New Shows Debut at TAMIU Planetarium
What will the year 2053 look like?
Travel to there and find out or have an out of this world experience at the Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. New shows will premiere Jan. 13 and 14.
Microcosm - The Adventure Within takes audiences to the Center of Miniaturized Medicine in the year 2053 and travels from the base of the eye to the interior of the heart. Viewers "shrink" to the size of a microbe and are injected into a patient who suffers from an infection from a mysterious virus. Audiences will gather clues the virus has left bend as they race to save the patient. This roller-coaster ride through the body debuts Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.
Techno, rave and trance music and digital animation enthusiasts shouldn't miss enTRANCEd. This new entertainment show, which premieres Saturday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m., combines digital animation, laser beam work and live-performed visual effects inside the LBV Planetarium's 45-foot dome. Fashioned to a combination of modern and classic examples of techno, rave and trance styles, this is a music experience for club music lovers and anyone who likes a visual dancing experience.
General admission tickets for Microcosm cost $5 and $6 for enTRANCEd; tickets for TAMIU students, faculty and staff and children under 12 are $4 for Microcosm and $5 for enTRANCEd. Cash, checks and credit cards are accepted. Group rates are available for 50 or more people; advance reservations required.
The TAMIU Planetarium has one of the few new generation digital projectors. Prior technology only allowed a view from the Earth; this projector allows viewing from any part of the known universe. Thus, one can travel to structures unseen, except to highly developed telescopes. The Digistar 3 projectors use powerful graphics hardware and software to generate immersive full-dome images on the interior surface of a dome, integrating all-dome video, real time 3D computer graphics, and a complete astronomy package.
Current shows include: Force 5, which explores violent weather; The Future is Wild, which gives audiences a glimpse at what might be the future of the animal kingdom on planet Earth; and Destination Saturn, which looks at how our understanding of this planet has changed over history.
For more information and show schedule, visit the Planetarium on the Web or call (956) 326.2444.
For information on group rates, please call Laura Diaz at (956) 326.2463 or e-mail planetarium@tamiu.edu.
Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu