Soar through solar system, see animals of the future in 2 new CyberSphere shows

Release Date: 7/24/2007. Expired: 9/29/2007

Soar through the solar system in a cardboard box and see what animals on Earth might be like millions of years in the future with two new shows in the CyberSphere Digital Theater at The Renaissance Center in Dickson that make for a fun, family friendly afternoon Saturdays in August and September.

One of the world’s most advanced planetariums, the CyberSphere presents Secret of the Cardboard Rocket and The Future Is Wild as part of its Saturday show lineup Aug. 4-Sept. 29. Both shows feature Digistar 3 technology, which covers the entire 60-foot hemisphere of the domed theater in digital video.

The CyberSphere is the only planetarium in the state of Tennessee equipped with the Digistar 3 projection system produced by Evans and Sutherland. One of the largest planetariums in North America, the CyberSphere also features one of the world’s first 360-degree laser projectors and a 14,000-watt digital Surround Sound system.

Created by Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City, Secret of the Cardboard Rocket is one of the most popular space journeys for children and their families. Two young adventurers use a magical book and their own vivid imaginations to turn a refrigerator box into a space-traveling rocket. The star travelers journey through the solar system from the boiling surface of the sun to the icy rings of Saturn.

With the totally immersive experience offered by Digistar 3, children of all ages will be mesmerized by the incredible scenery in motion and the wonder of discovery that only can be experienced inside the CyberSphere.

Secret of the Cardboard Rocket shows at 2 p.m. Saturdays in August and September. Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for military personnel and $3 for seniors 55 and up and children under 13.

After safely returning from a trip through the solar system, you can journey into the future to see what researchers think the animal kingdom might evolve into in The Future Is Wild, a new show from Evans and Sutherland that features Digistar 3 technology.

Based on a wildly successful international television series that has been broadcast in more than 60 countries, The Future Is Wild gives a glimpse of what animal life on Earth could be like in the future. An international team of researchers has been looking into how animals and plants will change and evolve over the next 5 to 200 million years and a team of more than 100 animators and scholars has transformed those ideas into creatures that fly, walk and swim on the Earth of the future.

Narrated by John de Lancie, who played Q in episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Future Is Wild was produced for Digistar 3 by Evans and Sutherland in cooperation with The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.

The Future Is Wild is presented at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturdays in August and September. Tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for military personnel and $3 for seniors 55 and up and children under 13.

In addition to the two exciting new planetarium shows, the CyberSphere will literally vibrate with some alt-rock and classic rock in Saturday night’s laser shows.

The 8 p.m. offering is Laser Creed, featuring hits of the Florida-based alternative rock band that disbanded in 2004 after selling more than 30 million albums in eight years. Spectacular laser effects fill the CyberSphere’s dome as the digital sound system pulsates with Creed hits like Bullets, My Own Prison, My Sacrifice, One, What’s This Life For, Higher, Are You Ready, What If, Torn and more.

Tickets for Laser Creed are $6.

One of the most popular rock albums of all time is featured in the 9 p.m. show as the CyberSphere presents Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. Hear every song off the 1973 classic album that sold more than 35 million copies, from Speak to Me and Breathe to Time and Money to Brain Damage and Eclipse.

Tickets for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon are $6.

For more information on shows in the CyberSphere Digital Theater, call (615) 740-5600 or visit www.rcenter.org.

The CyberSphere is part of The Renaissance Center, a fine arts education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

Visit the CyberSphere page for more about Planetarium and Laser Shows or the Home - News page for current and archived press releases.