# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read The dome builders handbook by Z-Waver on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read The dome builders handbook by Z-Waver on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

# data[].attributes.body
Find the best virtual realiy, augmented reality and mixed reality news, films, reviews 

# data[].attributes.body
4 K Ultra HD led-schermen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
examples of Lightmagic edge blending software project_examples of dome projection_examples of multi projector

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LightMagic edge blending software can blending any shape of projection including dome projection,immersive projection,curved surface projection, spherical projection and mapping.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We are experts in fulldome digital projection since 2010. Over 300 Projection Domes installed, and over 1 300 000 people worldwide have shared our immersive experiences.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We've got our hands on the new version of Immersive Display Desktop from Fly Elise-ng which supports full desktop blending under Windows 7/8/10. I'll say this, it's impressive, and works great. Only took us a few minutes to get the Windows desktop stretched across 2 projectors and running some full screen DirectX visualizations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
De beste projectieschermen en beamers voor de beste prijzen. Direct uit voorraad geleverd in 24 uur. Een projectiescherm of beamer voor iedere omgeving.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Video Dome Structure has NO screen obstructions for a powerful and immersive large screen experience. Inflatable structures have quick setup-you can have projection video up and running in moments.

Show Dome Projection with Full-Dome Video for Complete Audience Immersion in the 360 Video Projection Screen-amazing inflatable structures

Your Video Dome Projections can be made with any video or picture format with the AH Sirius Media Servers. We can convert and augment your video and transform it into a video dome extravaganza that will look as if it is made for the video air structure.

Live & Prerecorded Video Projection on the fly for instant custom full dome video projection and audience participation. Guest are delighted to see themselves 30 meters tall on the large screen video projection inside the inflatable structures.

Complete Air Dome Portability for Setup Anywhere on the Planet.

100% High Traffic Touring Show Ready for Maximum Wow Factor on Road Tours. Take your event to where your clients are and maximize client impressions and lifestyle branding

Television News Coverage when desired for your show dome event. The large screen of the video dome is a proven draw for the media and they love to cover our dome events from the time of the air dome inflation to the end of the event.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Video Dome Immersive Projection 360 Video Dome Screen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Video Dome Structure has NO screen obstructions for a powerful and immersive large screen experience. Inflatable structures have quick setup-you can have projection video up and running in moments. Show Dome Projection with Full-Dome Video for Complete Audience Immersion in the 360 Video Projection Screen-amazing inflatable structures Your Video Dome Projections can be made with any video or picture format with the AH Sirius Media Servers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
VSS Domes are used by the Australian Defence Force, UK Ministry of Defence, US National Guard and other organizations around the world. The VSS modular dome system leads curved projection display systems in both efficiency and affordability. With its state-of-the-art modular design, the VSS dome screen can service virtually any panoramic display requirement in any configuration, from trade shows to multi-million dollar simulators.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This is an awesome dome projection system that we built for a camping/arts festival. A single projector can shine an image across the entire dome by bouncing off of a spherical mirror. The surface of the dome is translucent, so the images can be viewed from either inside or outside.

The spherical mirror dome projection scheme was pioneered by Paul Bourke, who has posted lots of information about how to do it.

The dome structure is a PVC dome using hub connectors from SonoStar Hubs. Many domes have coverings on the outside, draped over the structure, however we wanted to have the inside form a screen, so we created a covering that hangs on the inside instead.
Animation in main image is by Automatagraphics and Featherfurl

Step 1: Materials & Tools

Dome
2v Geodesic Dome hub kit $220 (predrilled, comes with nuts and bolts)

1/2" Schedule 40 PVC pipe 33 x 10 ft. @ $1.67 = $55
Covering
6 mil plastic sheeting 10 ft. x 100 ft. $60

Heavy Duty Shipping Tape 6 rolls @ $11/3 = $22

Vinyl flooring for templates ~ $20.

