Exploration Place is opening a movie 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, showing scenery and landmarks of the Sunflower State. In addition to landscapes, wildlife, industry and agriculture, the presentation includes never-before-seen drone footage of the Andover tornado of April 2022.
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 simulated the immersive qualities of the dome theater.
Matthew Kesterson (Three1Six Photography)Exploration Place
Kansas: An Immersive Dome Experience is 25 minutes long and will be shown daily in The Dome beginning Sept. 16.
Trevor StewartEP
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
