From the children’s book to the planetarium auditorium: the detailed and atmospheric drawings by children’s author Torben Kuhlmann can be experienced in 360° from today. In an in-house production of the Planetarium Berlin Foundation, “Armstrong – Die abenteuerliche Reise einer Maus zum Mond” (Armstrong – The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon) will celebrate its world premiere on 16 March 2022 at the Zeiss Large Planetarium in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg. Afterwards, the fulldome production based on the bestseller by Torben Kuhlmann will be shown both in the Zeiss-Großplanetarium and in the Planetarium am Insulaner in Berlin-Schöneberg. The author will be present at the premiere in Europe’s most modern science theatre.
Image above: In the cheese shop © Torben Kuhlmann / NordSüd Verlag
In cooperation with the renowned Swiss publisher NordSüd-Verlag, the Stiftung Planetarium Berlin has adapted the space adventure of the creative mouse Armstrong as a 360° experience for the planetarium hall. The inquisitive mouse Armstrong is fascinated by space, especially the moon. The other mice claim it’s made of cheese, but Armstrong doesn’t believe it. He makes a plan to build a rocket in his attic to be the first mouse to fly to the moon. Will he succeed? And what adventures await the brave little mouse?
“This production was a matter close to the heart of the Stiftung Planetarium Berlin. The curious mouse Armstrong, who wants to discover outer space, symbolises the thirst for knowledge of the approximately 200,000 children and young people who explore the heavens in Berlin’s planetariums and observatories every year,” says Tim Florian Horn, CEO of the Stiftung Planetarium Berlin. The production was directed by Dr Jürgen Rienow, Head of Production at the Foundation. “Armstrong” is planned for worldwide distribution in different languages.
As author and illustrator of the successful “Armstrong” books, Torben Kuhlmann was involved in the production of the Planetarium Berlin Foundation in terms of content and visuals. The impressive visualisations are based on his drawings and were prepared for the planetarium hall by Northdocks from Kiel. Kuhlmann’s first children’s book “Lindbergh – The Adventurous Story of a Flying Mouse” became a bestseller within a very short time and is now available in over 30 languages. Further mouse adventures followed in 2016 with “Armstrong”, in 2018 with “Edison” and in 2020 with “Einstein”, which also already have cult status.
Since its renovation in 2016, the Zeiss Grand Planetarium is Europe’s most modern science theatre. It shows its programmes in the planetarium hall on the impressive dome with a diameter of 30 metres. On this, the star projector built especially for the house can display 9505 stars, the Milky Way, the planets as well as the sun and moon, among other things. Films are shown with 10 projectors in 360° fulldome technology. Armstrong” will also be shown at the Planetarium am Insulaner in Berlin-Schöneberg.
The Planetarium Berlin Foundation unites Berlin’s astronomical institutions for the first time in the city’s history. The Archenhold Observatory and the Wilhelm Foerster Observatory are among the most traditional public observatories in Germany, while the Planetarium am Insulaner and the Zeiss Large Planetarium, Europe’s most modern science theatres, offer relevant and innovative forms of education.
WHEN?
World premiere: Wednesday, 16 March 2022, 7:00 p.m. at the Zeiss Grossplanetarium
further dates and the respective venue on the Website
WHERE?
Zeiss-Großplanetarium, Prenzlauer Allee 80, 10405 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg
and further shows also in the
Planetarium am Insulaner / Wilhelm-Foerster Sternwarte, Munsterdamm 90, 12169 Berlin-Schöneberg
COSTS?
9 EUR / reduced7 EUR (suitable from 5 years, duration of the show: 50 min)
