A Trip to the Moon

Museum of the Moon had been at Derby Cathedral for the past month or so, but we left it till almost the last minute to visit.

In case you haven't heard of it, it's a huge art installation by Luke Jerram - a 7 metre diameter inflatable replica of the moon. Its surface is actually smooth but from a short distance, and certainly in photographs, the detail in the image gives the impression of a 3D surface. Also, you get to see the elusive far side which never faces Earth.

Maybe because we caught one of the last days and a lot of other folks had the same idea, maybe because the acoustics of the cathedral created echoes, and certainly because a sound check for Derby Folk Weekend was taking place at the time of our visit, there was a lot of noise which I found a bit off-putting.

I think it actually looks and feels stranger and more surreal in the photos than it did in the 'flesh'.

There are several 'Museums of the Moon' touring the world so it's quite likely to visit a place near you. I've seen it before at Timber Festival in 2018, when it was installed outside in a clearing between trees, and illuminated at night It's a very different experience to see it outside, and I think my preferred way.