Tarp clips 30 @ $1 = $30

48" Bungees 5 @ $2.67 = $14

36" Bungees 10 @ $2.32 = $24

24" Bungees 10 @ $2 = $20

3/4" Elastic strapping 36 yd $32

3/4" Triglide slides 50 $11
Projection
26" diameter Half Dome mirror $38

Short Throw Projector $900 (a cheaper projector would probably work fine. See Paul Bourke's advice about selecting a projector)

Projector Mount $31

Plastic Shelving for platform
Flooring (Optional)
20 ft x 20 ft Heavy Duty Tarp $53

Foam tiles 69 tiles 2 ft. x 2 ft. @ $1.19 = $330
Screen Windows & Doors (Optional)
Screen Mesh 72 in x 25 ft $55
Tools
Chop saw for cutting PVC

Long rulers

Cutting mat

Scissors

Drill/screwdriver 5/8" bit

Jar Openers

Share

Recommendations

Paper Contest

Faux-Real Contest

Build a Tool Contest

Step 2: Calculate the Dome Size

You need to figure out how big a dome you want to make. Useful calculators:

A 2v dome has two different strut lengths. We wanted to have a fairly large dome, and to minimize the number of cuts we'd have to make in the PVC pipes, so we chose our longer strut length to be 5 ft, exactly half of one of the 10 ft pipes. The SonoStar hubs add 2.28 inches to the strut length, so that results in the following sizes:

Dome Radius: 100.75 in = 8.4 ft

Strut Length A: 60 in = 5.0 ft

Strut Length B: 52.78 in = 4.4 ft

Many other sizes are possible. Another one that tempted us was to make Strut Length A + Strut Length B = 10 ft, so we'd only have to make one cut per pipe, which would have created a 108 in radius dome. This size worked a little better with our covering plan.

I've attached spreadsheets showing various calculations.

Attachments

Step 3: Cut the PVC

You're going to be making a lot of cuts, so I strongly suggest using using a chop saw. It'll make each cut in seconds (you'll spend more time lining up the cuts than cutting). We used clamps on either side of the blade to hold the pipes in place while we cut.

The lengths should be close, but they don't have to be super-precise. There's enough flex in the pipes to make up for a fraction of an inch of size differences. Also, 10 ft PVC pipes from a hardware store are probably not exactly 10 ft, so unless you want to make extra cuts, there will be a little variation anyway.

You can mark the two different lengths with different colors of tape or markers, but because a 2v dome only has two strut lengths, it's not too hard to keep them straight. We only tried to put a long in where a short belonged once while assembling our dome!

It's probably worth making a few extras of each length, just in case.

Step 4: Make a Model

It is helpful to make a model to understand how the coverings fit together. If you print two copies of the 6+6 PDF and one copy of the 5+6 PDF, you'll have all of the parts you need to make a paper model.

Cut out the outlines of the shapes. The hexagonal shape from the 5+6 page has some labels and colors to help you identify which lines are which. You'll want to lightly crease along the solid lines radiating from the center, and make folds along the dotted lines. For all of the edges except the free edge, tape them down. These will be the sleeves that hold the PVC struts around the outside of the sheet. Repeat this for the other sheets. Because I was lazy and reflected the hexagons on the 6+6 sheets instead of rotating them, two of the dotted line foldovers will be in the wrong direction. This doesn't really matter. Don't fold over any of the edges of the pentagon. This will be the roof of the dome.

Assemble the dome by starting with the top pentagon. Tape an edge of the pentagon to the at the Top edge or one of the hexagons. Add another hexagon and overlap the free edge of the first hexagon on the other side and tape it down. Work your way around the circle.

You'll notice a few things: at each joint, one edge is folded over, and the other is loose and layered on top. This is so if it rains, the water will mostly stay outside the dome. Also, the gaps that you folded over on the bottom edge are a little too long. They can safely be trimmed.

Attachments

Step 5: Covering Template: Measure Once, Cut Twice

For the first covering we tested, we measured everything out with rulers. It turned out to be a huge time sink. So we made templates to make measuring easy. Our local Home Depot had small pieces of vinyl flooring for cheap (something like 8x8 ft for $20). It was ideal for the templates. It's stiff enough to provide a good edge, but rolls up easily and likes to lie flat. There are four shapes to cut:

1. AAA Equilateral Triangle: 62.26 in on all sides

2. ABB Isoceles Triangle: 62.26 in on one side, 55.06 in on the other two

3. Edge Flap A Rectangle: 6 in x 57.58 in

4. Edge Flap B Rectangle: 6 in x 50.38 in

Step 6: Cut the Covering

The dome covering is made of plastic sheeting. We chose 6 mil sheeting. For past projects we've used lighter weights, but we wanted something a little more durable for this one. It's available in 10 ft x 100 ft rolls. One of those is more than enough to cover a dome of the size we made.

