Into The Wonderdome is an installation art exhibition at the Rainbow Dome. In collaboration with Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning (RMSEL), the installation brings together a shared belief in art as a space for wonder, experimentation and community-made experiences. Over the past semester, art teacher Alisha Black-Mallon’s students in RMSEL’s Genius Lab maker space transformed the Rainbow Dome’s new event space — previously an old tire shop on North Federal Blvd — into a series of imaginative and immersive pieces.
Guided by the Rainbow Dome’s mission to create space for radical joy and collective creativity, students designed enchanted forests, fantastical bestiaries, reflective light fields, portals, absurdity, and creatures that hover between myth and machine.
Working with cardboard, paper mache, LEDs, PVC, found materials, and anything else they could wrangle, students explored themes of nature reclaiming space, identity through objects, reflection and refraction, and the playful surreal.
The process was as meaningful as the final pieces. Students tied back ponytails and rolled up sleeves to use power saws, drills and sanders — often for the first time — trading in hours of screen time for the satisfaction of building something real in their hands. They learned to problem-solve when things collapsed and materials failed, and discovered that iteration wasn’t a setback but a vital part of the work. Students learned to navigate failure, pursue ambitious ideas, and build collaboratively, using both art and engineering practices.
Together, RMSEL and The Rainbow Dome created a space where teens could experiment, collaborate, and reshape an ordinary room into something wondrous — an immersive celebration of what young artists can do when given materials, mentorship, and permission to dream at full scale.
Into the Wonderdome was made possible by the Apogaea CATS team, who are committed to supporting community art. A portion of the funds they raised from the 2024 Apogaea Art Gayla helped the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning’s Genius Lab bring a new creative vision to life with their immersive exhibition.
In addition to providing $4,500 for essential safety gear, tools, and art supplies, CATS members Mitch Giraffe, Angela Japangela, Nathan Koral, and Michael Seymour also worked alongside these talented students during the build and installation process, volunteering their longstanding knowledge and skills in art-making.
