August 21, 2016—The city that is home to the world’s busiest cruise ship port will soon offer daily departures to the planets, stars and far beyond. After a competitive selection process, the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, currently under construction in downtown Miami’s Museum Park, has chosen Sky-Skan, Inc. to provide a complete Definiti 8k 3D digital planetarium and visualization system for the Frost Planetarium, which opens next year.
“Sky-Skan really stood out as a company deeply interested in understanding our goals and in making sure we had the tools to achieve them,” said Brooks Weisblat, Vice President of Technology, Frost Science. “Sky-Skan’s technology for 3D science simulation and show development is of the highest quality, and we’re excited to be working with them.”
The new Frost Planetarium, made possible by a $10 million gift from longtime Miami benefactors Patricia and Phillip Frost, succeeds the renowned Miami Space Transit Planetarium, which closed in late 2015 as part of the museum’s previous location in Coconut Grove. The Frost Planetarium will feature 250 seats on a raked stadium-style platform. Visitors will gaze into an immense hemispherical screen and enjoy guided tours of the sky and universe, as well as immersive shows on a wide range of fascinating science and nature topics.
In some shows, visitors will wear 3D glasses, further enhancing the illusion of being immersed in fascinating environments.
Behind the scenes, ultra-high resolution, edge-blended video projectors fed by state-of-the-art graphics computers will deliver forty million pixels to the screen every 1/60th of a second, providing a vivid representation of the great wonders of the universe.
“Our technology has taken decades to perfect and we are honored to receive a commission to equip a system in one of the world’s most exciting cities,” said Steven Savage, president of Sky-Skan. “Miami has always been a world-class leader in its planetarium programming and this tradition is clearly set to continue,” he added.
The new system will automatically connect to science data repositories and update itself with the latest data about the universe so that repeat visitors will always have something new to see and learn. The installation of the system will include super-bright LED lighting and a powerful 17-channel sound system.
About Sky-Skan
Sky-Skan, Inc. was founded in 1967 as the world's first company dedicated solely to the development and manufacture of specialized devices for depicting dynamic visualizations of astronomical and meteorological phenomena on planetarium domes in museums, schools, and universities. The company has since grown to become a dominant provider of digital fulldome science visualization, theater control and show programming systems for hundreds of planetariums on six continents, serving hundreds of clients in the niche field of immersive science interpretation and education.
About the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science (Frost Science)
Frost Science aims to make a difference in people’s lives by inspiring them to appreciate the impact that science and technology can have on every facet of our world. The museum will continue to inspire visitors in a new state-of-the-art facility designed by Grimshaw Architects currently under construction at Museum Park, in the heart of downtown Miami. The museum will be structured around an indoor and outdoor Living Core Aquarium of terrestrial and aquatic environments, featuring a Gulf Stream aquarium experience totaling over 500,000 gallons of salt water. The facility will also feature the state-of-the-art full dome Frost Planetarium, the Knight Learning Center, Innovation Labs and Cafe, Baptist Health South Florida People and Science Gallery, and an Exploration Center featuring permanent interactive exhibits: Feathers to the Stars and The River of Grass. Frost Science is supported by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners of Miami-Dade County. This project is supported by the Building Better Communities Bond Program and the City of Miami. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers. Learn more at frostscience.org.