For the dome covering, there will be five hexagonal-ish side sheets and one pentagonal-ish top sheet. The side sheets consist of four ABB triangles and two AAA triangles. The top sheet consists of five ABB triangles. Because the sheets will not be flat, those shapes don't tile together perfectly on a flat surface. There will be a gap. In order to not cut the sheet in the middle of a side, we dealt with the gap by folding it over. There will be more detail about that in the later steps.

You'll need a large, flat area to cut the covering. About 12 ft x 12 ft is the absolute minimum. Use the templates to measure out a sheet.

You should trace in at least two colors, so you can keep track of which side is which. We used blue for the A side (long) and red for the B side (short).We found this process worked well:

1. Cut a 10ft x 11ft length of sheeting off of the roll and lay it out flat

2. Line up 6 inch rectangle A with the 11ft edge of sheet near the middle

3. Line up AAA triangle with rectangle. The center of an edge of the triangle should line up with the center of the rectangle

4. Line up ABB triangle with AAA triangle

5. Line up 6 inch rectangle B with ABB triangle

6. Make sure all parts are on the sheet with a minimal amount of extra

7. Trace out all edges of the rectangles

8. Trace out the outer edge of the triangle and a small mark at on each side of the center point, for alignment

9. Trace the entire edge of the AAA triangle that doesn't touch the ABB triangle. This will be one side of the gap.

10. Move the ABB triangle and B rectangle

11. Trace

12. Move the AAA triangle and A rectangle

13. Trace. Note that part of the A rectangle will be off of the sheet. That's fine.

14. Move the ABB triangle and B rectangle

15. Trace

16. Move the ABB triangle and B rectangle

17. Trace. Trace the entire A edge of the last ABB triangle. This will be the other side of the gap.

You should end up with a hexagonal-ish pattern with a gap between one of the AAA triangles and the A side of an ABB triangle.

Step 7: Tape the Outer Parts of the Sheet

If you built the model, this should be familiar. You'll want to fold the gap cloth out. The easiest way to do this is:

1. Lay the sheet flat so that the inside is up. We chose to use the side that we didn't write on as the inside.

2. Find the two gap lines and line them up.

3. Tape along the lines. Start from the center and run one long piece of tape to the outside edge, centered on the lines.

Next flip the sheet over and start working on the outside edges. For every edge except the free edge do this:

1. Mark along the edge, 1 inch from the triangle. This creates a little extra fabric in the sleeve to make the sheets not quite as tight and give the poles a little space. It's possible to skip this, but it turns out to be very difficult to assemble the dome without this ease.

2. Reinforce the corners of the edge. Put about 8 inches of tape along the short edge of the rectangle and cross it with a few inches from the corner along the edge of the triangle. Repeat on the other side of the sheet. This will help prevent the cover from tearing at the places where it's stressed.

3. Fold the edge over so the 1 inch marks you made line up with the edge of the triangle.

4. Tape the edge in place. One long strip along the whole edge should do it.T

For the free edge, reinforce the corner with tape and also the entire outside edge. We'll attach tarp clips to this edge, and it will tend to tear if it's not reinforced.

Finally, take the gap fabric and fold it over towards the bottom of the dome. Tape it down and trim the excess.

Step 8: Add Sleeves to the Middle of the Sheets

Because the sheets will hang on the inside of the dome, they tend to droop a bit. Wrinkles on the projection surface don't look good. We solved this problem by making sleeves similar to what you see around flexible tent poles in modern tents. It's handy to mark one of the PVC struts 6 inches from the end.

1. Cut a 6 in x 3 ft piece of sheeting

2. Mark off 1 in from each side

3. Fold in half so the marks line up

4. Fold open so that 1 in is exposed on each side

5. Tape along the fold

6. Thread a PVC strut through the sleeve

7. Place the strut at one of the center marks you made when tracing the cover and the corresponding corner.

8. Adjust the sleeve so the center of the tape is under the pole and the end of the sleeve is 6 in from the center

9. Roll the strut to one side and tape down the other edge of the sleeve

10. Roll the strut to the opposite side and tape down the remaining edge of the sleeve

You'll need six sleeves on each of the side hexagons and five on the top pentagon.

