May 22, 2013
National Maritime Museum
We will be at the NMM June 13th as part of their free late night exhibition, Visions of the Universe! With Marek Kukula Public Astronomer Astronomer for the Royal Observatory, we will take our on a Sonic Tour of the Universe as we ask the question: what does space sound like?
June 27, 2012
Intergalactic Travel Bureau Goes International
The Intergalactic Travel Bureau premiered last October at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich as part of the Astronomers’ Ball – check out the sweet review in Culture Lab. This June it made its first international appearance at the FIGMENT Festival. Our girl in New York Olivia Koski tells us about booking trips to Mercury from an island off Manhattan.
On June 9th and 10th, the Intergalactic Travel Bureau landed on Governor’s Island, a beautiful oasis just a five minute free ferry ride from downtown Manhattan. The occasion was the FIGMENT Festival, a grassroots participatory arts celebration that takes place in four U.S. cities this summer (including Boston, Massachusetts, Jackson, Florida, and Detroit, Michigan). Around 25,000 people attended the island festivities, and many of them became the art during events too numerous to name.
There was lots of buzz about the Intergalactic Travel Bureau before the festival, which was profiled on Space.com and inspired a story in Wired about space tourism.
The Bureau helped hundreds of unsuspecting visitors to imagine their ultimate space vacation. The top choice for earthlings planning their holiday was Mercury, followed closely by Saturn and the Moon. A few chose to remain on Earth (no judgement, there!).
Full results:
Mercury: 34 postcards (17.9%)
Saturn: 33 postcards (17.4%)
The Moon: 28 postcards (14.8%)
Venus: 24 postcards (12.7%)
Uranus: 21 postcards (11.1%)
Jupiter: 19 postcards (10.0%)
Mars: 12 postcards (6.3%)
Pluto: 12 postcards (6.3%)
Earth: 6 postcards (3.2%)
Many of The Intergalactic Travel Bureau’s customers were a little daunted by the exorbitant costs of space travel. One postcard: “I’m on Saturn. Don’t come. It’s expensive!
Still, many marveled at the prospect of Mercury’s 4,000 hour days, and believed Pluto could still be a worthy destination even since its downgrading.
I organized the event with help from Mark Rosin, advice from the GSUK crew, and an expert team of astrophysicists and travel agent volunteers. On the first day, Scientific American editor Ferris Jabr and actress Evgeniya Radilova teamed with Princeton astrophysicists Jeremiah Murphy and Renée Hlozek, and Columbia University graduate student Jana Grcevich for the grand opening of America’s first Intergalactic Travel Bureau. On the second day, radio producer and actress Kaitlin Prest and astrophysicist Hanno Rein worked in the tent’s out-of-this-world warm pink glow.
Thanks also go to Colleen Cox and Ceri for their strong arms in helping to cart The Intergalactic Travel Bureau onto the island. Finally, thanks to all of the supporters who contributed to our Fundageek and Kickstarter campaigns.
All-in-all it was a fantastically fun couple of days. Note that you can now follow the Intergalactic Travel Bureau on Facebook and Twitter.
By Olivia
January 18, 2012
BBC Stargazing Live: Intergalactic Travel Bureau
We brought our Intergalactic Travel Bureau to BBC’s Stargazing Live at Charlton House for their flagship event this past January.
For a day trip or a long weekend, how about the moon?
Where would you like to go? The windswept red plains of Mars, to dig for signs of life? One of Jupiter’s 64 moons, to take Polaroid snaps of the swirling red storms of its atmosphere? Or, for shorter trip on a tight budget, the scorching surface of Venus to sunbathe under acid rain filled skies? Our savvy agent is here to book you the best deal to the holiday of your dreams – don’t forget to send a postcard home.
Read more about how to plan your trip to the stars with us on the New Scientist Culture Lab write-up of the event at the Astronomer’s Ball here and see more pics on our Flickr site here.
December 1, 2011
Intergalactic Travel Bureau @ BBC Stargazing
Come find us at our Intergalactic Travel Bureau at Stargazing LIVE, hosted by the BBC in Charlton Park in Greenwich, London, this Tuesday January 16, 2012.
Read more about what our friendly agents will have in store for you in this New Scientist write-up of the last time our bureau was open for business, at the Royal Astronomers’ Ball in October.
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