Exhibitions

Our guests can now experience a new, transgressive fusion of art, science and technology when Tomás Saraceno presents COSMIC THREADS in Knud Munk's iconic Planetarium at Skt. Jørgens Sø.

The installation marks Saraceno's first permanent work in Denmark and his first collaboration with a planetarium worldwide. In Planetarium's newly renovated Stair Gallery, aesthetics and technology are combined in a unique experience that provokes reflection and curiosity.

Argentine Tomás Saraceno, world-renowned for his spectacular works, has created a complex mega-installation - unique to Planetarium. With COSMIC THREADS, he invites the audience to reflect on the mysteries of the universe and human responsibility for the future of our shared planet. The installation stretches the full height of the Stair Gallery at 25 metres and the full length of 42 metres. The mega installation captures light in a complex network of threads where planets and air pockets float like galaxies - a visual metaphor for the connections between cosmic and earthly structures.

For Saraceno, the opportunity to create a piece for a planetarium has been a lifelong dream:

‘Since my childhood, planetariums all over the world have fascinated me. Their job is to arouse curiosity and wonder about the great cosmic questions. It has been a dream to create a work that not only reinforces this fascination, but also opens up new ways of understanding our place in the universe. COSMIC THREADS is one of my most complex works, inviting the audience to explore the connections between science, art, and our shared future - a future that must be rethought in light of the climate crisis. In the iconic space of Planetarium, the dream has become reality.’

With COSMIC THREADS, Planetarium is not only a place where children, young people and adults learn about astronomy and space travel, but also a place for reflection on our common future on Earth. The work creates a ‘space’ for reflection and invites the audience to explore the challenges we face at a time when the climate crisis requires us to rethink our relationship with nature, energy consumption and the countless species we share the planet with.

Everything you are comes from the universe.

The building blocks of your body - the atoms - come from space, and on a cosmic journey we find out exactly where the different elements are formed.

The hydrogen in the water in your cells comes from the beginning of it all - from the Big Bang. Life is made up of DNA, which is made up of the element carbon, which is formed in stars. The stars in the universe act as large element factories, and this is also where the iron in your blood is formed. The element zinc is important for your immune system and comes from large stellar explosions - supernovae.

The exhibition is an explosion of visual impressions. It was created in collaboration with London-based exhibition and design company ‘59 Productions’ with the idea of putting the viewer at the centre. We use the latest technology, and the entire exhibition is designed from the ground up based on professionalism.

In 2018, the exhibition, ‘Cosmos’, won an Ecsite Award in the ‘Sustainable Success’ category for its inclusive and engaging exhibition on astrophysics.

However, the meteorite was not easy to bring home to Denmark, as it had to be lifted free by hand and then onto a steel sled, which could then be used to transport the ton-heavy iron meteorite down towards the coast. It wasn't until four years after it was found that Agpalilik was shipped all the way to Denmark.

Today, the majority of the iron meteorite stands on its steel sled in front of the Geological Museum, but here in Planetarium you can also experience a 650 kg piece of the famous meteorite.

Agpalilik is a piece of the famous iron meteorite Cape York, which crashed several thousand years ago in Baffin Bay, which is also located in northwestern Greenland.

The first parts of the Cape York meteorite were found in 1894, when the polar explorer Robert E. Peary succeeded in finding as many as three fragments, with the help of a number of locals. The pieces were recovered and then transported to New York by ship, where they can still be found today at the American Museum of Natural History.
The three iron meteorites were named Ahnighito, Woman and Dog, and weigh respectively 31 tons, 3 tons and 407 kg.

The Moon is part of our shared origin, shaped by the same cosmic chaos in the early history of the solar system. Its untouched surface holds remnants from billions of years
ago, traces that wind and weather have erased from Earth. That’s why the Moon may offer new insight into Earth’s past and the origins of life.
Perhaps you, too, have gazed at the night sky and wondered what is out there, and where it all comes from. The first time humans set foot on another celestial body, it was on the Moon. And it’s not unthinkable that the Moon will become the launchpad for our continued
journey into deep space.
This Moon rock is valued at approximately 85 million DKK and is kindly on loan from NASA.