.mp4 This project was born out of the paper record player invitation I made a few years ago (more about the process of experiencing that realization in this podcast interview with Debbie Millman.) In this review we are going to take a closer look at a brand new pop-up book titled: This Book is a Planetarium. Yes, this pop-up book is a planetarium but it’s also so much more! Paper Engineer Kelli Anderson, who also created the pop-up This Book is a Camera in 2015, now takes the concept of pop-ups with real functionality to a whole new level. The result is a surprising and beautiful book with stylish pop-ups that all have different functions like a musical instrument with strings, a spiralgraph, a decoder ring, a perpetual calendar and a speaker that amplifies the sound of your smartphone. And last but not least, a beautiful pop-up planetarium that projects stars and constellations to the ceiling! “What can paper do?” The presenter will describe everything before it happens, giving plenty of time for you to prepare for any changes in light levels, imagery or sounds. When selecting a book by title alone, you may think that This Book is a Planetarium and Other Extraordinary Pop-Up Contraptions may be a generalization about the book’s contents. Perhaps the book is about planetariums, projecting stars, or constellations. However, in this case, the book folds out to become a rudimentary planetarium, powered by the light of a cell phone or other small flashlight.

A small number of ear defenders will be available to borrow for the duration of the show. You will be able to take a pair after you enter the planetarium. What a beautiful book! A brilliant book filled with beautiful pictures and fascinating facts about our universe. It steps through different parts of space as if you are walking through a museum, so you 'walk' through seven galleries including Looking at Space, The Solar System, The Sun, The Night Sky, The Stars, Galaxies and The Universe. This is an interesting book for adults and children alike, whether you have a specific interest in space or not. It would make a fantastic gift for an older child who is passionate about space or a brilliant addition to any classroom environment when learning about space through science or topic. Younger children would definitely enjoy looking at the pictures while older children could use it as part of their independent work/research.' - Lucy Newton, Reading Zone Explore the night sky as it will be on the day of your visit and learn about some astronomical sights you can spot for yourself in this classic show. F eaturing anything from constellations to meteor showers!

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This review originally appeared in the May 2018 issue of "Technical Communication", https://www.stc.org/techcomm/2018/05/.... Join us for The Sky Tonight, a live planetarium show presented by an astronomer from the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Starting just 100 kilometres above our planet, space stretches further than we can imagine, and only now are we starting to unravel some of its many mysteries. Planetarium is a truly stunning book that makes science exciting for all ages, blending art and fascinating descriptions to help communicate the wonder of the universe. Its mix of beautiful illustrations and inspiring science makes is a worth winner.' - Professor Sheila Rowan FRS - Chair of the 2019 adult judging panel for RS Book Prize

For someone who is accustomed to having their fingerprints all over every object they make, mass-production was extremely challenging. It took about 4 months to design and paper-engineer the book and then the publisher and I spent 2.5 years problem-solving with the printer. But we got it done! Both: Totally worth it and I’ll probably never do it again.Pop-up books begin life with the author ripping apart other people’s pop-up books as a form of love, homage, and study (many friends at The Moveable Book Society have confirmed this.) The first thing that catches your eye are the beautiful illustrations, they are quite simply stunning and will instantly entice readers of any age into the book. It's rather like being drawn into a magical world with colour, mystery and excitement. The reader's taken on a whistle stop tour of the universe and provided with concise descriptions of the planets within the solar system, as well as comets and meteors, from the Big Bang right through to the fate of our universe. This book is a worthwhile addition to any astronomer's library, ideal for leafing through on a cloudy evening to let the mind wander into the mysteries of our universe.' - Sky at Night If you've enjoyed Matthew Reinhart's A Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes and Robert Sabuda's Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs: The Definitive Pop-Up, then you'll love This Book is a Planetarium.

Mary Oliver provides these instructions for how to live a life, which resonated with me: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” At my desk, with a giant pile of “doesn’t-works,” I would eventually stumble upon something that kinda did. Often, I felt silently blown away by just-how-little it took to build something capable of performing some minor feat. I don’t know if other people will have this same reaction, but this is the best way I’ve found to share it. It’s a pretty fun book. Fans of adult pop-up books like Robert Sabuda's Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs: The Definitive Pop-Up, Matthew Reinhart's Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Guide to Hogwarts, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Interactive MinaLima edition What can paper do? That’s an interesting concept when you think about it. With pop-ups, it’s possible to create constructions that not only fit in a book but also use their shapes to amplify sound or mechanisms that make it possible to reveal hidden secrets like stars and encrypted messages. It’s all in this book! Kelli Anderson managed to design five solid pop-up spreads that really function as a speaker or instrument. Paper Engineering The book was designed to showcase the potential of the material world—while making a case for the inherent educational value of lo-fi experiences. Defying every expectation of what a book can be, this pop-up extravaganza transforms into six fully functional tools. Never has humble paper had such radical ambitions.This is why I’ve been remaking the function of tech with something that most people consider trash: paper. By stripping technology bare of its complication and interfaces, I want to make a place where people can contemplate the wonders of the physical realm. Artist Kelli Anderson contributes enlightening text alongside each pop-up, explaining the scientific principles at play in her constructions and creating an interactive experience that's as educational as it is extraordinary. Inspiring awe that lasts long after the initial pop, This Book Is a Planetarium leaves readers with a renewed appreciation for the way things work—and for the enduring magic of books.