We want to know what you think about the Space Theater! What was your favorite IMAX film of all time? Have any fun stories about a certain film or planetarium show? Did you have a particularly memorable field trip experience here as a child?
Share your memories, anecdotes or even photographs! Enter your comments below or e-mail your photos to jpyle@rhfleet.org, and we’ll post them within 3 days.
Plus, for every entry made between Nov. 13 and December 1, we’ll enter you into a contest to win a piece of the world’s first tilted dome screen! When it opened in 1973, the Fleet’s Space Theater was the world’s first tilted dome theater and the first IMAX Dome. Now you can win a piece of history simply by sharing your memories with us! We will randomly select ten entries on December 1 to receive a commemorative keepsake constructed from the original dome screen. Good luck!
Before I lived in San Diego I was visiting a friend and they took me to see Wild California. This film was so much fun because you actually felt like you were riding on a rollercoaster at one point. Coming to such a great place definitely had a hand in my moving to America’s Finest City.
I had never even visited until I started working here. My first assignment was running puppets for 2 shows we were running at the time – 1982. The shows were “The Magic Sky” and “Skywatchers”. I was to spend many many hours in those puppet booths with my hand mouthing the words from the sound track. In the afternoon I fixed slide projectors.
I can still sing the Sun Song!
I loved “To Worlds Beyond” in the 90’s, and going way back, I really loved all the laserium shows in the early 80’s…I wish they’d come back so I could bring my kids…What an imagination inspiring experience!!
The laserium…… to this day remains my all time favorite!! A perfect outting is, an afternoon IMAX show, a quiet stroll, and returning to the Dome for an imagination inspiring experience to say the least! There were no two shows the same. You were there, mind, body and soul!! It was the greatest escape! I still suffer from this tragic loss. Is there a glimmer of hope? I wish I knew what it would take to convince the people who could make it happen, that it should happen! People today would appreciate just the same. We could all use an escape today! Please for the good of the Space Theater and the good of the people! Inspire those imaginations!!
What can I say one of the best high school memories I have is the Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin laseriums. There is nothing quite like it and to explain it to someone who has never experienced it is virtually impossible. Would love to take my husband someday!!!
True, the laseriums were awe inspiring but equally and especially was the film “Rain Forest”. I will never forget that movie and how I felt when the tree fell; I was hooked forever on the Space Theater. I look forward to a new experience there, though it’s hard to imagine it being improved, when it never felt outdated.
I hope there will be replays, from the past IMAX films so our children get the knowledge and understanding these films provide. Thank you to everyone involved making this possible.
I remember “walking on the moon” with Pink Floyd at the laserium. Now I bring my girls to see all the films. Can’t wait to see them on the new screen.
I first visited the laserium in the mid 70s. I saw a Pink Floyd rock concert. It was fantastic.
Looking forward with breath abated to the new theater.
Ahhh Pink Floyd, lot’s of fun memories there. But what I will always remember is approx 18 years ago I took my 4 and 7 year old daughters to see a show about…I can’t remember the name but it was a show about flying. My 7 year old was mesmorized but when I looked over at my 4 year old she was hanging on to her chair for dear life because she was afraid that she was going to fall off. It took more than a few moments to talk into letting go. Memories
Don’t remember the title, but will never forget the film that traveled through our bodies. Telling about where the blood goes and about all the other stuff in there that is all normal, but we don’t hear much about.. So if my nose runs for no reason I remember that film and know that it’s ok.
Ill never forget taking our 2 year-old twins to see the Coral Reef encounter. We thought it would be an experience they would love. Didn’t think about what they would think of the site of 15 foot fish seemingly swimming right at them!!! DOOH!!!
We’ll be back in a year to deliver that memory again on the new screen!
My husband and I took our 5 year-old son to the Imax theatre for the first time last summer. At first he was terrified of the title of the movie “Sea Monsters” and didn’t want to watch the movie. We pointed out that a lot of children were in line to see the movie so he finally agreed. He LOVED the movie and the whole experience. He loves dinosaurs so he loved the sea monsters. He also loved the way the screen made the monsters seem real and right in front of him. To this day he still talks about that movie:)
I have many fond memories of the Fleet – from the countless IMAX films I’ve seen to the various exhibitions. But my favorite now is bringing my two young girls to explore the world of science.