Step 9: Assemble the Dome

Dome assembly works by taking each cover sheet, putting a hub of the appropriate shape in the middle and sliding struts through the sleeves to the hub.

You can pre-drill holes for the bolts, but in order to get the angles right, you'll need to assemble the dome before doing that, then take it all apart, and finally put it back together with the covering on. We found it easier to just drill it as we were constructing the dome. Because you'll want to drill through the struts once they're in place, you'll need to insert the last two without their sleeves, drill them, remove them, and finally insert them through the sleeves.

The PVC struts tend to be pretty snug in the hubs, so to insert and remove them takes some twisting. We found that soaking the hub in soapy water and dipping the ends of the struts made it much easier. When removing, a spray bottle full of soapy water also came in handy. It's very useful to be able to get a good grip on the struts. We used rubber jar openers and "Gorilla Grip" gloves, which worked well.

The assembly plan that worked well for us was:

1. Assemble the hub and 5 short spokes of the roof, but don't attach the 5 long edges

2. Build the ring that sits on the ground (with the coverings attached to every other bottom strut)

3. Build the 5 bottom (long/long/long) triangles of the hexagons with the coverings attached

4. Prop up each of these triangles with a pole from the inside of the dome to the center of the hub

5. Build the 5 upper (long/long/long) triangles of the hexagons with the coverings attached. These 5 join up at their top hubs. Once those are connected, the structure is moderately stable.

6. Connect the roof

7. Build out the pentagons around the sides

This will require some tall people to help wrangle the top. Luckily, we had some tall people lying around.

Step 10: Cinch Down the Cover

You should now have a freestanding covered dome with five loose flaps hanging down from the roof and five more where the panels join. There may be pretty big gaps where the free edges are.

Attach three tarp clips to each loose edge, one in the center and one on each corner. Use bungees or elastic to connect them to the appropriate hubs. We found that a good pattern was:

Top of free edge to top of adjacent panel: 48" bungee

Center of free edge to 6-hub of adjacent panel: Elastic

Bottom of free edge to adjacent floor 4-hub: Elastic

Center of top edge to 6-hub beneath it: Elastic

Corner of top edge to 5-hub beneath it: 36" bungee

After cinching down the dome, the gaps should be covered by the flaps and the dome should be very close to its proper alignment. We found that the covers were pretty taut (they make a drumlike sound when you tap them) and that they shed rain pretty well.

Water can definitely enter the dome at the five corners of the roof, and at the tops of all of the doorways, so you'll probably want a 20 ft x 20 ft tarp to cover the whole thing if it rains.

Step 11: Flooring

We decided to put down a 20 ft x 20 ft tarp as the base for the ground cover. On top of that, we used foam tiles that fit together securely. The tiles are advertised as 2 ft x 2 ft, but because of the jigsaw pattern they're actually slightly smaller, so a 16 ft diameter dome doesn't quite fit on an 8 tile x 8 tile square. 69 tiles should be sufficient. When it threatened to get really rainy we decided to use only tiles that fit inside the dome, which only took 32 tiles.

Step 12: Set Up the Projector

The mirror needs to be slightly inside the dome to shine on the whole thing. We built a platform out of some plastic shelves that we had around. It was nice to be able to screw the reflector and the projector mounts to rigid objects that were still moveable.

The reflector that we used has three screw holes: one in the middle and one on each side. This made it easy to align the projector horizontally by projecting a centered line (L mode in the Dome Lib software we wrote). We could then center the projection on the top of the dome ceiling by projecting a polar grid (G mode in the software).

Focusing was slightly tricky. We had a short throw projector, but even so we were all the way at one end of the focus range.

