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Project Summary

Planetariums have a long history of experimentation with audio and visuals to create new multimedia experiences. We report on a series of innovative experiences that began in the Gates Planetarium at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, combining live performances of music and navigation through scientific visualizations. The Life Out There productions featured a story showcasing astrobiology concepts at scales ranging from galactic to molecular, and told using VJ-ing of immersive visualizations and musical performances from the House Band of the Universe. These hour-long shows were broken into four separate themed musical movements, with an improvisatory mix of music, dome visuals, and spoken science narrative which resulted in no two performances being exactly alike. Post-performance dissemination is continuing via a recorded version of the performance available as a DVD and online streaming video. Written evaluations from visitors who were present at the live shows reveal high satisfaction and subsequent interest in astrobiology topics. Life Out There concerts have been used to inaugurate a new evening program to draw in a younger audience demographic to DMNS, and have been taken on the road to other venues in other cities.

We continued the development and public presentation of this live digital planetarium show about Titan and Astrobiology. This live lecture planetarium show, entitled “Life Out There” makes use of the digital imaging capabilities of the dome, through the innovative Uniview software, a “real time” virtual simulation of the known universe based on accurate astronomical databases and modeling. The inclusion of live musicians, who serve to introduce each section of the show, helps to attract an audience beyond those who reliably come to space science events at the planetarium, and help to create a relaxing and evocative atmosphere conducive to wonder and learning. With Uniview, we can utilize the SPICE Kernels that spacecraft teams use to describe mission trajectories, and create virtual versions that can be followed along through the simulation. Using 3-D spacecraft models, the public can follow spacecraft missions shown with breathtaking realism within the immersive display. We have a detailed model of the Cassini spacecraft, and we are using the most recently updated SPICE kernels of Cassini, including the many Titan flybys, to show the public the fantastic journey of Cassini and Huygens in exploring Titan. In addition to the live lecturer, a second operator controls the Uniview software, allowing these flybys to be seen from any perspective deemed instructive and/or entertaining. Various Cassini and Huygens image data sets, including camera data, infrared spectrometer data and radar data, are being texture mapped and rendered on the moon’s surface. The atmosphere is visually peeled away, and various visuals are used together with an original script and musical score, both written by E/PO lead David Grinspoon, to explore themes of Titan and Astrobiology for the public. The visual content was directed by Dr. KaChun Yu, Curator of Space Sciences at DMNS, in collaboration with Dr. Grinspoon.

We developed, tested, evaluated and disseminated a 20-minute stage show for informal science centers to excite and inform visitors about the science and exploration of Titan. The show utilizes a participatory exercise in scientific illustration to engage visitors in the material. Each participant is given a clipboard and pencils, and the facilitator, using a series of Cassini and Huygens images and videos of Titan, leads them through an exercise in which each draws a sketch of a Titan landscape, learning along the way about many aspects of the Titan environment as revealed by modern exploration. The show has now been seen by many thousands of visitors to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

During this last year we focused on disseminating the presentation materials and supporting media, and training materials, including a training DVD for presenters for use at other informal science centers.

We continued the development and public presentation of a live digital planetarium show about Titan and Astrobiology. This live lecture planetarium show, entitled “Life Out There” makes use of the digital imaging capabilities of the dome, through the innovative Uniview software, a “real time” virtual simulation of the known universe based on accurate astronomical databases and modeling. The inclusion of live musicians, who serve to introduce each section of the show, helps to attract an audience beyond those who reliably come to space science events at the planetarium, and help to create a relaxing and evocative atmosphere conducive to wonder and learning. With Uniview, we can utilize the SPICE Kernels that spacecraft teams use to describe mission trajectories, and create virtual versions that can be followed along through the simulation. Using 3-D spacecraft models, the public can follow spacecraft missions shown with breathtaking realism within the immersive display. We have a detailed model of the Cassini spacecraft, and we are using the most recently updated SPICE kernels of Cassini, including the many Titan flybys, to show the public the fantastic journey of Cassini and Huygens in exploring Titan. In addition to the live lecturer, a second operator controls the Uniview software, allowing these flybys to be seen from any perspective deemed instructive and/or entertaining. Various Cassini and Huygens image data sets, including camera data, infrared spectrometer data and radar data, are being texture mapped and rendered on the moon’s surface. The atmosphere is visually peeled away, and various visuals are used together with an original script and musical score, both written by E/PO lead David Grinspoon, to explore themes of Titan and Astrobiology for the public. The visual content was directed by Dr. KaChun Yu, Curator of Space Sciences at DMNS, in collaboration with Dr. Grinspoon.