HUBBLE BLASTS OFF FROM THE DETROIT SCIENCE CENTER’S CHRYSLER IMAX® DOME THEATRE JULY 3

For nearly 20 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has dazzled us with unprecedented views of the cosmos -- from the splendor of our celestial neighborhood to galaxies billions of light years away. Now on July 3 at the Detroit Science Center’s Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre, audiences will blast off alongside the Atlantis STS-125 crew, witness up-close some of the most challenging spacewalks ever performed, and experience firsthand Hubble’s awe-inspiring imagery, from the heart of the Orion Nebula and our Milky Way to the edge of the observable universe. Recounting the amazing journey of the most important scientific instrument since Galileo’s original telescope, Hubble will immerse moviegoers in the great wonders and astounding beauty of our universe.

"It’s been said that The IMAX Experience® is the next best thing to being in space, and with IMAX, the audience really is there,” said Producer/Director Toni Myers. “Fifteen years ago we made a film about space exploration that included Hubble, when it started sending back the first images. Today, we have Hubble’s entire phenomenal legacy of data to explore. With IMAX, we can transport people to galaxies that are 13 billion light years away—back to the edge of time. Real star travel is here at last.”

Through the power of IMAX, Hubble will enable moviegoers to journey through distant galaxies to explore the grandeur and mysteries of our celestial surroundings, and accompany space-walking astronauts as they attempt some of the most difficult and important tasks in NASA’s history. The film will offer an inspiring and unique look into the Hubble Space Telescope’s legacy and highlight its profound impact on the way we view the universe and ourselves. Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, Hubble reunites the Space Station filmmaking team, led by Producer/Director Toni Myers. James Neihouse, Director of Photography, also doubles as the Astronaut crew trainer. Judy Carroll is Associate Producer, and Graeme Ferguson, Co-founder of IMAX and pioneer Producer of many IMAX space films, is Executive Producer. Hubble is an IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures production, in cooperation with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The film has been rated G and has a running time of 43 minutes.



Please note that the Detroit Science Center will NOT be showing Hubble in 3D, but rather in the only domed IMAX theatre in Michigan - a surrounding experience with no glasses needed!

NASCAR Opens in the Chrysler IMAX Dome Theater Sunday, June 20!

Just in time for Father's Day! Bring Dad to the DSC to see NASCAR in the only domed IMAX theatre in the state! Father's Day is a Ford Free FunDay - so you can add an IMAX film to your visit for only $5! Show time for 6/20 is 3pm. From 6/21 on, there will be a daily showing at 12pm.

Win an IMAX field trip to the Detroit Science Center for your class!

The film Arabia recently made its world debut on Michigan’s largest IMAX® screen taking viewers deep into the heart of a precious land few outsiders will ever visit, a world cloaked in myth, mystery and misinformation. We now invite teachers to give their classes a deeper understanding of this most fascinating culture and way of life by registering to win a free field trip to Michigan’s largest science center.

The Detroit Science Center is giving schools the opportunity to ask questions and get answers about this distant land along with a chance to win a free field trip to see Arabia now showing in their Chrysler IMAX Dome Theatre. Explore what your students have to ask and e-mail questions to contest@sciencedetroit.org. We’ll draw and notify one random school on May 12 to receive an Explorer plus Theaters field trip for up to 30 students before the end of the school year. This field trip also includes a bus allowance of up to $400 with the Detroit Science Center’s transportation vendor (no cash value).

Film student and Arabia main character Hamzah Jamjoom will answer many of the questions asked by our area students and teachers here on our blog mydsc.org. Arabia will have your students riding the dunes with a camel caravan, diving into the treasure-laden Red Sea, exploring the ruins of a towering lost city, hurtling back into the Islamic golden age of invention, and joining the Hajj, where each year 2-3 million Muslims arrive in the holy city of Makkah to reaffirm their faith, creating the largest single human gathering on Earth.

Who is HAMZAH JAMJOOM?

Hamzah Jamjoom is a passionate young Saudi Arabian film student who returns to his home country in Arabia to take an eye-opening journey through its past and present. Born and raised in Jeddah, Hamzah came to the U.S. at the age of 17, accompanying his college-age sister. Now 25, and approaching the end of his own graduate film studies at Chicago’s DePaul University, his driving dream is to join a youthful generation of scientists, thinkers and innovators in Saudi Arabia who he believes will fulfill on the potential for a new Golden Age for his country

Click here to learn more about this IMAX® experience or download the Arabia educator guide from the programs area on our website

DSC DEBUTS SHOWS THAT TAKE YOU FROM THE HOT ARABIAN DESERT TO THE COLD DEPTHS OF BLACK HOLES

Arabia Opens in the Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre, Black Holes Opens in the Dassault Systèmes Planetarium Feb. 13, 2010

Travel to some of the most fascinating destinations on Earth and beyond with two new shows debuting in the twin domes of the Detroit Science Center on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 – MacGillivray Freeman’s Arabia in the Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre and Black Holes in the Dassault Systèmes Planetarium.

From the Academy Award®-nominated producers of Everest and Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk comes an all-new IMAX® Dome Theatre experience – Arabia -- about the
extraordinary culture, history and religion of Arabia.

Steeped in ancient history and unique customs not found anywhere else in the world, Arabia mystifies us, shimmering like a desert mirage. For more than 2,000 years, its people have flourished in one of the harshest environments on the planet. Yet little is known about its fascinating culture which has remained hidden from the West for far too long.