Step 13: Choosing Content

Discussion of software to distort images.
Github Processing code
Hit up GIF artists for content.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Projection Dome: This is an awesome dome projection system that we built for a camping/arts festival. A single projector can shine an image across the entire dome by bouncing off of a spherical mirror. The surface of the dome is translucent, so the images can be v...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
igloo vision shared vr 360° projection domes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Igloo Vision | Shared VR 360° Projection Domes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We design, develop and deliver immersive 360° projection domes, cylinders, and all of the enabling technologies for almost any type of shared VR application.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
OpenDome Immersive Screens | VR Projection Domes| The Elumenati

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
OpenDomes are available in multiple configurations to suit your project's needs and are the most effective immersive projection system available.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dean's Geodesic Dome and N-gon Pyramid Maker by M_G

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As part of on-going collaboration with the Crawford School of Art and Design in the area of 3D printing we are producing parts to be used by, Dean O'Connor, a final year student in his work. Some pictures of the installed piece are included here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Digital signage integrators are always looking and reviewing different solutions so they can then offer something "different" to their clients. Some are now looking at rear protection solutions for indoor digital signage.

Using a projector on to a screen is not new, however this technology has quickly advanced and is now a real alternative to an indoor video wall, perfect for locations where the solution has to be torn down after a few days and moved to another site.

With one solution provider they have created a fantastic product that is very flexible, it offers great colour saturation and provides images that are of a high quality and clarity with the anti glare finish.

It is also compatible with LCD, DLP and LCOS and other types of projectors.

One main advantage against a convential video wall is the cost as this solution is around 30% of the deployment cost of a video wall, another advantage is that this solution can be made any length, to many 10's of metres. They even offer 1 screen with multi touch facility and another solution that is 3D.
Advantages
High contract and vivid colour

Works well in bright areas

Presenters are not blinded by the projector

We at LCD Enclosure Global are sure we will be seeing this technology used for indoor digital signage in the very near future, it will work perfectly for exhibitions and shopping malls.

LCD Enclosure Global - anything else is a compromise.
Specialist in outdoor digital signage protection.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rear Projector Screens For Digital Signage

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Digital signage integrators are always looking and reviewing different solutions so they can then offer something "different" to their clients. Some are now looking at rear protection solutions for indoor digital signage.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LightMagic edge blending software can blending any shape projection including dome projection,immersive projection,curved surface projection, spherical projection and mapping.

# data[].attributes.body
Voor techneuten: Paul Bourke

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Paul Bourke - Personal and professional information

# data[].attributes.body
Take a Trip Inside Coachella's Psychedelic 120-Foot VR Dome | WIRED

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This year at Coachella the biggest spectacle wasn't Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, or even Lady Gaga. It wasn't Selena Gomez and the Weeknd's PDA, either. Instead, it was a massive dome where attendees could see giant neon caterpillars, alien landings, and geometric shapes pulsing through the cosmos-no hallucinogens required.

Chrysalis, as the show in the dome is called, is a virtual reality trip very different from the goggle-enabled VR most folks are familiar with. Instead of crushing their flower crowns with a headset, Coachella attendees watched the eight-minute show projected onto the ceiling of a 60-foot high rotunda. All they had to do was lean back and look up.

The experience is the work of Obscura Digital, a San Francisco-based studio that spent three months developing Chrysalis. The result of their efforts is a steel and vinyl dome outfitted with 108 speakers, 15 projectors, and 500 seats that immerses viewers in a classic psychedelic story: the metamorphosis of a caterpillar. "When you sit back inside this giant dome, it's a chrysalis cocoon that transforms the experience of being at a festival to a realm within realms," says Emmett Feldman, art director at Obscura.

Although Obscura had done large-scale visual projects before-the company created an immersive 360-degree sphere in Dubai and built a dome for NASA honoring the Space Shuttle Program, for example-the Coachella job was something entirely new, and required two teams working in tandem to complete: a creative team, which worked on the video aspects, and a tech team that developed the dome itself. While the creative folks worked on CGI and went to Joshua Tree to capture long-exposure footage of the desert, the tech group developed the tools to project it-practicing with a 30-foot test dome in the San Francisco office while a sister company, Pacific Domes, built the big version in Ashland, Oregon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN7swvppiWE&feature=youtu.be

Usually when the Obscura team does VR inside a dome, they use at most two projectors, creating fades for the region in the center where their images meet. But the giant Chrysalis dome required 15 projectors to cover its entire surface, and with that many running simultaneously up to four of them could overlap in some areas. Aligning the video manually would've taken too much time, so the Obscura team created an automatic system: After each eight-minute showing, a camera in the center of the dome calibrates the feeds, adjusting the sequences to each projector as needed to create the blends. Using a camera to automatically calibrate means they can adjust based on minute changes to the shape of the dome. That's especially important in the Southern California desert, where a 30-degree range in temperature from day to night can cause the dome's vinyl material to contract and shift.