We have been taking our two children, Zacary & Sydnie, to the IMAX movies since they were very little. We used to have to sit in the section up front for “kids only” and I couldn’t wait until we could move to the seats higher up. But now that we are able to sit in the seats higher up I miss that they are so little and that we don’t have to sit in the kids section. We have seen so many great IMAX movies at the dome that it seems impossible to name just one. We also have so many wonderful memories of spending great times at not only the IMAX but at the Fleet Science as well. “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, is the one that heralds new discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but rather, “hmm…. that’s funny….” ~ Isaac Asimov
We will continue to be members of the Science center and the IMAX because we love making memories and Science!
About 3 years ago, my family moved to San Diego from Japan. A lot of things happened to us in San Diego.
We had new addition to our family, Baby girl.
Our son entered school in San Diego first time in his life.
Just like every other families with kids, we struggled to make one-on-one time with older kids.
The space theater helped us a lot for this problem.
Either one of us(my huspand and me) watch the baby and other one go to the IMAX with our son.
It was great time and educational at the same time.
We are planning to go back to Japan in next May.
We will miss the theater a lot!!
When I had out of town guests-a family of five-and an 18 month old baby, I insited we see a show at the Fleet. I treated us to tickets and did every trick I knew to lull my baby to sleep. It was perfect.
Well, the show we saw was Yellowstone. It opened with a grizzly bear as big as a house that was very, very angry.
Naturally, the roaring startled my child awake, but he was so scared that he didn’t start crying!
Now he’s 14 and we’ve been members for years. Thank you Fleet, and keep the Exploratorium exhibits coming!
First Fleet experience was in 1980 as a college student. Been going regularly ever since. The motion, stereo-surround sound, realistic high-def images, narration, educational content, and death-defying activities leave lasting memories. The IMAX and other presentations take us to places we probably would never go in real life! So many favorites and wonderful experiences. I bring friends and family when they visit. They talk about it for years, and they always want to return to see more. Some that spring to mind: Bugs, Caves, Dolphins, Sharks, The Human Body, Raging Rivers, Rain Forest, Kilomanjaro, Everest, Austrailia, Grand Canyon, Alaska, Dinosaurs, Corral Reef Adventure, Hurricane on the Bayou, and so many more. Thank You for wonderful programs, occasional 3D shows, and Fabulous Fridays, when I can share old favs with friends and family. Fun to watch their reactions at the parts I know will surprise them.
The lights dim, and suddenly the room is filled with krypton and argon laser beams coming out of tiny holes all around the dome. Each beam is reflected by mirrors and the final artistic result is unique to each program, because a person on a control board would modify the beams manually.
Colors from deep green, to intense blue, to ruby red, are dancing and mixing in time to the music. The dome is completely dark except for the laser patterns, and the effect is nothing short of incredible. LASERIUM had hit the big screen.
At that time, surround sound was virtually unknown, but in the Space Theater, you were experiencing both visual and audio immersion in a sound field, which bordered on a dream state. Huge subwoofers rocked the seats. Music was from contemporary rock bands of the time, but also selections from the dreamy album by Gustav Holst: The Planets Suite.
Because the dome must be kept as free of dust as possible, it was truly a “breath of fresh air” to be in the dome –like being on a mountain top.
My wife and I had just started dating in 1974 (high school seniors), and we loved to go to “that new dome theater” to see movies as well as the later LASERIUM shows. IMAX may be a household word now, but in 1975 it was revolutionary, and an instant success.
Thanks for the memories!
When OMNIMAX premiered in 1973 at the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center showing two OMNIMAX features, Voyage to the Outer Planets and Garden Isle, we were amazed at the technology. We felt that a breakthrough had occured and watching films would never be the same, and we were so right.
I remember chaperoning my kids’ classes when they took field trips to the theater and the science museum. It was always amazing to see their faces when they saw the DOME. The Coral Reef adventure is my favorite. I’m excited that the 1st movie will be about the ocean, also! Can’t wait.
