January 3, 2008--The Science Station board has announced that the IMAX theater will cease to operate as of January 20. The board emphasized that they and the staff are focused on improving the Science Station, delivering on its long standing mission to provide exciting hands on learning opportunities and science and math education outreach.

The board is planning several new signature exhibits for 2008 including a new state of the art weather lab, a new computer lab and a comprehensive pre-K hands-on exhibit and many existing exhibits are in the process of been refurbished.

“The board and staff made every effort to make the theater work but ultimately we had to make this very difficult decision.” said Dan Thies, President of the Science Station board. “The theater has not been profitable in recent years and we can no longer afford to subsidize it at the expense of our core mission.”

Doug Neumann, President and CEO of the Downtown District said, “While we are disappointed the IMAX is closing, we appreciate the financial realities facing the board and we are committed to helping the Science Station remain a core downtown destination for families and visitors.”

“Our financial support has always been directed toward the Science Station’s education mission, so I’m actually pleased the board has had the courage to make what is obviously a tough decision.” said Pat Baird, CEO of AEGON USA. “Given where film technology is headed today this seems inevitable. This is an opportunity for the board and staff to turn their full attention and resources toward improving the Science Station.”

The board cited several factors contributing to the announcement.

“The film industry is changing rapidly with a move to digital and 3D technology which is not currently possible with our theater configuration. Converting to digital 3D technology would involve effectively rebuilding the theater because currently the soon-to-be-released IMAX digital technology is not designed for dome theaters.” said Theis. “When our facility first opened it was state of the art and the only IMAX in Iowa. Now there are three IMAX theaters in Iowa and another large format facility planned for Dubuque.”

“Increasingly the key revenue generating IMAX films are mainstream box office hits like Harry Potter and Beowulf, with many of these in 3D.” said Thies. “In December IMAX announced that beginning in 2008 they will be installing their new digital technology in 100 commercial theaters. At the same time local theaters are already offering digital and 3D technology. Because our attendance has been eroding we were informed in mid-December that it would be increasingly difficult for us to qualify for these box office hits when they are first released. This was the final blow since these films were able to generate enough revenue to keep us within a reasonable range of breaking even.”