Our Place in Space

VISITOR NOTICE: The trail has now taken off from the Ulster Transport Museum! Thank you to everyone who travelled through the solar system with us. With distance comes perspective...

A sculpture of the Earth beside a wall painted in a dark navy colour with multicoloured stars painted over the top to look like space. A parent with his back to the camera wearing a backpack is looking at the Earth sculpture alongside a young boy who is on his knees on the ground and hands on the sculpture getting a real close up look!

Date

Took off in December 2024

In 2023, Our Place in Space, a project by artist Oliver Jeffers, scientist Professor Stephen Smartt and a creative team led by the Nerve Centre touched down at the Ulster Transport Museum and along the North Down Coastal Path.

Centred around an epic scale model of the solar system, Our Place in Space was a sculpture trail, interactive AR app and exciting events and learning programme that toured the UK and internationally.

We’ve kept Earth at the museum as a monument to the idea that when viewed from afar, the distinction between ‘Us and Them’ fades away.

It's been a journey

Our Place in Space was commissioned by Belfast City Council. Led by Nerve Centre, the project was a collaboration between Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, National Museums NI, NI Science Festival, Big Motive, Taunt, Microsoft, Jeffers & Sons, Dumbworld, Live Music Now and Little Inventors.

Our Place in Space was originally conceived through a research and development project and presented as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, co-commissioned by Belfast City Council. UNBOXED was designed to celebrate creativity and innovation, with funding from the Northern Ireland Executive, UK Government, Scottish Government and Welsh Government.