We wanted to really give the audience something beyond their expectations of what the festival would be about.

Obscura creative director Joshua Pipic

Once all the creative and technical issues were worked out, Obscura shipped the whole thing to Indio, California, where its caterpillar metamorphosis played for more than 60,000 people. Now that the music fest is over, the physical dome will stay with the Coachella team, who plan to bring it to the Panorama Music Festival in New York City this July. No matter where audiences see it, though, the Obscura team hopes Chrysalis introduces them to the psychedelic possibilities of VR.

"We wanted to really give the audience something beyond their expectations of what the festival would be about," says Obscura's creative director Joshua Pipic. "They can go back to their tent, let it soak in, and look at the scale of things, from the subatomic level to the expansion of the universe. It's really mind-expanding."

A consciousness-altering, transformative after-hours trip? Let's see Lady Gaga do that.

__Correction __ at 2:59 p.m. on 4/25/2017: Due to a mathematical error, the article originally stated the the dome was 120 feet high; it was actually 60 feet high, with a 120-foot diameter. Additionally, the article included an erroneous estimate of the dome's attendance and the number of speakers involved; those numbers have been amended after receiving updated information.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Take a Trip Inside Coachella's Psychedelic 120-Foot VR Dome

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This year at Coachella the biggest spectacle wasn't Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, or even Lady Gaga. It wasn't Selena Gomez and the Weeknd's PDA, either. Instead, it was a massive dome where attendees could see giant neon caterpillars, alien landings, and geometric shapes pulsing through the cosmos-no hallucinogens required.

# data[].attributes.body
Geodesic Dome Kits and Geodesic Dome Connectors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Geodesic Dome Kits and Geodesic Dome Connectors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Build a geodesic dome with our geodesic dome kits. Sonostar offers geodesic dome connectors designed for PVC and fit 1/2" 1" and 1.5" PVC struts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our company specializes in two main areas: free form buildings and dome shaped buildings. We provide wide range of services - from designing to manufacturing and assemblying works. Our projects range is from small greenhouse type domes to stadium bearing structures.

# data[].attributes.body
FAQ: Spherical mirror projection for hemispherical dome projection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
FAQ: Spherical mirror projection for hemispherical dome projection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The following is an attempt to answer common questions people have when planning to implement wide field of view projection using a spherical mirror, generally for hemispherical domes. This technique is variously known as "mirrordome' or "Sphemir". If you have anything to add to this FAQ, or if you have a question not covered please email them to me.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Projection Calculator Classic - Throw Distance and Screen Size

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find screen size and throw distance for all projectors.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There are few geodesic decorations for the holidays, other than a very popular geodesic gingerbread house last year. I started thinking up of different ideas, except I wanted to go different and outside. It was also a way to use all those holiday lights I collected at yard sales throughout the summer.

I built a 4-foot (120 cm) diameter 3v 5/9 dome so I could easily go through standard doorways. The model was built with 1/2 inch EMT conduit. On top of it 5 "petal" sections were hinged so that they could open and close. Once all put together, a regular tarp fabric was put over the dome and I used a hot glue gun to affix the lights. For the petals I had some light curtains I found (12 inches wide X 6 feet long, or 30cm wide X 180cm long) and held in place with plastic tie-wraps (zip ties).

To hold the petals at a specific height I ran a thin wire around all tips of the petals. This spreads the tension across all petals, keeping them at the same height. To adjust the height I simply wrapped the wire a few extra turns at each tip around the tip (if you look closely you will see that I left the bolts sticking out).

The goal is to build a 30-foot version of the snowflake dome and use some winch with airplane cable to extend and retract the petals. The green effect was created using a regular green spotlight under the structure.

If anyone has suggestions for improvements, please feel free to do so! We'd love to have a showcase page for holiday decorations based on geodesics.