When I was little my Dad was a security guard at Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and sometimes he would bring me with him and I would play for hours and then I would go watch the lazer show I was only 8 years old and I was amazed at what I saw. Then when my oldest was in school going with her on field trips now I have a 3 year old, who I just reciently took to see her first IMAX film a week before it closed, and an 8 month old and I look forward to a lot more trips to RHFST.
I have good memories of my first visit to the Fleet Center because I was able to take my new husband there for his first IMAX movie ever. We had such a fun day there!
I loved the Pink Floyd Laserium experiences waaayyyyyy back in the 80s. I practically grew up in Balboa Park, and all my fond memories of the Fleet from interactive exhibits, to “space” ice cream, to the my numerous IMAX experiences will forever hold a special place in my childhood.
I have many memories of the IMAX presentations. The one that comes to mind first is when my wife and I were watching a very realistic flight path that took us over a cliff and it made us gasp. It was an incredible effect, awe inspiring.
My first encounter with the Imax magic, was traveling through the heavens, seeing the stars, and planets on a closeup journey. Through the years many other shows captured the imagination, and took us through our inner space, mind exploding Lasarium treks with music provided by Led Zepplin, and Pink Floyd. Adventures with Aniimals of the tundra, getting to know the wolves.
Memories of my children attending the shows for the first time, mouths agape, eyes fillied with wonder. Ahhh, so much to remember with fondness.
I thank you for these years of great memories. I look forward to more memories yet to be made, with the even better dome setting the standard for others to try to live up to.
I remember the Planetarium Star Shows watching the big star ball projecting all the stars on the dome. I remember my seat “moving” as I watch the IMAX films. I would buy the IMAX films when they came out to try a relive the feeling, but there is nothing like sitting in the first row behind the projector, with your feet resting on top of the enclosure, just being absorbed into the film. Now that is High Definition! I guess what I remember most is all the “new” added things, the multi media projections, the laserium shows when they added the laser produced animations. I was just fascinated on what they came up. I know it is “old school” technology now, but it was sure fun being part of seeing all the new toys you came up with.
Jim Crooks was a key designer of the first IMAX optical system and also the developer of a guidance system for the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile. I have fond memories of having lunch with Jim in the General Dynamics cafeteria and hearing him expound on the design of the IMAX theater and what a great thing it would be for San Diego. Were he still living he would be thrilled with the new system and probably have some suggestions for further improvement.
AMAZING –the whole sky right there just AMAZING
My favorite IMAX film is “Lewis & Clark, Great Journey West.” I’m a fan of American history and I like IMAX films that have a strong story. One of my sons, an expert white-water raft guide, was in the cast, so it was expecially fun for me to see this movie after hearing his “behind the scenes” tales. He is prominently featured in the foreground of the film’s publicity poster so I’ve framed it and proudly display it at home.
I thoroughly enjoy the theater. I teach elementary school and try to bring my class there every year. It is the only theater I have been in of its kind. I hope San Diego continues to enjoy this great landmark. I hope the people of San Diego know how fortunate we are to have this theater. Thank you.
Throughout my upbringing I had visited the fleet and
had many fond memories. My kids also visited on school fieldtrips and then we forgot…..But then some relatives visited from out of town and their 9 year old had a list of places to go. The R. H. Fleet was one of them and our love of this place was reawakened through this child. We bought a pass and have had one for 3 years. My favorite film to date is the “Grand Canyon” I felt as though I were actually on the river it was a rush and let’s not forget “Pulse.” Our 17 year old loved it being a drummer in Marching band. We bought the CD and he has the music on his IPod. Our 13 year old loved “Sea Creatures” and thinks the theater is a blast because of his vision deficit he can sit anywhere and enjoy seeing the film. Although, he sits in the lower section he says it gives him the feeling of star gazing or the virtual feeling of being inside the movie. We would like to thank you because the inquisitive nature of science lives in everyone. So when we have out of town guest we bring them to the fleet to experience the interactive center but mostly to show off San Diego’s one of a kind dome theater with the great selection of films you provide.
