This former train station on West Broad Street is 95 years old, but it’s about to become one of the slickest, most high-tech dome theaters and planetariums on the planet.
The Science Museum, which saved this stately old station from demolition, added the planetarium and I-Max dome 30 years ago. It was super high-tech back then, and they’re spending the millions to make sure it stays that way.
They’ve brought in a crew from merry old England to pull it off – the same outfit that upgraded it a decade or so ago. This time, they’re going all out.
The old aluminum viewing skin – made of lapped panels that put little snags in the all-around view - has been peeled off. In its place will be panels with computer-shaped seams that will butt up against each other so snugly, the bowl-shaped inner surface will be virtually flawless once the show starts. At least, that’s the plan.
And that is the foundation for a brand new Digistar 5 fulldome 3D projector system so precise, it will be roughly twice as sharp as a good flatscreen TV.
It is due to debut in about two-months – March 15 – but you can get a taste of it by watching our video report here. Click here for updates on www.smv.org.
