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Press Release

Exploration Place Premieres ‘Kansas: An Immersive Dome Experience’

September 9, 2022

Homegrown project showcases the beauty and wonder of the Sunflower State

WICHITA, Kansas — Exploration Place is opening an immersive movie experience that has been custom- made for the giant 60-foot screen of its Dome Theater. Produced by a Wichita-based team over the last 18 months, Kansas: An Immersive Dome Experience takes viewers on an exciting journey to more than 40 locations across the state.

The movie was filmed entirely by drone, allowing a unique perspective of the beautiful scenery and landmarks of the Sunflower State. In addition to majestic landscapes, wildlife, industry and agriculture, the presentation includes remarkable, never-before-seen drone footage of the Andover tornado of April 2022.

Members of the media are invited to an exclusive preview, with interview and photo opportunities, at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15 in The Dome at Exploration Place.

“From the outset, our goal was to create a love letter to Kansas,” said Adam Smith, Exploration Place’s president and CEO, “something that makes local residents feel proud, while giving tourists a whole new perspective of the state. We feel that we have achieved the goal, in a unique experience that can only be fully appreciated in the immersive environment of our Dome Theater.”

Cinematography was provided by three drone operators based in Wichita: Jeremy Miller (Drone- tography); Kevin Stebral (Pro-UAVision); and Matthew Kesterson (Three1Six Photography). An original score was composed and recorded by Wichita’s Trevor Stewart, internationally recognized as a virtuoso Chapman Stick musician. The film was edited by Nate Jones, Exploration Place’s multimedia specialist, using a virtual reality headset that accurately simulated the immersive qualities of the dome theater.

Kansas: An Immersive Dome Experience is 25 minutes long and will be shown daily in The Dome beginning Sept. 16. The movie is presented by Cargill, with additional support from the K. T. Wiedemann Foundation, Trust Company of Kansas and more than 100 other donors who supported a campaign on the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform.

Check www.exploration.org/dome for showtimes, and view the trailer here.

Filming began in April 2021 and covered more than 40 locations across the state, including:

Statewide

  • Syracuse Sand Dunes Park, Syracuse
  • Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, Oakley Monument Rocks and Castle Rock, Gove County Rock City Park, Minneapolis
  • Coronado Heights, Smoky View
  • Big Brutus, West Mineral
  • Cosmosphere, Hutchinson
  • Cathedral of the Plains, Victoria
  • Chase County Courthouse, Cottonwood Falls Kansas State Capitol, Topeka
  • Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, McPherson County The Flint Hills
  • Prairie fires
  • Orso Falls, Chautauqua County
  • Cowley State Fishing Lake, Arkansas City
  • Kansas River, Manhattan
  • Dodson International Parts, Rantoul
  • Mural at the Mill, Salina
  • Textron Aviation
  • Sunflowers, buffalo, wild horses, windmills

In Wichita

  • Beachner Grain Elevator
  • Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center Friends University
  • Orpheum Theatre
  • Crown Uptown
  • Epic Center
  • Keeper of the Plains (day and night)
  • Riverfest fireworks
  • Douglas Avenue
  • Riverfront Stadium
  • Delano
  • Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum
  • Old Town
  • Union Station

Contact

Laura Roddy, Chief Advancement Officer
316-660-0602

About Exploration Place

The mission of Exploration Place, Kansas’ premier science center, is to inspire a deeper interest in science and technology through creative and fun experiences for all. Exploration Place is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and through 8 p.m. on Thursday evenings.