Walking into the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History’s newly renovated Omni dome is unlike anything in this world.
For nearly 40 years, the museum’s Omni IMAX Theater dazzled moviegoers by projecting images on its 180-degree ceiling. The theater, built in 1983 as Fort Worth’s only IMAX, shut down in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Over the last 18 months, the theater has undergone major renovations to transform into an 8K LED immersive dome made up of nearly 12,000 individual screens
White light radiated from the dome and surrounded the field of view, almost akin to looking out of a plane window while flying through a cloud. Visually taking in the entire dome takes several moments.
No projector is needed in the 78-foot diameter dome. Instead, the LED panels are controlled by computers in a nearby server room. Audio-wise, speakers are attached to and placed all over the backside of the dome to help beam sound waves onto guests through perforated panels.
The sound and picture combine to create an experience wholly unique to the museum, said Tammy McKinney, museum vice president of development and marketing.
In fact, when the theater opens in late November, it will be historic among those in museums.
