{"id":558123,"date":"2026-07-19T22:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T22:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/558123\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T22:52:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T22:52:17","slug":"mobile-planetarium-to-bring-the-stars-to-you-thanks-to-r1-3m-donation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/558123\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile planetarium to bring the stars to you thanks to R1.3m donation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/iziko_planetarium_dome.jpeg\" alt=\"A travelling planetarium backed by a R1.3 million donation will bring immersive space science and VR experiences to rural schoolchildren across South Africa.\" height=\"905\" width=\"1080\"\/><\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n                    A travelling planetarium backed by a R1.3 million donation will bring immersive space science and VR experiences to rural schoolchildren across South Africa.&#13;\n                <\/p>\n<p>            A travelling planetarium backed by a R1.3 million donation will bring immersive space science and VR experiences to rural schoolchildren across South Africa.The Iziko Mobile Planetarium features an inflatable dome with 360-degree digital storytelling and 10 VR headsets, delivering astronomy shows aligned with school curricula.The programme kicks off with pilot testing and aims to reach thousands of pupils annually, with a focus on African indigenous astronomy and STEM inspiration.<\/p>\n<p>Rural schoolchildren who have never looked through a telescope will soon have a planetarium that can roll up to their homes, with no trip to the city required.<\/p>\n<p>The Iziko Mobile Planetarium, backed by a R1.3 million donation from Amazon, is bringing the universe to underserved communities across South Africa. <\/p>\n<p>The travelling facility includes an advanced inflatable dome, a specialised transport vehicle, and 10 desk-mounted virtual reality headsets.<\/p>\n<p>According to acting Iziko Museums CEO Bongani Ndhlovu, the unit \u201cacts as an immersive gateway to the stars,\u201d offering remote-area pupils \u201can unforgettable glimpse into our universe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Inside the dome, pupils will experience 360-degree digital storytelling, while the VR headsets let them interactively explore night skies and natural ecosystems. <\/p>\n<p>The mobile unit will travel directly to schools and libraries in rural and farming towns nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>The programme also highlights African indigenous astronomy, with all shows and activities aligned to school subjects to boost science literacy and spark interest in STEM careers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur mission has always been to make heritage and science accessible to all,\u201d said Ndhlovu.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/planetarium_special_screening_20feb26_06.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A travelling planetarium backed by a R1.3 million donation will bring immersive space science and VR experiences to rural schoolchildren across South Africa.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/planetarium_special_screening_20feb26_03.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A travelling planetarium backed by a R1.3 million donation will bring immersive space science and VR experiences to rural schoolchildren across South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Amazon\u2019s chief global affairs and legal officer, David Zapolsky, said the company backed the initiative to make sure curiosity was already ignited when connectivity reached the target communities. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are the communities we\u2019re building this network for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The programme begins with pilot testing before launching a nationwide outreach tour, expanding each year to reach thousands more pupils.<\/p>\n<p>If you have a good story to tell, email <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news24.com\/news24\/mailto:feelgood@news24.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">feelgood@news24.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#13; A travelling planetarium backed by a R1.3 million donation will bring immersive space science and VR experiences&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[4099,61,60,82,247],"class_list":["post-558123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-good-news","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}