Take an interactive excursion through total darkness at the Tactile Dome, which reopens on Wednesday, October 30, 2013, at our new home at Pier 15. Crawl, slide, and bump your way through the pitch-dark Dome using your sense of touch as your only guide through its chambers and mazes.

Originally created in 1971, the Dome was designed and built by August Coppola (father of actor Nicolas Cage and brother of film director Francis Ford Coppola) and was rebuilt for Pier 15. Reservations are required.The Tactile Dome, a geodesic experience designed and built as a cooperative effort by TaffGoch, Gerry Toomey, and Dome Inc., announces its Grand Opening on October 30, 2013. This is a bold and interactive experience, and is the feature exhibit in the new $375 million dollarExploratorium Museum on Pier 15, San Francisco.

Tactile or sense of touch is enhanced by this three story experience of hundreds of different textures, from diamond plate and sandpaper, to polycarbonate, a bed of nails and foam. There is even a slide to take you from one floor to the next. The tour takes the better part of an hour, and the most amazing feature of the exhibit is it takes place completely in the dark! The guests must feel their way through the exhibit in total darkness.

The dome required a specific diameter for the display, but the steel beam rafters on the pier required the dome be oblate, or squished to fit. This is a 4 frequency, 7/12, 33′ diameter, oblate geodesic dome built to Kruschke standards.

Reservations*

To make a reservation, please call (415) 528-4444 (select option 5), or make a reservation on site. Please note: Advance reservations are strongly recommended due to limited capacity and high demand. Tickets are nonrefundable and nontransferable to another person, date, or time.

For opening, please note that the reservations phone line opens October 22.

Hours

Dome sessions are at 10:15 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 4:45 p.m. on days when the museum is open. The Dome is also operated on a drop-in basis during adult-only After Dark events; tickets for these events are sold on site only on a first-come, first-served basis.

Each excursion lasts about an hour. During that time, you're guaranteed one trip through the Dome. If time and operations allow, we're happy to offer a second turn.

Cost

In addition to the cost of admission, Tactile Dome visits are $12 for members; $15 for nonmembers.

*Please Note!

Due to the nature of this experience, certain restrictions apply. Children must be at least seven years old to participate. Guests who are afraid of the dark; claustrophobic; or have back, neck, or knee injuries should not participate. Guests wearing casts are prohibited, and women in their third trimester of pregnancy should not participate. The Dome is an active experience; please wear comfortable clothes.

Tactile Dome: Original 1971 Press Release

The Tactile Dome is an interactive experience through total darkness. It was created in 1971 and is still a popular stop for people visiting the Exploratorium. We thought you might like to read the original press release, which provides a peek into the Tactile Dome's history.
An internal sculpture exhibit which people will feel but never see goes on exhibit September 9, 1971 at the Exploratorium in San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts.

The exhibit, called the Tactile Dome, is encased in a geodesic dome about the size of a large weather balloon. Visitors enter through a light-lock room into a totally dark maze (path). Then, for an hour and fifteen minutes, they feel, bump, slide and crawl through and past hundreds of materials and shapes which blend, change and contrast.

The purpose is to disorient the sensory world so that the only sense the visitor can rely on is touch. The sensation is so outside ordinary experience that a few people panic. An attendant in a control panel can reach every part of the ant-hill like maze almost instantly.

Pre-opening visitors have compared the experience to being born again, turning yourself inside out head first, being swallowed by a whale, and inevitably, being enfolded in a giant womb.

Seemingly the tactile equivalent of a light show, the tour is actually a carefully planned and structured succession of shapes, temperatures and textures which require the full range of the touch sense to perceive.

The idea is to make people aware of what a complex. sensitive and under used sense touch is, and to train them to use the astonishing range of its perceptions, which include detection of pressure, pain, temperature and kinesthesia, as well as cutaneous, internal body and muscle awareness.

Dr. August F. Coppola, whose brainchild the exhibit is, became interested in perceptual prejudice while directing interdisciplinary studies as head of California State College's Honors Program. He gradually came to realize that philosophy, physics and even psychology have always relied overwhelmingly on visual evidence to interpret the world.

"Yet the irony is that touch is still the test of reality," said Coppola. It's the tangible, the concrete, what you can put your finger on when your feet are on the ground.

