A NEW BEGINNING
Since 1991, audiences at the Carnegie Science Center's Rangos Omnimax
Theater have begun their large-screen adventure with a four-minute slide and
audio show describing the mechanics of the theater and Imax films.
This
introduction was meant to be temporary--but at a cost of $100,000 per minute, creating a
large-format preview film was beyond the reach of the new facility. Now
thanks to funding from the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation and private
donors, Carnegie Science Center
will premiere a new eight-minute, $600,000 preview film on January 12. The
film was written and directed by Pittsburgher Peter Argentine, based on a
concept and visuals developed by CSC's Dennis Bateman and consultant Liz
Swartz, who were the "executive" producers" as the film was
conceived, shot and edited. The
film focuses on Pittsburgh's past as a steel center (footage was filmed in
the Edgar Thompson and Irwin steel mills) and the city’s transformation into
a center of the high-tech industry. There's plenty of fabulous footage,
including the Three Rivers Regatta, Kennywood Park, the Pittsburgh Zoo,
Ohiopyle, and stunning shots of Downtown from unique air and ground vantage
points.
"It's
action-packed," says Liz Swartz. "There's a lot that goes on in
that eight minutes." Swartz feels the film will be an asset to the
science center and Pittsburgh. "It's the kind of movie people will want
to come back to see again and again," she says. "It creates a sense
of pride in the community and background about the city."
EXTREME SPORTS SIMULATOR = THRILL RIDE
Simulator. One
word that can take you on a thousand journeys. Ever dream of swooshing down treacherous slopes? Or bumping and jumping at breakneck
speeds through sandy dunes?
Here’s your
chance. Virtual fun begins
aboard Carnegie Science Center’s new “Extreme Sports Simulator.” Daredevils and would be daredevils
take their turn aboard a spacey-looking, fiberglass pod that’s equipped with
six bucket seats and a hydraulic system that mimics the motion you see on the
screen ahead of you.
From the starting
block to the finish line five minutes later, riders are catapulted through
real video of high adrenaline adventures, like rides on dune buggies,
go-carts, roller coasters and even skis! If that’s not enough for you, once the simulator is up and
running in mid February, Tom Flaherty, director of exhibits and facilities,
says they also have the option to run as many as 25 other programs, with
names like “Motorcycle Madness,” “Wave Blaster,” “Wild Ice” and “Ocean
Flight.”
“The simulator is a great
teaching tool to learn about the advanced technologies that are used in this
high-tech machine,” says Flaherty.
“We hope riders will leave the simulator with a better understanding
of the hydraulics, electronic systems and computer programming required to
make this system work.”
Staff
educators will be on hand to reveal the science behind the virtual sports
programming and demonstrate how the simulator works. Each ride cost $1.
--Kelly
Chapman
The Stars Tonight
Virtual
Stars Burn Brightly for the Buhl Planetarium
There’s something new under
the dome at the Carnegie Science Center’s Buhl Planetarium – yet it’s not
really under the dome at all. It’s all about the universe around us, but most
of it doesn’t exist. It’s rooted in Pittsburgh, but it will travel around the
world. It’s – The Stars Tonight.
The Planetarium has partnered with
Pittsburgh-based Commersel Studios to create an innovative and fun way to
learn about the cosmos. The Stars
Tonight is a web-based, astronomy program that will provide high quality
streaming media “on demand” to the Internet community. Brainchild of
Planetarium Producer James Hughes and Commersel’s C.W. Kreimer, The Stars Tonight is unlike any
science education program on the World Wide Web today.
Each week, two new five to six
minute episodes of The Stars Tonight
will be posted to a dedicated web site where viewers can access the new
material, peruse the steadily growing archive of segments, or learn more
about the show topics through activities, games, and other links.
The segments are being written and
hosted by Planetarium Director John Radzilowicz. The episodes focus equally
on astronomical happenings that are easily accessible to the backyard stargazer and on hot topics
in astronomy and space science.
What’s most original about this new
venture is the use of “holo-set” technology to create a computer-generated
environment where the host can interact with the virtual surroundings. The
virtual sets include “the observatory,” “the classroom,” and “the theater,”
among others. Animated globes, black boards, and other props are used and
manipulated to aid the narration. In other words, the host is the only “real”
thing in the whole production!
This venture promises a new kind of
web presence for Carnegie Science Center. Interested in finding out more?
Just point your web browser at www.TheStarsTonight.com
and see what the future of Internet learning holds.
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