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The Silver Ball - Planetarium or Bristol's Icon?

More than 100,000 people have visited the Planetarium in Explore-At-Bristol since it re-opened in July 2006, At-Bristol announces today. The popular attraction has shown nearly 3000 seasonal star shows throughout the year with more than 630 shows fully booked.

It is definitely an achievement to cheer about, especially when many still do not realise that the iconic and spectacular silver ball that dominates the architecture of Millennium Square serves as the Planetarium, says Katy McDonald, Planetarium Officer, At-Bristol.

"We are really honoured that the Planetarium is increasingly being used as a visual icon to represent Bristol. While it becomes a key landmark for the city, we also hope that it continues to draw interest amongst general public in space science. Perhaps we need to start cultivating a habit amongst the public to refer the attraction by its original name - the Planetarium!" Adds Katy.

According to the Bristol Film Office, the Planetarium is definitely among the top 5 most popular filming locations in the city. The office, which issues approximately 250 film licenses a year, receives an estimate of 50-70 enquiries (per year) for filming around the Planetarium.

"The At Bristol Planetarium has become a popular location with film crews looking for iconic Bristol landmarks and modern architecture. Bristol Film Office receives a large number of enquiries about filming the Planetarium every year and its popularity is increasing all the time because it is such an identifiable and unique part of Bristol." Says Natalie Moore, Film Liaison Officer, Bristol Film Office.

To mark this milestone, Explore is organising an 'urban beach' party in Millennium Square on 25 and 25 August (Saturday and Sunday). There will be a host of outdoor activities such as BBQ, penalty shoot-out, bungee run as well as buskers to entertain Bristol's 'urban beach' goers!

On 4 October, Explore is also celebrating World Space Week and the 50th anniversary of Sputnik with a special public lecture in the Planetarium by acclaimed historian, Piers Bizony. Piers is also the co-author of 'Atom', which is the accompaniment to the popular BBC TV series of the same name.

The Planetarium was used as the backdrop for productions including, the Apprentice, The Truth About Love, Mistresses and Casualty.

The planetarium runs seasonal star shows every quarter and it is currently showing the summer night sky. Entry to the planetarium is free with tickets to Explore-At-Bristol.