Full Dome

The show opens with the first era of space exploration in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  We see what that era of landers and orbiters taught us about our nearest neighbor including the discovery of the Moon’s origin, composition, structure, and the accessibility of raw materials on its surface.

Most will never experience the exhilaration of seeing a half-ton-grizzly bear in the wild — but now people of all ages are daring to get closer than ever before to some of the largest predators on the planet.

From the safety of giant-screen theaters worldwide, of course. 

From black bears in Montana to polar bears in the arctic, the National Wildlife Federation’s fourth giant-screen film, Bears, features a fresh view of these powerful, majestic and often misunderstood animals in the full glory of their natural habitat, and highlights the universal threats to bear populations.

Scientific research suggests that our neurochemistry opens the door to cognitive learning through emotional and right-brain engagement, and without creating this deeper, memorable experience, the human brain does not learn.  Humans absorb what they feel not what they are taught, and this is what drives action.  After one Bella Gaia show, NASA funded survey results show a 90% conversion rate in audiences reporting a greater understanding of our earth, and a more than doubling in the response of people who feel a more personal relationship with the Earth in their personal lives (31% -> 64%).

Bella Gaia captures the Overview Effect*, using satellite imagery of Earth, time lapses, cultural heritage footage, NASA data visualizations, dance, and an award-winning customized musical score to present a spectacular journey around the planet that illuminates the connections between natural systems and human activities through an immersive storytelling method threaded by an orbiting flight path from the International Space Station.  

Bella Gaia transforms complex scientific data into an accessible audio-visual experience to expand public understanding of global challenges we face and inspire audiences to act as stewards for our shared resources. 

A “Living Atlas” journey of our planet, Bella Gaia creates a direct experience and connection with the creative forces of Earth.  Bella Gaia‘s powerful methodology transcends politics or belief systems and has been proven so effective that astronauts say the experience is an accurate simulation of space flight, NASA funds Bella Gaia‘s education program on Earth Science & Environmental Responsibility, and climate change skeptics have been converted after seeing one show.  

The Bella Gaia program offers customized solo or ensemble performances, often paired with online engagement activities and educational workshops to deepen cognitive learning.  In live presentations to over 200,000 individuals of all ages worldwide, audience members report that the Bella Gaia experience leads to a significant change in their personal perspective of Earth and a better grasp of how humans impact it. 

* “The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution,” Author: Frank White.

Celeste is fighting off sleep by reading a book on astronomy when, through her bedroom window, she receives a visit from MOON and his mischievous helpers.

Moon calls his helpers to order and then turns to Celeste to ask her if she likes to look at the sky.  Celeste brags that she knows all the planets.  The specks of light laugh and Moon clarifies to her that she knows all the planets that orbit one star, the Sun, but that there are many, many more stars in the universe.

“And those stars also have planets?,” asks Celeste.  Exoplanets, corrects Moon, that is what we call the planets that orbit other stars.  Would you like to explore them?

With the aid of his helpers, Moon leads Celeste on a journey through the universe to discover what an exoplanet is and how it can be detected.  Together they observe rogue planets, oceanic worlds, and super-Earths.  Moon tells her about exoplanet hunters, astrophysicists who, from different points on the planet, observe the sky in search of a planet like Earth.

A new Earth!  Celeste is excited.  Out there, says Moon, there may be a star like our Sun, and orbiting around it, at the same distance as the Earth, a planet that has oceans, jungles, and – who knows? – civilizations.

Celeste is ready to go look for it right away, but Moon reminds her that she needs to get some rest first.  Before she falls asleep, Celeste asks Moon if he will come back to visit her again.

“Do you like whales?,” Moon asks the girl.  “I love them!,” responds Celeste, and she drops off to sleep.  Then we will see other again soon, promises Moon, before leaving with his helpers.

Birth of Planet Earth is a planetarium fulldome show that tells the twisted tale of our planet’s origins.

Scientists now believe that our galaxy is filled with solar systems, including up to a billion planets roughly the size of our own.

The film employs advanced, data-driven, cinematic-quality visualizations to explore some of the greatest questions in science today: How did Earth become a living planet in the wake of our solar system’s violent birth?  What does its history tell us about our chances of finding other worlds that are truly Earth-like?

Produced by Spitz Creative Media, NCSA’s Advanced Visualization Lab, Thomas Lucas Productions, Inc., in association with Tellus Science Museum.  This project has been made possible with support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Greater Philadelphia Film Office; funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

Witness what would happen if you got too close to one and see how a black hole is able to warp time and space.  No longer the stuff of science fiction, the discovery of the black hole has been a triumph of modern science, an incredible journey from imagination to reality.

Seen by millions worldwide, Black Holes: the Other Side of Infinity features high-resolution visualizations of cosmic phenomena, working with data generated by computer simulations, to bring the current science of black holes to the dome screen.  Audiences will be dazzled with striking, immersive animations of the formation of the early universe, star birth and death, the collision of giant galaxies, and a simulated flight to a super-massive black hole lurking at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy.

Beautiful, delicate yet unbelievably resilient, the butterfly is one of nature’s most enigmatic creatures. A story of adaptation and survival, we follow the vast migrations of the Blue Tigers of Australia and the Monarchs of North America and Mexico.

With the help of cutting edge slow-motion, drone and macro filming techniques, we see the butterflies’ tiny world in immaculate detail as they overcome the challenges of metamorphosis and migration, fly thousands of kilometers and as high as 3300 meters. Butterfly Journey reveals our interconnected and awe-inspiring world on the giant screen, through the eyes of the butterflies. Yet what fate awaits them when the fine-tuned climates they intimately know suddenly shift?

Astronomers today are exploring the universe on a grand scale.  But knowing what’s out there is just the first step.  Putting the pieces together to unlock the mysteries of the universe is the ultimate goal.

Narrated by Academy Award winning actor Geoffrey Rush, discover the new astronomy being carried out under the breathtaking skies of the Australian outback.  What new things will we learn about the Cosmos?

Fulldome-video feature show for planetariums and dome theatres about the beauty of mathematics.

Described only in books, Cocomong dreams of what it would be like to really travel through space.  And then all too quickly Halley appears out of nowhere!  To protect the last remaining star ball, the alien kid from Titan makes an emergency landing on Fridge Land.  His parents were kidnapped by Virus King who plans to rule the universe once all the stars balls are put together.  Halley needs the help of Cocomong and his friends to save his parents and get the other star balls back, but Titan is further away than Mars or Jupiter, and nearer to Saturn.  Will our rescuers be able to travel all the way safely?  “We’ll never know until we get there!,” says Cocomong as they embark on a rescue mission and so begins their adventure through space.

Imagine yourself lying in the grass in the countryside on a beautiful summer night, watching the stars … This odyssey through the beauty and mystery of the cosmos is accompanied by a mesmerizing soundtrack composed of selected symphonic works by Philip Glass.  Audiences will feel as though they’ve been catapulted through the Earth’s atmosphere and into space, where they’ll find themselves marveling at the endless wonders of the Universe.

Cosmic Collisions, narrated by award-winning actor, director, and producer Robert Redford, features stunning images from space and breathtaking visualizations.  Cosmic Collisions reveals the explosive encounters that shaped our solar system, changed the course of life on Earth, and continue to transform our galaxy and universe.

Cosmic Collisions launches visitors on an awe-inspiring trip through space and time—well beyond the calm face of the night sky—to explore the hypersonic impacts that drive the continuing evolution of the universe.  Cosmic Collisions focuses on the full range of collisions, from catastrophic planetary impacts and the merging of massive galaxies to the continual explosions occurring in the center of the Sun and the incessant barrage of small ionized particles in the solar wind ricocheting off Earth’s magnetic field creating other-worldly conditions called “space weather.”

Cosmic Journey: A Solar System Adventure takes you on a a voyage to the outer reaches of our solar system in search of worlds that might support life.

Travel faster than the speed of light, from the limits of our solar system to the Sun, taking in the wonders of the planets and their moons.  Volcanoes tower 80,000 feet above a barren surface.  Monstrous hurricanes rage for over 400 years.  And multicolored rings float suspended in space.

This full dome show is a story of a boy who wants to be an astronomer, dreams about an unbelievable Space Mission.  The aim of this Space Mission is to contact a Cosmic Civilization.  In the Spaceship, Chandragupta, the 123 astronaut men & women go on a journey of no return.  Long before the spaceship reaches its destination, the heroes would have spent all their lives in the space and the mission will be complete only by their descendants after many generations.  Watch this spectacular and immersive show to know more about this mission, nature of universe and cosmic civilization.

The scope of the universe as understood by humankind has expanded with the development of astronomy.

Starting from the mythological universe of ancient times, let us explore the Ptolemy’s geocentric theory, the heliocentric theory, the revolution brought by the invention of the telescope, spectrum analysis, and the latest technologies in today’s astronomical observatories.

A fulldome show for planetariums and digital dome theatres.

A beautiful animated look at the motions of the Earth in space that lead to the cycles of the day and night and the parade of the seasons throughout the year as well as the turning of the stars in the sky at night.

Subjects that can be challenging and complex, yet important to understand, are made colorful and clear.

A fulldome show for planetariums and digital dome theatres.

The award-winning space show Dark Universe celebrates the pivotal discoveries that have led to greater knowledge of the universe and our place in it.

Narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, highlights of Dark Universe include the Milky Way galaxy spangled with exploding supernovas, novel renderings of phenomena like dark matter, and spectacular scenes of spacecraft such as the Galileo probe’s breathtaking plunge into Jupiter’s atmosphere.

“A trip that makes Hollywood’s most vaunted special effects…look like a cartoon”
– The New York Times

“Will blow your mind”
– The Washington Post

“An exhilarating perspective of the universe as we know it, and, as we don’t know it”
– The International Science Times

Dark Universe was developed by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, and GOTO INC, Tokyo, Japan.

DarkStar Adventure is an engaging fulldome show for viewers of all ages.  After spending three years at her father’s astronomy research station on a dusty, dying planet, Subrah, a teenager bored by science, is excited about leaving – and not a moment too soon.

The planet’s sun is about to explode and it’s time to evacuate.  When a technical glitch launches Subrah’s father into space without her, she is faced with the biggest challenge of her life – making her own getaway and returning safely home again.

Join Subrah, and her robot helper Sweeps, on an unforgettable voyage of discovery as they unravel a cosmic riddle that points the way to planet Bekenal.  You’ll witness the awesome power of a supernova, explore the heart of a gaseous nebula, visit exotic pulsars and learn to keep a safe distance from a black hole!

With a cast of animated characters, an engaging “lost in space” storyline, roller-coaster ride special effects, and a winning combination of science and entertainment, DarkStar Adventure is fun for the whole family.