Immersive Space.

About the project

Immersive Space is a portable planetarium that is capable of travelling to remote and rural locations to host 360-degree shows on cosmology, physics, biology, history and chemistry. The objective is to study the impact of portable planetarium shows on 12–16 year-old children.

Our contribution

To achieve this, Caritas Research have carried out a comprehensive literature review to identify similar research projects and designed action research to quantify the impact of the initiative. The Caritas team is also leading the data analysis tasks and external funding applications using the research for long-term sustainability of the project.

How the work breaks down

• Literature review. Synthesising the existing evidence on immersive learning environments, STEM-engagement interventions for school-age children, and comparable programmes in low-resource settings — so the evaluation design is anchored in what has already been tried and measured.
• Action-research design. A study structure that sits alongside programme delivery rather than disrupting it — instruments that capture what changes for participants, without adding a research overhead the programme team can't carry.
• Data analysis. Cleaning, analysing, and interpreting the data collected as the programme tours, feeding findings back into successive rounds of shows.
• Funding applications. Using the research as evidence when approaching funders, so the work can sustain itself beyond the initial pilot.