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Narrated by Tom Hanks

Passport to the Universe

Passport to the Universe

Taking audiences on an unforgettable voyage of billions of light-years, Passport to the Universe is an incredible journey from our home planet and the Milky Way galaxy to the edge of the universe. Audiences fly beneath the rings of Saturn, into the heart of the Orion Nebula, and out into the vastness of the observable universe, experiencing these and other stunning cosmic destinations as never before possible. Using real science and cutting-edge technology to create immersive experiences that educate and inspire, Passport to the Universe is an unprecedented virtual tour that takes audiences to the limits of the universe and back again.

Narrated by Tom Hanks.

Passport to the Universe was developed by the American Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

“Science has finally caught up with science fiction.”
– The New York Times

“The experience is literally like nothing on Earth. Who would have thought that astrophysics could ever set your heart racing?”
– The Daily News

June 1, 2016

Select a Date to View

Junior Jetsetters - Interactive Educator Led Program

Wednesday, June 1, 2016
10:00 am

Our educator led, interactive, full dome programs utilize Uniview, a visualization and simulation software aimed at presenting and teaching astronomy, astrophysics and earth sciences. Our full dome theater is a large-scale immersive environment, featuring realtime digital planetarium, and large-format cinema.

Junior Jetsetters
The night sky is what led humans long ago to wonder what is beyond Earth. Spark your curiosity with an introduction to astronomy. Visitors will look at constellations, hear stories, and practice being an astronaut all while learning basic astronomy vocabulary.

Space Junk

Wednesday, June 1, 2016
11:00 am

"After half a century of space exploration we're now suddenly faced with what has long been a staple of science fiction -- an orbiting junkyard of cast-off space debris."

With media headlines repeatedly warning us of debris falling from the skies, orbital debris, or "space junk," has finally risen to the forefront of social consciousness. But what is space junk? How did it get there? Just how big (and serious) is the problem?

"Space Junk," narrated by Academy Award® Nominee Tom Wilkinson, is the first movie to explore the exponentially expanding ring of debris that threatens the safety of our planet's orbits. Harnessing the magical imagery the Full Dome Digital Theater, Director Melissa Butts takes us soaring -- from the stunning depths of Meteor Crater to an unprecedented view of our increasingly crowded orbits, 22,000 miles above earth.

On-screen, Don Kessler, (ret.) Head of NASA's Orbital Debris Office and the "Father of Space Junk," reaches back to the beginning of our solar system for understanding and guides us through the challenges we face in protecting our orbits for the future. At risk is the future of space exploration and the safety of the extensive satellite network that powers our modern day communication systems. This visually explosive journey of discovery weighs the solutions aimed at restoring Earth's orbits.

Stunning images transport the viewers by wrapping us in star fields and allowing us to witness massive collisions in space -- both natural and man-made -- as though we were in the center of the action.

Solar System Tour - Interactive Educator Led Program

Wednesday, June 1, 2016
12:00 pm

Our educator led, interactive, full dome programs utilize Uniview, a visualization and simulation software aimed at presenting and teaching astronomy, astrophysics and earth sciences. Our full dome theater is a large-scale immersive environment, featuring realtime digital planetarium, and large-format cinema.

Solar System Tour
Our Solar System has everything you could want! Planets! Moons! Asteroids! And Comets! All swirling around our one and only star, the Sun. Visitors will learn all the different objects that populate the Solar System and feel the force that keeps worlds spinning.

Mysteries of the Unseen World

Wednesday, June 1, 2016
1:00 pm

MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD will transport audiences to places on this planet that they have never been before, to see things that are beyond their normal vision, yet literally right in front of their eyes.

Mysteries of the Unseen World will reveal phenomena that can't be seen with the naked eye, taking audiences into earthly worlds secreted away in different dimensions of time and scale.

Viewers will experience events that unfold too slowly for human perception; they will "see" the beauty, drama, and even humor of phenomena of that occur in the flash of a microsecond; they will enter the microscopic world that was once reserved only for scientists, but that Mysteries of the Unseen World makes accessible to the rest of us; they will begin to understand that what we actually see is only a fraction of what there is TO see on this Earth.

High-speed and time-lapse photography, electron microscopy, and nanotechnology are just a few of the advancements in science that now allow us to see a whole new universe of things, events, creatures, and processes we never even knew existed and now give us new "super powers" to see beyond what is in front of us.

Visually stunning and rooted in cutting-edge research, Mysteries of the Unseen World will leave audiences in complete thrall as they begin to understand the enormity of the world they can't see, a world that exists in the air they breathe, on their own bodies, and in all of the events that occur around them minute-by-minute, and nanosecond-by-nanosecond. And with this understanding comes a new appreciation of the wonder and possibilities of science.

Air Racers

Wednesday, June 1, 2016
2:00 pm

A breathtaking exploration of the fastest race in the world, the documentary film "Air Racers" provides unique insight into the legendary Reno National Championship Air Races.

Narrated by Paul Walker of the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, the film takes moviegoers into Northern Nevada’s Valley of Speed to experience, from inside the cockpit, the intensity and high-speed thrills of a sports event like no other, captured for the very first time for the giant screen.

Air racing dates back to 1909, just six years after the Wright Brothers’ inaugural flight. An intrepid young American named Glenn Curtiss won the very first air race in Reims (France) when he completed two laps in 15 minutes with a top speed of 46 mph (75 km/h).

In the Thirties, the sport evolved into multi-pylon air races that were held in Cleveland (Ohio) and Los Angeles (California) before being resurrected in Reno in 1964 by WWII flying ace Bill Stead. The concept remains much the same to this day: pilots fly as low as 50 feet (15 m) above the ground at up to 500 mph (800 km/h) and turn left around an 8.5-mile (13.6 km) oval course marked off by ten giant pylons.

A century later, audiences meet 23-year-old Steve Hinton, a rookie pilot from California whose goal is to perpetuate his two-time National Air Race champion father’s legacy by winning in the most highly anticipated and unpredictable race class, the "Unlimited".

At twice the speed of a Nascar® race, elite pilots fight for position, wingtip-to-wingtip and head-to-head, with Steve Hinton’s WWII-era P-51 Mustang fighter plane in the world’s fastest motorsport.

An action-packed, entertaining and visually stunning film, "Air Racers" is also a unique invitation to discover, from the pits to Reno’s roaring sky, an exceptional world filled with passion, competition and excitement combined with top-notch air show performers, including the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds.