The planetarium inside an inflatable igloo inside a castle

Yesterday we walked four miles east and a bit south of the city to the Blackrock Castle Observatory. There was a clear blue sky when we left, within 10 blocks there was a few minutes of sleet, then it was lovely enough to remove our coats, and by the time we arrived at the castle there were gale force gusts of wind. The walk took us through some of the more posh residential neighborhoods than we’ve seen thus far, as well as a couple of small villages/neighborhoods, and a stretch along the Lee River.

The base of the castle — the squarish part below the towers — was built in the late 16th century to intimidate pirates who were sailing upriver and wreaking havoc. Later, when England was at war with Spain and the fighting spilled over into Ireland, the towers were built, although the war ended without the fort ever being used in battle. It went through a number of uses in the ensuing centuries, primarily as a sort of country club for the wealthier citizens. There were a couple of fires that destroyed any of the furnishings and tapestries that we normally associate with castle life. By the end of the 20th century it was a restaurant and event center. In 2007, the Cork Institute of Technology had the winning proposal of what to do with the property, and along with the City of Cork turned it into the science center it is now.

This is not just a science museum for kids, but also a working observatory. While we were getting the tour, a young scientist worked his way through the crowd and into the lab that we were viewing through glass doors. They have a telescope, but the Irish climate does not allow for a lot of clear skies for viewing. So the scientists there focus on software development that they share with other observatories.

It isn’t as big as other kid-oriented science museums that I’ve seen, but the kids who were there were clearly enjoying themselves. In addition to the few exhibits, interactive and otherwise, there is the planetarium.

I’ve been to planetariums (planetaria?) in New York and San Francisco, and even the one in Chapel Hill is a sizable auditorium with the sort of show that evokes Ooohs and Ahhhs.

The planetarium at Blackrock Castle was nothing like those.

Inside a room in the castle stood a dome made out of fabric: the inflatable igloo. You enter through a rather, um, evocative slit between two inflated tubes, into a small chamber no bigger than a person, then through another slit. The room inside is maybe 15′-20′ in diameter; there were roughly 10 adults and 8 kids at our show. In the center is the planetarium apparatus; the audience sits on the floor in a single row around the edge of the circle. The presenter sits on the floor, too.

The show itself was very basic: what’s in the sky tonight, when is the best time of day or year to view various planets, a bit about some constellations. The presenter runs the show from a tablet, and she seemed to be fairly new to it as there were a few Ooopsies as she sped through months instead of hours, or couldn’t get the button to work to highlight Ursa Major.

But it was utterly charming. Unlike auditorium shows where everyone is suitably hushed, this was more of a conversation, with kids shouting out comments or questions, smaller ones squirming in their parents’ laps. It may not be Hayden planetarium, but it was a hit with the kids, and families were lined up for the next show.

We took the bus back into town, our first foray by (double decker!) bus. The castle is also the starting point for a greenway that extends several miles south along the river, so we will likely take the bus out there again at some point and enjoy the walk.