Luminarium

A few weeks ago I went to Dundee to have a look at the Luminarium which was set up there for just two days. What is a Luminarium? It’s a big, colourful, inflatable building made up of interlocking domes, with interesting spaces inside.

The company has a number of different Luminaria, and this particular one was called Miracoco. It has a central space inspired by the Lotus Temple in India, with three coloured domes around this, and a tree-inspired space.

The inside of the Luminarium is lit by daylight filtering through the coloured areas of the structure. This is amazingly effective, and results in spectacularly coloured spaces that look like the inside of a futuristic space station. It’s made of PVC that gets recycled into other objects once it has reached the end of its life. And the structure is wheelchair-accessible too!

I arrived a while before the Luminarium opened for the day, and I was glad that I did. I was about 20th in the queue. I waited for 30-45 minutes I think. The queue was already very long by the time I went in, and by the time I came out there were people standing in a queue that would take hours to get to the front of!

The experience of being inside the Luminarium wasn’t any of the things I worried it might be – it wasn't hot, crowded, claustrophobic, noisy, overwhelming or disorientating. In fact it was quite calming with atmospheric background music, and little pods where you could sit down and relax. You walk around without shoes on, which keeps the surface clean, so I didn’t have any worries about lying on the floor to take photos!

I had an amazing time at the Luminarium, and I’d recommend visiting if one comes to a place near you! It’s great for children, but also good for adults to visit on their own.