Scobbers go to Jakarta - Kalbe Junior Science Fair

Last week, from 7th-10th Sept, scobbers Murni and Andrew (i.e. myself) journeyed to Jakarta, Indonesia to conduct our first overseas planetarium shows with our trusty STARLAB inflatable planetarium.
It was all part of the annual Kalbe Junior Science Fair, held at Jakarta Convention Center (JCC). Actually, we were more of a small part, as the fair was huge! Occupying the about two large convention halls, with a mixture of sponsor's booths, activities stations, playgrounds, workshops and stage performances. The atmosphere was an amazing bustle of activity and excitement, more popular than the large IT fairs we get here in Singapore.

Here are some highlights:
Checking in for the flight, just within baggage allowance.

Entrance banners

Setting up the dome

In anticipation of the large crowd, we made a temporary barrier of chairs and rope.

Which was further enhanced by a human barrier.

Here they come! Over 30,000 visitors on day one.

Our large dome of stars was very attractive. Was challenging to manage the crowd sometimes but people were always friendly and patient. We increased the number of sessions from 6 to 13 sessions on the first day.

First time someone brought a dog inside the planetarium.

We were right next to the main stage, sometimes it was so loud we couldn't hear ourselves talk, visitors still enjoyed seeing the stars and constellations though. On the stage, there were performances by Indonesian singers and student dance groups as well as talks by Japanese scientist and astronaut Dr Mamoru Mohri.

We issued out stickers/tickets for each session (30 pax per session) by midday, we were out of tickets, all sessions full.

End of day two, all packed up after 2pm session, to make way for the closing ceremony performances.

Other exhibits and attractions: