Abstract
Effective science education and communication with the public are essential to foster understanding. Venues offering shared immersive experiences (SIE), such as digital planetarium domes, are a valuable platform for presenting complex scientific topics to the public; however, the limited use of engaging teaching methods in such environments can make conveying the message challenging. The addition of interactive elements may increase the level of engagement. In five design cycles, following Research through Design, we developed and assessed a custom learning experience conveying scientific uncertainties. The study in the dome environment involved 343 participants and included interaction with visuals on the dome using tracked off-the-shelf laser pointers. Our results show that the interaction significantly improved audience engagement compared to a standard live planetarium lecture, and we discuss design considerations for integrating interactive elements in SIE.
Keywords
Planetarium; Laser Pointers; Science Communication; Scientific Uncertainty
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.526
Citation
Stepanovi, J., Sermeus, J.,and Claes, S.(2025) Designing Interactivity for a Shared Immersive Experience of a Planetarium Dome, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.526
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 3 - Design, Art & Technology
Designing Interactivity for a Shared Immersive Experience of a Planetarium Dome
Effective science education and communication with the public are essential to foster understanding. Venues offering shared immersive experiences (SIE), such as digital planetarium domes, are a valuable platform for presenting complex scientific topics to the public; however, the limited use of engaging teaching methods in such environments can make conveying the message challenging. The addition of interactive elements may increase the level of engagement. In five design cycles, following Research through Design, we developed and assessed a custom learning experience conveying scientific uncertainties. The study in the dome environment involved 343 participants and included interaction with visuals on the dome using tracked off-the-shelf laser pointers. Our results show that the interaction significantly improved audience engagement compared to a standard live planetarium lecture, and we discuss design considerations for integrating interactive elements in SIE.