It’s the end for film at CineDome as Orlando Science Center updates
Film is almost finished at the Dr. Phillips CineDome at Orlando Science Center. The museum is moving into the digital age, and the final reel-to-reel viewings are scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
The renovated eight-story space will be outfitted with a new domed screen, audio system, seats and an 8k full-dome digital projection system with up to 10 projectors.
Since the Loch Haven Park museum opened in 1997, visitors have been able to watch giant reels of film loaded into the Iwerks projector in a glass-enclosed, climate-controlled room on the ground floor. The projector then glides upward 18 feet to pop out in a central location among the theater seats to start the show.
“It’s something that was cutting edge in 1997, and now it’s a museum piece,” said Jeff Stanford, vice president of marketing.
Technology has advanced and the science center is one of the last giant-screen theaters in the U.S. to be using film. That has resulted in limitations as to what can be seen in the CineDome.