Morristown-Beard School Installs "Science On a Sphere"

As the new school year begins, Morristown-Beard School is proud to introduce “Science On a Sphere,” an extraordinary display system that uses computers and video projectors to display planetary data onto a six-foot diameter sphere, analogous to a giant animated globe.

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed SOS as an educational tool to help illustrate Earth System science to people of all ages. Animated images of atmospheric storms, climate change, and ocean temperature can be shown on the sphere, which is used to explain complex environmental processes in a way that is simultaneously intuitive and analytical.

Morristown-Beard School is the only institute in the state of New Jersey with “Science On a Sphere,” and there is only one other secondary school in the nation, St. Paul’s in New Hampshire, that has invested in this unique and exceptional educational tool.

The carbon-fiber globe hangs suspended from the ceiling in the main room of Wilkie Hall, with projectors pointing at it from each corner. While the globe itself does not move, the animations projected onto the globe give the illusion that the globe rotates just as the Earth does. The animations range from satellite imagery to radar to hurricane-tracking patterns.

“We are excited to introduce Science On a Sphere to Morristown-Beard School students this fall,” said MBS Headmaster Peter J. Caldwell. “I am confident that departments across all disciplines will explore ways to use this powerful educational technology.”