Coppola believes people are actually prejudiced against the touch sense. "It's development gets off to a bad start," he said, "for as soon as we've stopped chewing our toes, the first commandment in life is given: "Don't touch". The Exploratorium is one of the few museums in the world where visitors are encouraged to touch and even manipulate the exhibits."

One result of the touch taboo, Coppola believes, is that people become leery of physical contact with each other and the environment and that this leads to a sense of isolation and loneliness. As evidence of our overly-visual values, Coppola points to the overemphasis on fashionable clothes and the benefits of tourism. "This route leads to passive, non-participatory activities like TV watching" he said. Coppola and Carl Day, co-developer of the Tactile Dome, and gallery director at California State College in Long Beach, are leaders in an art revolution which uses people as participants in art experience rather than as targets at which to hurl artistic messages. They believe the revolution, if successful, will greatly affect not only art, advertising and industrial design but even life styles and basic beliefs.

Both claim that improving your haptic powers also increases your visual skills.

Pier 15, San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 528-4444

Once again UStream is providing multiple webcasts from Burning Man 2013. You can watch recorded segments or stream it live.

Burning Man 2013 is being held from August 26th to September 2nd. Click here to visit the official Burning Man website.

Don't know what Burning Man is? Read this page: http://www.domerama.com/general/what-is-burning-man/

If you want to view the webcasts, click here.

We just added a new exciting plan to the growing list of greenhouse plans collection. It's a Pentakis design (so not actually geodesic) and you can see how similar it seems to a true geodesic design in the above image.

These new Pentakis dome plans are available in metric and imperial measurements for diameters from 3-4.5 meters (10ft - 15ft).
Click here to see the list of greenhouse plans.

Domerama offers you DIY solutions for metal and timber geodesic domes. Here we'll present a brief overview.

Timber advantages over metal frame geodesic domes

The advantage of a geodesic timber dome is how easily it can be covered, rather inexpensively, and quickly. On the other hand, a geodesic dome made of a metal conduit/pipe is a challenge to cover and often an expensive proposition.

When using wood/timber as the primary material, you can use transparent or translucent polyethylene plastic film, staple it directly on the structure, cover the staples with some silicone and then add a strip of wood for added protection and appearance.

And the best part is that you do not need to do much measuring because most parts are triangle shapes repeated with the use of a jig to ensure precision.

For a more professional appearance

You can cut triangular shapes from hard plastics such as polycarbonate sheets, glass or even acrylic. In the plans we offer almost all only require 2 or 3 varied shapes, making the cutting of the panels a simpler operation. Instead of stapling you screw and/or glue the panels on the structure and cover the seams with silicone and strips of wood, just as for plastic in roll form.

A note about geodesic greenhouses

There are a few greenhouse manufacturers who are more than willing to sell you a geodesic greenhouse kit... Usually starting at $10 000... They do offer convenience, almost worry-free solutions. But consider this:

Shipping costs for your dome can be prohibitive

Most timber geodesic plans offered on Domerama are under $50 and are very easy to make

You have more control over the materials you will use

With a basic effort you can cut your costs to a fraction of what you pay for a kit

Not convinced you can do it yourself? click on the banner below. George did much more than the average person but you'll get the idea.
To view available timber geodesic dome plans, click below:
So what's best for your needs?

Here are a few basic rules when you build your own geodesic dome

For a climbing dome for the kids, a timber or metal dome are both good choices

If you want a geodesic greenhouse, a timber dome is the preferred solution

For event domes of various kinds and diameters, a metal dome is usually the best option

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There are few geodesic decorations for the holidays, other than a very popular geodesic gingerbread house last year. I started thinking up of different ideas, except I wanted to go different and outside. It was also a way to use all those holiday lights I collected at yard sales throughout the summer.

# data[].attributes.body
Zip Tie Domes | Geodesic Dome Greenhouse Kits   Chicken Coop Kits for Sale

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Zip Tie Domes | Geodesic Dome Greenhouse Kits + Chicken Coop Kits for Sale

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Affordable Geodesic Dome Greenhouse Kits and Chicken Coop Kits that are Easy to Build, and No Tools are Required! Custom Sizes to Fit Your Project.