Stardome Wins New Zealand Museum Award

Last night Stardome Observatory and Planetarium and Locales won the Exhibition Excellence – Science and Technology category at the ServiceIQ 2017 New Zealand Museum Awards in recognition for the new displays installed at Stardome in October 2016.

The new displays provide the opportunity for enquiring minds to not only learn about humankind’s history of space exploration, but to keep their finger on the pulse of today’s space programmes.

History of Spacecraft looks back towards the earlier days of our journey into space. Toy bricks have been cleverly used to bring a variety of the most influential spacecraft to life in innovative, interactive ways – making this exhibition equally engaging for the youngest members of the family through to parents and guardians. Curious minds will be able to uncover just what made each specific spacecraft stand out.

Space Tracker provides the chance for people to keep up-to-date with today’s space programmes. A curated feed created by the Stardome team, incorporates content from across a variety of platforms meaning that visitors can engage not only with space programmes here on Earth, but with the International Space Station and NASA’s spacecraft across the Solar System and beyond.

Both installations connect audiences – youngsters and adults alike – with contemporary astronomical and technological advances.

Stardome CEO, David Houldsworth, is thrilled with the recognition from the ServiceIQ 2017 New Zealand Museum Awards.

“Over the last few years, we’ve recognised that we needed to offer more to our customers and find new ways to interact and engage with the public.

“These two new displays help visitors deeply connect with the wonders and mysteries of space in a fun, interactive and contemporary way. This is our first time entering the NZ Museum Awards and to win the Exhibition Excellence Award for Science and Technology is very special and a testament to the great work of Locales and the Stardome team.”

Locales is an experience design agency that specialises in the communication of culture, heritage and science.

Chris Hay, Creative Director of Locales says "Stardome is one of those rare environments that encourages a blend of play, discovery and science communication. So, the opportunity to create a futuristic device like 'The Space Tracker' and to design an installation out of over 20,000 toy bricks was a joy for our staff. Hard work, but a lot of fun as well.

“The recognition with the award is an acknowledgement of over a year of quite intense creative work, and also a great collaboration with Stardome staff and scientists to create a unique visitor experience."

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About Stardome
Stardome and its team have been sharing a love of space from its premises in Auckland’s One Tree Hill Domain since 1967.

A place of exploration, research and sharing of knowledge the Stardome 360-degree planetarium Night Sky shows take viewers into outer space to get a closer view of stars, planets and nebulae. Stardome night planetarium shows also include telescope viewings (weather permitting). School children across Auckland enjoy daytime visits for curriculum-based school trips. For further information about Stardome contact:

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