The University of South Australia will throw open the doors of its ultramodern museum of discovery – MOD – to the public on 11 May.

This museum will be situated in the South Australian capital Adelaide, nestled in the Cancer Research Institute on North Terrace. It will present visitors with a unique chance to view and interact with Australia’s premier exhibit of Science On a Sphere (SOS).

SOS is a system created by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that uses computers and projectors to cast animations and images on to a large suspended ball almost 2 meters in diameter.

The animations include views of distant celestial bodies, such as craters on the surface of Jupiter’s moon Calisto and details of the landscape of Mars. And the visualisations show events here on Earth – changes in ocean temperature, currents and migratory patterns of sea life – as they happen.

All of this is interactive and aims to give visitors an immersive learning and entertainment experience. It is aimed at ages 15 and over, but is sure to draw crowds of all ages.

The projections that form part of SOS will change for every exhibit. The MOD also boasts walls of touch-screen displays, and seven exhibition galleries across two floors.