Science On a Sphere® Finds a New Home in the Center for Innovation & Design

Morristown Beard School’s Science On a Sphere®, a six-foot animated globe that projects real-time planetary data, climate patterns, and stunning visualizations of Earth and beyond, has officially moved from Wilkie Hall to the Center for Innovation & Design (CID). The relocation, completed earlier this week, places this powerful educational tool in the heart of the School’s collaborative learning hub, where it will be used across disciplines to inspire curiosity and creativity.

Originally installed in Wilkie Hall in 2017, Morristown Beard School became the first school in New Jersey, and one of only a handful of secondary schools nationwide, to host a Science On a Sphere®. The innovative system, developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), uses multiple projectors to wrap high-resolution imagery and data around a suspended globe, creating a vivid, three-dimensional view of our planet and solar system.

Since its debut eight years ago, the Sphere has been a favorite resource for science classes, student projects, and community visitors. Teachers have used it to explore weather systems, ocean currents, plate tectonics, and climate change, while students have leveraged its dynamic datasets to tell stories about the environment and human impact.

Now housed in the Center for Innovation & Design, the Sphere will continue to expand its reach in a space purposely-built for interdisciplinary exploration. Surrounded by design studios, and media production areas, the Sphere will serve as a bridge between science, technology, art, and communication.

The move also opens new opportunities for cross-curricular projects that combine data visualization, storytelling, and design thinking. Chief Innovation Officer Darren Burns P’19, ’22 explains, “With Science On a Sphere® the CID now becomes a living laboratory — where students merge data, design and discovery to understand and shape a changing world”. With flexible programming options and enhanced visibility within the CID, the Sphere will continue to inspire students to see the world, quite literally, from a new perspective.