Since I was a little boy, I always loved the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center; the IMAX theatre was a big attraction that I couldn’t pass up. The IMAX Theater was something that I always was excited about. Either when I went on school field trips to visit the IMAX Theatre or when I went with my parents to visit, I loved the feeling the IIMAX Theatre instilled in me. This feeling was so strong that it made me feel like I was physically there, at the location or locations within the movie. Now that I am grown up and I am a teacher, I plan on instilling the feelings I felt of excitement and wonder with my students when the IMAX Theatre reopens at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.
I could reach far back to my childhood for a favorite memory, but with all honesty, my greatest of the theater came last year when I took my son to see “Hurricane on the Bayou”. The movie touched on multiple interests for us and really moved my son to take an even greater interest in habitat/land conservation. As well, he fell in love with Amanda Shaw (who was wonderful in the film). Just a couple months later, thanks to the efforts of one very special RHF employee, my son met Amanda at Gator by the Bay (he’s also since met Tab Benoit). Combining the music we love with a cause we believe in quite firmly has given us the chance to work together to raise awareness of preserving land — be it here, there, or anywhere. If it can happen in Louisiana, it can happen any place and that’s a message we need to heed before it’s too late.
I have the greatest memories of this theater! I was in combination classes during elementary school and had the same great teacher, Mrs. Steeg (who I still keep in touch with and I’m now 41!), for three years. She would take us on frequent field trips to Balboa Park and we had so much fun, esp. during the IMAX shows and at the Science Center . As a teenager I was also there repeatedly. Now I can’t wait for the remodeled theater to open so I can enjoy it again. One show that I missed is the panda show, which I would love to see some day. Maybe that will come back around?!
It was a remarkable journey, my first flight over the Grand Canyon, where one could experience the feeling of flight and having the earth fall away from you as you fly over a canyon. The feeling of motion, without moving an inch, it was always an adventure visiting the theater, as it will continue to be for me and for many generations! Thank you!!
I’ve been coming to the Fleet Space Theater since the 1970s, when I was a kid. In fact, I still have a souvenir that was handed out on a school field trip many years ago: a small section of film from a Space Theater movie (this was back when the film format was known as OMNIMAX). Over the years, the Theater was always one of the first stops when guests would come to San Diego from out of town.
In addition to years of science and documentary movies, there were also the special shows, such as the Fleet’s short films, the behind-the-scenes demonstrations, laser/rock shows, computer-animation movies, Fleet planetarium shows, etc.
Most recently, I was lucky to attend the last Fleet show held under the original Dome: the “Sky Tonight” planetarium show, on September 3, 2008. It concluded with a showing of John Young’s computer animation, which was a wild rollercoaster ride along a giant Mobius Strip in space.
(Thanks to John Young, for kindly letting me take some photos of the Theater’s control room as the audience was leaving. Thank you! I’ll email a pic to this blog.)
Also, “Thank you” to all the Fleet staff over the years, and thanks for this blog which is documenting the Theater’s history.
Since coming to San Diego I always enjoyed coming to the Salve Theatre. I remember so many school field trips staring at the vast expance of the dome and being amazed as the movies took me to places that I could never dream of going.
Soon, I look forward to making new memories with my son as he experiences the wonder that is Rueben H. Fleet.
Several memories here mention Laserium. I was one of the individuals presenting it during the last series between 1996 and 2001.
I am happy to mention, unofficially, that we are looking at some types of artistic presentations when we enter phase 2, digital projection.
Some other planetariums, notably the Rose in New York and the Clark in Salt lake City are presenting what are called “Cosmic Light Shows”.
In hopes that some of my material might be shown on this enormous canvas, I have prepared samples and you can see then on you tube.
As you look at the tiny computer screen and listen to the mono sound track, IMAGINE these on a giant scale, filling the dome above and around you
Cosmic Light Shows (Music by Wilber Wright and the Wrongs and Porcupine Tree)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoE
Pride: In the name of love (Music by U2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R4rvB8h1g4
Beautiful Day (Music by U2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaJE7tv1N3k
Learn more about this fascinating new technology here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulldome
Jim Crooks would indeed be happy!
John Young
Correction on the link to Cosmic Light Shows listed above: