Imagine being commandeered into space, zooming in and out of planets as you wish, to have a closer look at the huge craters on the moon or perhaps to move closer to see the rings on the mighty Jupiter or, if you like, to trek on the rocky terrain on Mars.  Imagine going into warp speed and beyond the Milky way, flying past pulsars and quasars into the final frontier while you sit comfortably in the revamped interior of the Omni-Theatre as the live presenter brings you ‘boldly where no man has gone before’ using the latest and highest resolution technology the world has never seen…except right here in Singapore!

The revamped Omni-Theatre reopens on 30 May 2015 with the world’s latest and brightest 8K digital fulldome system where audiences can learn about astronomy and space science with “LIVE” shows conducted by educators from the  Singapore Science Centers. These “LIVE” shows are at the command of the educators as they zoom in and out, zoom past or even return to the various parts of the galaxy to give the shows a highly interactive feel. The 8K digital fulldome and Digistar 5 visualization software provides real-time computer graphics rendered accurately with high-resolution details, along with real-time data from NASA and our all-time favourite – The American Museum of Natural History. In short, it’s like you’re right there in space, in person!

“In the past it was just a playback system, but now, here with a presenter, he can take you through the experience himself. The level of interaction is very high and there is that constant exchange between the presenter and the audience,” explained Mr Clarence Sirisena, Deputy Chief Executive of SCS.

We had a taste of the presentation and it was seriously mindbogglingly real. No need to don 3D glasses, the fulldome screen gives everyone a totally immersive experience like no other! It’s exceptionally good to stir a young child’s imagination, spur the curiosity of a student and bring the adults’ childhood dreams to life – in the highest resolution dome screen in the world. While there are 3 types of ‘LIVE’ shows for the public, there are possibilities for school and corporate groups to customize these shows and pitch to the appropriate audiences because the graphics can be manipulated by the presenter live.

In addition to these “LIVE” shows, the Omni-Theatre features 3 new fulldome movies as well:

‘Back to the Moon’ is a digital fulldome movie that relives the glory of man’s first step on to the moon.  It chronicles real-life ongoing attempts by teams to return to the moon again, this time for good. During the sneak preview, we were awed by the realism of Armstrong’s ‘one small step’ event in full larger than life digital rendition on South East Asia’s largest seamless dome screen accompanied by state of the art sound system and lighting.

There are also 2 other more ‘down to earth’ IMAX dome movies – ‘Pandas, The Journey Home’ and ‘Animapolis’ where audience will get to take a voyage to the magical world of animals.  These 70mm IMAX movies are different and far more superior than the regular IMAX movies shown in commercial cinemas. For a start, the dome screen gives an almost 360-degree immersive experience while the 70mm film gives the depth in realism.

Along with the revamp, the new Omni-Theatre seats are also wider and more comfortable for the audiences. I must admit that Dana and I were pining for that ‘space’ experience again after last Summer’s visit to the huge Hayden’s Planetarium in the American Museum of Natural History (New York) and we were pleasantly surprised that with the revamped Omni-Theatre, we are finally getting our dose of space travel where even the sky has no limits. I dare say, this feature would perfectly complement a visit to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. 

Whether you’re a child or a child at heart, we who live in Singapore are incredibly blessed!  For more information on tickets and show times, please visit Omni-Theatre’s official website.