01 June 2016
Jersey’s 25-year-old weather dome is to be reused and rehomed at Tamba Park as a planetarium.
The weather radar dome at La Moye is being dismantled and its replacement is due to be installed soon.
The recycling team in the Department for Infrastructure and the Meteorological Department launched an initiative to find the old dome a new home in a way that benefits the local community.
Tamba Park put forward an application to create a space room with the dome and install it near the park’s dinosaurs. They plan to install the latest LED technology and lighting to create a planetarium effect which could be used by general visitors and schools.
Accessible and permanent
Principal Meteorological Officer, Department for the Environment, John Searson, said "We were delighted with the response from the community. The applications were innovative and thoughtful and we had a tough time deciding between them. In the end, it came down to a question of how accessible and how permanent the new home would be and we think Tamba Park fitted the bill.”
Recycling Manager, Department for Infrastructure, Emma Richardson-Calladine, said "The dome is past its useful life for meteorological purposes but it’s still in excellent condition so it made sense to find a new home for a real piece of Jersey history."
Climate change link
Owner of Tamba Park, Jonathan Ruff said “I believe Tamba, which is all about the community, is best placed to rehome the dome; it’ll be erected in a permanent location for all our local visitors, members and tourists to see and enjoy every time they come to the park.
“As a planetarium we will use special effects to project planets in 3D. We hope to tell a story of how planet earth is just in the right place to support life and link this to climate change. If you have been up to Tamba, you can see we can create special things and we plan to do the same with the dome.”
The dome will start to be dismantled on 2 June and relocated to Tamba Park.
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