A Capital Region science museum and planetarium is celebrating renovations with a new show.
Schenectady’s Museum of Innovation and Science, or miSci, is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Officials unveiled a newly renovated planetarium Thursday, a day before opening night for its inaugural show, called Mesmerica.
This is not your typical planetarium show. Mesmerica, created by composer James Hood, is a kaleidoscopic journey through the universe. Visual art and 3D animations are paired with Hood's relaxing score.
Kerry Lewis is planetarium manager at miSci. She says the show is unlike anything she’s seen before.
“It brings you into that relaxed meditative state that you might get in a massage, in a guided meditation, in these experiences that are different and more directly aimed at relaxation and unwinding, where this kind of engages your mind to help it relax,” Lewis said.
Michael Daut is Vice President of Engagement for Worlds, which developed the show. He says the planetarium space functions almost like an enormous virtual reality headset. The program is specifically designed for domed spaces, like miSci's planetarium.
“If you've ever thought about a VR [virtual reality] experience where you want to be surrounded by something, but you don't want to strap something on your head and feel isolated, you can have an experience like that with other people that you bring with you, and it's a shared, immersive experience where you're surrounded by music and sound and imagery,” Daut said.
To deliver next-generation planetarium shows like Mesmerica, miSci needed upgrades. The planetarium has a new high-tech projector and surround sound system. Its seats, which recline to give attendees a full view of the overhead show, have new seat covers.
The upgrades are funded through $100,000 from Metroplex, Schenectady County's economic development agency.
Schenectady County legislator and President of Discover Schenectady Cathy Gatta calls Mesmerica the best way to show off the upgrades to the planetarium.
“The improvements we celebrate today are a direct result of the partnership between Schenectady County, New York State and miSci. We came together to ensure not only that miSci stays here in Schenectady County, but that it will continue to grow and to thrive,” Gatta said.
Earlier this year, a task force of local officials came together with a plan to keep the science museum in the Electric City.
Democratic State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara chaired the committee. An engineer by trade, Santabarbara secured $10 million in the state budget to fund an engineering study to identify critical infrastructure in need of repair.
The building that houses the museum, which dates back to the 1960s, has experienced humidity in the basement, cracks in the floor, and is in need of other upgrades.
Presenting a state proclamation to miSci to mark the opening of the renovated planetarium, Santabarbara said the new program sparks wonder.
“This day reminds me of the first day I ever looked to a telescope when I was a little kid, and how amazing it was. Just wanted to just had never really thought about things like that until I had the opportunity to use a tool like a telescope and look at the vastness of space and everything that's out there,” Santabarbara said.
Each showing of Mesmerica is set to last about an hour, and will be projected on the inside of the planetarium.
Santabarbara adds he’ll be back to see the full show with his family — as soon as he can get a ticket, with the first few shows already sold out.
