The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Illuminarium’s new immersive experience goes into ‘Space’
Show includes the moon, a nebula, constellations and Kuiper Belt.
When the Illuminarium immersive museum opened off the Beltline a year ago, the company behind it was already working on a show focused on outer space.
While the first immersive show, “Safari,” used real footage from Africa, the new show was almost entirely created on computer, which was a much more complicated enterprise.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Nicole Klein, vice president for sales and marketing.
“Space: A Journey to the Moon and Beyond,” which opens today, places attendees in an Apollo rocket to the moon and on the surface of the moon itself, as seen by the astronauts themselves. The designers then imagine what a moon space station might look like in 2350. After that, there are trips to a psychedelic-feeling nebula, the constellations, the planets of the solar system and the Kuiper Belt past Neptune.
“We’ve taken feedback over the past year from our guests and what resonates with them,” Klein said. This means more interactivity, such as enabling people to create footprints on the moon or break up space rocks in the Kuiper Belt into fragments — with one’s feet.
The whimsical soundtrack is all over the map, including Frank Sinatra (“Fly Me to the Moon”) the Police (“Walking on the Moon”), David Bowie (“Space Oddity”), Radiohead (“Everything in its Right Place”) and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (“Waltz on the Beautiful Blue Danube.”)
The show features some actual audio and visual footage from NASA but is largely imagery created by the Illuminarium designerswith advice from NASA experts, astronauts and astronomers. “They’re still tweaking things to make it even more exciting,” Klein said. “But we’re really happy where it’s at.”