The new Lumosphere installation at Leigh Court, just outside Bristol, is described as “a world where technology and art combine” to create an immersive walkthrough art experience suitable for all ages.
It goes on to tell visitors that they will have their perception and reality changed by the interactive light installations.
“Each of the installations in The Lumosphere aims to inspire visitors with different immersive themes of fluid, sharp, soft, spectrum, and microbiology," says the blurb. "The Lumosphere has been constructed by a team of artists to create a series of light, video, sound and water installations, all merged to create a flowing narrative to explore.”
The Lumosphere is divided into ten areas with playful elements, sensory lights, textures, scents, hypnotic soundscapes and videoscapes.
Tickets cost £12.50 per adult, £8 per child (ages 4 to 17), £11 for concession (over 65s, students, blue light card holders), £35 for a family ticket ( 2 adults, 2 children) and free for children ages three and under and Carer tickets (Registered carers must be attending the event with the individual they care for).
We decided to visit the Lumosphere to see if it was worth the investment.Unfortunately, the only bus that stops near The Stables at Leigh Court is the X4, and having just missed it and running tight on time to make it to our 8.30pm time slot, we decided to catch a Bolt for £12.30 from the centre.
Upon arriving at the location, we noticed the Farriers Cafe was still open and we bought some drinks to take with us to the experience. The cafe sells a selection of hot and cold drinks, and a range of cakes including toffee apple blondies (£2.50), ultimate brownies (£1.99) and mince pie crumples (£3) and was still open when we had completed the experience.
The Lumosphere started with an animation introducing the experience before we entered a misty tunnel of lights that led to a mesmerising room filled with green laser lights.
As we exited, we encountered the outdoor micrology garden where nature and technology intertwined as an illusion of a swamp was created through the use of light projections and bird sounds.
A vibrant wildlife animation was played on the wall.The experience continued in a sensory room complete with a sand pit, water mats and light projection where visitors can unleash their inner child.
We continued onto the Climatology Capsule which projected a landscape animation that changed throughout “the passage of the seasons” and used fans, fog machines and lights to make the room more immersive to the passage of time.
The next section was the ‘wood-wide web’, an interactive piece exploring the mycelial network of fungi that lives beneath our feet in the soil of forests. Here, visitors could create different musical tunes and activate different light streams by placing their hands on the leaves and stems of the display.
We continued onto the Transition Tunnel Journey where visitors are encouraged to explore their hearing sense and try to guess where the sounds are coming from in the dimly lit room.
The journey continued through LED-lit rooms and outside with a trail of luminescent art pieces lit by UV light. We finished our journey at the courtyard where light patterns were projected onto a wall of water.
We were lucky to make it to the last slot of the day, which meant it was quite quiet and we could often enjoy sections of the display by ourselves. It is an experience to be completed by taking your time and not rushing as there are a lot of small elements that can easily be missed.
Overall, it was a really fun experience which I would recommend, although it felt a bit short.
The Lumosphere is back on Saturday (December 16) and Sunday (December 17). Tickets can be bought here.
Scroll through to see photos from our visit to The Lumosphere:
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