The small German city of Böblingen is now home to what might be the world’s biggest and most elaborate children’s toy. The Second Solar spaceship, designed by Different Futures and constructed for the Sensapolis fun park earlier this year, is a three-level, 850 sq m interactive replica of a real shuttle, albeit one better suited to exploration of the cognitive rather than the galactic variety.

chrome behind scenes
Click here to see more of the Second Solar spaceship.
The interior of the installation, which includes a 3-D cinema, a laboratory, a warp-core, a medical centre and an alien breeding ground, was designed by Clostermann Design in conjunction with Kohlbecker Architekten. The set even includes jet turbines and circular docking pods ready to connect to orbiting stations. So much for the old days when kids in capes had to rely on cardboard boxes and plastic steering wheels to zip around space.