FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

Narrated by Forest Whitaker

Presented by National Geographic Entertainment and Days End Pictures

WASHINGTON (October 25, 2013)—A new giant screen film adventure takes audiences on an extraordinary journey into unseen worlds and hidden dimensions beyond our normal vision to uncover the mysteries of things too fast, too slow, too small to be seen or simply invisible. On Friday, November 8, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center’s Heikoff Giant Dome Theater will premiere MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD, an original production by National Geographic Entertainment and Days End Pictures, narrated by Forest Whitaker.

Created by an award-winning veteran film team, the new 40-minute large format experience is produced by Jini Dürr (Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure) and Lisa Truitt (Mysteries of Egypt), and directed by Louie Schwartzberg (Disneynature: Wings of Life). MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD uses innovative high-speed and time-lapse photography, electron microscopy and nanotechnology to transport audiences to an enthralling secret world of nature, events and breathtaking phenomena not visible to the naked eye.

INVISIBLE:

We see only a fraction of the millions of wavelengths in the vast electromagnetic spectrum—the rainbow of light waves called visible light. The film shows audiences what it would be like if we had X-ray vision, or infrared vision like a mosquito; how a bee’s eyes see through ultraviolet light; what Gamma rays, microwaves and radio waves show us; and more.

TOO SLOW:

Time-lapse images capture mundane events that happen too slowly for humans to perceive. The film shows plants creeping toward the sun and astonishingly complex “slime molds” searching for food. On a grander scale, time-lapse allows audiences to see our planet in motion—from the vast and relentless sweep of nature to the restless movement of humanity.

TOO FAST:

High-speed cameras do the opposite of time-lapse, revealing secrets from the super-fast world of nature. The film shows slow-motion sequences of events that happen too quickly for human perception: a rattlesnake strike; drum cymbals reverberating; a Eurasian Eagle Owl, the world’s largest, flexing its wings; a basilisk or Jesus lizard running on the surface of water; popcorn popping; lightning rising upward from the ground as well as striking from the sky.

TOO SMALL:

The film also peers into the world of wonders too small for the human eye to see—from the minute structures on a butterfly’s wing and the tiny organisms that inhabit the human body all the way down to nano-scale structures. See how electron microscopes create images that magnify things by as much as a million times—revealing a world that is both bizarre and beautiful. Guess which unusual image is a fruit fly’s eye, the skin of a shark, a flea on a cat, a tomato stem, an eggshell and more!

MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD then moves from the familiar events of everyday life to the building blocks of matter itself. The filmmakers worked with a 3-D medical animation company to depict the atom-scale realm of nano-science and potential innovations in nanotechnology. In a complex zoom sequence, the shot moves in on a spider, then a strand of its silk, then into the silk itself where audiences see a bacterium. The camera then zooms even deeper, in on a virus on the bacterium, then into the DNA of the virus and finally into the actual atoms of the DNA.

“MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD immerses audiences in mind-bending dimensions that enhance our understanding of the planet and inspire people with the wonder and possibilities of science,” said Lisa Truitt, president of National Geographic Entertainment.

“The premise of this new giant screen film experience is looking at the world through a variety of imaging technologies that allow audiences to see beyond what they can with the naked eye and gain a new vision of the world around them,” said producer Jini Dürr.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD is funded in part by a grant from the National Science foundation and generous support from Lockheed Martin and FEI, a manufacturer of electron microscopes.

As the Fleet’s new UNSEEN SCIENCE exhibition opens, think small … really, really small! UNSEEN SCIENCE invites you to peek at the big science of nanotechnology, view molecules through augmented reality and look at science in a whole new way. UNSEEN SCIENCE incorporates several exhibits, including Nano: Imagine and Discover a World You Can’t See! and Molecules in Motion, and opens at the Fleet on November 8 in conjunction with the film.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD and UNSEEN SCIENCE will open Friday, November 8, 2013, and will run in an open-ended engagement. The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Heikoff Giant Dome Theater is located at 1875 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101. Giant Dome Theater show admission (1 film + access to all exhibit galleries): Members: Adults $13, Seniors $11, Children $10; nonmembers: Adults $17, Seniors $15, Children $14. The Fleet’s normal hours are Monday–Thursday 10AM–5PM; Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10AM–6PM. For information on tickets and showtimes, call (619) 238-1233 or visit our website at http://www.rhfleet.org/.

Celebrate the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center’s 40th Anniversary Year!

Forty years ago, a spark ignited our imaginations! March 9, 2013, kicked off a year-long celebration of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and its 40 years of success in bringing hands-on science to our San Diego community. In 1973, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center opened its doors and brought interactive exhibits and the world’s first IMAX® Dome Theater to San Diego. Today, the Fleet inspires minds and connects individuals to science and technology through more than 100 “do touch” exhibits for all ages and amazing IMAX films and planetarium shows in the recently renovated Heikoff Giant Dome Theater. Enjoy our year-long celebration, featuring a blockbuster exhibition, incredible events and dynamic educational experiences.

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CONTACTS:

For Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Heikoff Giant Dome Theater:

Susan Chicoine / Public Relations Manager

schicoine@rhfleet.org / 619-685-5743o / 619-325-9416c

For National Geographic Entertainment:

Eddie Ward / Roslan & Campion PR

eddie@rc-pr.com / 212.966.4600

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Available for Download for Members of the Media:

Press Releases and Photo Captions:  http://www.rhfleet.org/press-room

High-Resolution Photographs for all Exhibits and Giant Dome Theater Shows: http://www.rhfleet.org/press-room/images

B-roll of Giant Dome Theatre Shows & production footage of exhibits and galleries on the Fleet Media DropBox: http://www.dropbox.com; Click on sign in; email  reubenfleet@gmail.com;

password pr1973media; "RHF Public Relations" folder.