Now, with the full force of IMAX® cinematography, Arabia takes viewers deep into the heart of this exotic land where they’ll experience firsthand the mystique of Arabia both past and present. Like visitors on a magic carpet ride, audiences will discover the lost city of Madain Saleh and explore its ancient tombs; they will travel with a camel caravan along the early frankincense trade route; they will share in the lamplit warmth of a Bedouin family tent and travel back in time to the Islamic Golden Age where Arabian science and scholarship flourished; and they will survive a desert sandstorm and dive the coral reefs and ancient shipwrecks of the dazzling Red Sea.

Viewers also will join in the extraordinary pilgrimage known as the hajj where every year two million Muslims arrive in the holy city of Meccah to reaffirm their faith, creating the largest single human gathering on Earth. In a series of stunning time-lapse images, Arabia takes viewers deep inside this holiest of cities for a climactic scene of spiritual renewal.

A powerful and surprising giant screen tour de force -- and the first major film production to be granted access to more than 20 locations across Arabia – Arabia offers a deeper understanding of this most fascinating culture and way of life that has been largely hidden from our view.

The allure of black holes is more than just gravitational. These mysterious voids of extinct stars have fascinated generations. Explore the history, physics and mystery of black holes in the Detroit Science Center’s new Dassault Systèmes Planetarium show Black Holes.

Narrated by actor John de Lancie (“Q” in the Star Trek TV series), this Digital Dome experience features rich, expansive renderings and incorporates several of the latest scientific theories regarding black holes. Witness first-hand the bending of light and the skewing of perception as the show incorporates some of the most visually stunning three-dimensional effects ever created for the dome. Add to that a sound effects track and 5.1 surround sound mix by George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound Studios and you have an unprecedented sensory experience found in no conventional theater in the world.

Watch the Black Holes trailer:



For additional information including trailers, show times and online ticketing, please visit www.detroitsciencecenter.org.

Rediscover a holiday classic with THE LIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Infuse a little magic into your holiday season with the stunning, stop-animation film The Light Before Christmas, opening at the Detroit Science Center’s Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre on Nov. 27, 2009.



The film begins with a cold, blustery Christmas Eve, when two lost children, Katie and Makean, are rescued by their friend, The Candleman, an old sage who imparts wisdom, hot chocolate and stories. He immediately invites the shivering children to his cozy cottage where he helps them warm up and dry out their mittens.

Knowing a little holiday magic will raise the children's spirits, The Candleman opens a weathered book and begins to read the classic tale, "The Night Before Christmas." To their astonishment, Katie and Makean find themselves as characters in the poem, where they experience the wonder and delight of Santa's visit to their home, complete with Hob the Elf and full team of reindeer. Hoping not to be seen, the children sneak from their bedroom and watch wide-eyed as Santa carefully fills the stocking and gently tucks gifts under the glittering Christmas tree.

This beautiful stop-motion animated film fills the giant screen with lavishly detailed sets and characters inspired by the fascinating designs of renowned artist James C. Christensen, while the musical score hearkens back to many beloved Christmas classics.

Just before the closing credits roll, Santa and Hob reappear and take the audience on a whimsical tour through the magical workshop where The Light Before Christmas was made. Artists create sets and characters, voice actors demonstrate their talents, and animators devote their skills and experience in bringing the script to life.

Detrot Science Center's Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre wins 2009 IMAX® Corporation "Best Booth Award!"

Congratulations to our IMAX® projection team on their win of the 2009 MAX® Corporation "Best Booth Award!" The Best Booth Award was started several years ago by the IMAX® Corporation and is presented at the Giant Screen Cinema Association Annual Awards Gala. The goal is to recognize the best of the best in giant screen projection in order to encourage all giant screen theaters to constantly keep the best technical standards. Unlike regular cinema multiplexes, IMAX® theaters have multi-million dollar projection and sound systems that require highly skilled technical staff to maintain and operate them. There are hundreds of IMAX® theaters around the globe, but less than a dozen have ever been recognized with the IMAX® Best Booth Award!

The Detroit Science Center won due to the many physical improvements that have been done over the past year, mostly due to the generous support of Chrysler, for which the theatre is now named. Our highly experienced projection staff, with an average length of service in the IMAX® industry of over 17 years, has gone above and beyond to make sure that all of our customers gets the most immersive experience possible during every film. When was the last time you experienced a film in our Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre? Click here for show times and come see why the IMAX® Corporation awarded us "Best Booth!"

IMAX or LIEMAX?

Does showing a film on a slightly larger screen qualify for an IMAX^® price and experience? If the recent outcry by movie fans is any indication, the answer is no. From actor Aziz Ansari's Twitter campaign against what he called, "fake IMAX^® " to one blogger's creation of a comprehensive nationwide Google Map showing the real and fake IMAX^® screens across the country, the controversy continues.

Those who have seen an IMAX^® film at the Detroit Science Center already know this, but rest assured, our Chrysler IMAX^® Dome Theatre is the real deal. The 67-foot wide, four-story high theater is the only domed IMAX^® theatre in Michigan and uses state-of-the-art technology to create an unforgettable cinematic experience.

Now that it's starting to heat up, come visit us and see real IMAX^® for yourself! In fact, our newest film The Alps opens August 7th and you can buy advance tickets now!

The Alps opens in IMAX August 7th!

The Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre is the DSC's most popular attraction. Beat the heat by immersing yourself in a film about one of the world's most majestic mountain range systems on our 67-foot wide, four-story high IMAX screen! Opens August 7th with a special member preview event on August 6th.

From MacGillivray Freeman Films, producers of the blockbuster hit Everest, comes the giant screen story of The Alps: its breathtaking beauty, harmonious culture, perilous avalanches and irresistible allure to a mountaineer on a personal journey to make peace with the mountain that killed his father.