Space Station Experience

The human need to explore the universe and gain an understanding about the larger world has prevailed for centuries. The development of the International Space Station (ISS) which started its construction in 1998 has been one of the greatest engineering achievements, since a man first stepped on the Moon in 1969.

Spacestation is a 3-D movie running on IMAX cinemas all over the world giving the opportunity for millions of people to experience what it is like to work at a facility in space 220 miles above the Earth.

I had my 3-D experience of the Space Station at the IMAX theatre located at the Science Museum and it took me spacewalking under zero gravity alongside all the other astronauts. The movie is a story about how much effort is put in by engineers and astronauts in achieving the dream of a complete research laboratory in space.

The film also contains a scene where a dialogue activity had been organised between the astronauts of the space station and a group of school children through satellite communications. This type of activity helps encourage a younger audience to ask questions from human pioneers who have ventured into the space and learn from their experiences.

The large size of the screen combined with the sounds and the 3-D imagery takes anyone watching it right to the Space Station and also the movie is free for Imperial College students at the Science Museum-IMAX!

Submitted by Malith Wijesinghe

IMAX – ‘Deep Sea’

The IMAX at the science museum shows 3D films on a variety of science topics such as the moon landings, International Space Station and Wildlife.

‘Deep Sea’ is a documentary program about sea creatures, their environment and the interactions between them. The film focuses on the theme of symbiosis between fish and coral in the oceans whilst including interesting details about a diverse range of creatures, open sea and coral cleaning stations and the coral reefs themselves.

Overall I think that ‘Deep Sea’ focuses too much on the theme of symbiosis and is intellectually aimed at a young audience. I did not feel that it was necessary for every interesting point to be linked to this one idea and thought the film was long enough to have more than one main theme. However the film was very enjoyable. The 3D imagery was excellent making you feel you really were underwater in one of the world’s most beautiful environments, and the music was excellently integrated to create the peaceful atmosphere of the deep sea. I think that 3D cinema is an excellent media for this kind of film, allowing people to get really close to creatures and an environment that they would otherwise never experience.

‘Deep Sea’ includes a topical message: over fishing of the oceans is destroying the balance between ecosystems and causing the coral to die. I felt this was an excellent fact to include and was very effective within the media of the film. ‘Deep Sea’ also captures the wonder of science with facts such as how “all the coral in the ocean spawn precisely one hour after sunset eight days after the full moon in August.” This for me creates a fascination with science which I think is perhaps the best aspect of the film.

Submitted by Ceris Austyn-prys