Take a sneak peak with an AR experience created by Rochester production company Optic Sky!
ROCHESTER, NY— A fusion of science fiction and science fact will be on display at Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) when SciFiTech opens on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. An exhibition that celebrates the greatest works of innovation and imagination in human history, SciFiTech is an exploration of pop culture’s ever-changing impact on technology that takes visitors on a fascinating journey from science fiction to 21st-century reality. Visitors will also engage with pop culture around every corner: the exhibit includes a replica submarine, Hover board, time machine, jetpack, robot, alien, artificial intelligence machine, keyboard, and more from wildly popular movies!
To launch the exhibit, RMSC has partnered with local production company Optic Sky to create an equally rich augmented reality (AR) experience that lets visitors take a sneak peek at the exhibit and those pop-culture references long before it opens.
“The future is here at RMSC,” said Hillary Olson, RMSC President & CEO. “SciFiTech is unlike anything Rochester has seen before and the AR experience that Optic Sky created is raising the bar on how we connect with visitors. This is a first for RMSC and we believe a first for Rochester—we’re not just hanging posters to promote our next exhibit, we’re giving visitors a chance to see some of the objects and pop culture references featured in the exhibit before it’s even here, using the same type of tech the exhibit explores!”
The AR experience can be accessed on any smartphone at rmsc.org/arrival or through QR codes on posters that will be placed throughout the community.
In addition to offering a sneak peek at the exhibit, the experience will give visitors a digital SciFi-iD badge and an admission discount—and two lucky participants will win RMSC memberships.
“We love our partnership with RMSC because it represents the core of why we began our new OSXR division,” said Aaron Gordon, Optic Sky Executive Producer and Founder. “People talked about AR for decades as if it was a cool idea that would never be accessible. Much like the sci-fi tech we grew up with in the movies, augmented reality is here and it’s quickly becoming part of our everyday lives. Optic Sky wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to evolve our narrative and production skills with such a groundbreaking medium right in front of us. And this collaboration with RMSC, to promote their upcoming exhibit, was a perfect project for us to build and test our skills.”
The greatest, most innovative breakthroughs often have surprising beginnings and SciFiTech explores how those fanciful imaginings have become everyday 21st-century tools. Throughout four exhibit areas SciFiTech will take curious visitors on an immersive journey where they can experience a virtual world with the Oculus Rift™, interact with robots, complete a challenge on a Martian landscape, check out a full-size 3D printed car, explore the history of smart phones and all that they’ve replaced, and more.
In addition to the aforementioned replicas from popular movies, the exhibit also features a number of rare, first-edition books including 1984; 2001: A Space Odyssey; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; Frankenstein; Gulliver’s Travels; I, Robot; Jurassic Park; and The Martian; as well as authors and other visionaries who predicted future technologies.
The SciFiTech exhibit experience at RMSC is sponsored by Dr. Dawn Lipson. SciFiTech was created by Stage Nine Design (under the original name POPnology®) and is distributed by Exhibits Development Group.
SciFiTech and most related programming are free with regular Science Museum admission: $18 adults, $17 seniors and college students with ID, $16 ages 3 to 18, free for children under 3 and RMSC members. For group reservations and rates, call 585.697.1942.
For high-resolution images and additional information, contact Mare Millow, Marketing Communications Manager, RMSC, 585.697.1944, mmillow@rmsc.org, or visit RMSC.org/press-news.
Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) includes the Science Museum, Strasenburgh Planetarium and Cumming Nature Center. Offering experiences at the Museum with more than 200 interactive exhibits, Planetarium with a 65-foot dome and Nature Center on 900 acres, the RMSC stimulates community interest in exploration. In addition, the more than 1.2 million RMSC collection items tell the story of Rochester’s past and present, including its rich history of innovation and invention. RMSC receives major funding from Monroe County, where it is one of the top three most visited attractions serving children and families. For more information about RMSC, visit RMSC.org. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
Stage Nine Entertainment Group is a full-service developer of creative, unusual exhibits for permanent or temporary display. Stage Nine Exhibitions owns, operates, and tours six internationally-acclaimed exhibitions including: The Lost World of Dragons, Expedition: Dinosaur, Hall of Heroes, POPnology, The Animation Academy, Sweet: A Tasty Journey, and Rock U: The Institute of Rock “N” Roll. For more information about Stage Nine Exhibitions, call 916-447-3623 or visit http://www.stageninedesign.com.
