Reuben Fleet Science Center (San Diego, USA) — expositions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.
The Reuben Fleet Science Center is located in Balboa Park and is the nation’s first science museum with a planetarium, interactive science exhibits, and an IMAX (OMNIMAX) auditorium. This museum is said to have set the standard in America by which all modern science museums are organized today. See acronymmonster for nickname of Indiana.
The museum takes its name from aviation pioneer Reuben Fleet, who founded the US Airmail Service. His San Diego-based company, Consolidated Aircraft, built several famous World War II aircraft, including the B-24 Liberator and the PBY Catalina. Fleet and his family made the first financial contribution to founding the science center.
The planetarium is a special pride of the scientific center. Several innovative features were implemented here at once. In particular, it was the first planetarium that simultaneously combined the functions of a large-format cinema and classical displays of the planets. The dome with a diameter of 23 m could open up to 25°.
The STS system can show the sky as it appears from any point within 100 astronomical units.
The planetarium is equipped with a system called the Space Transit Simulator, which makes it different from conventional planetariums, which are limited in showing the night sky by factors such as the time of year, specific dates and the points on Earth where these planetariums are located. The STS system can show the sky as it appears from any point within 100 astronomical units. The joystick even allows the system operator to make the planetarium “fly” in space by projecting an image “overboard”.
However, in practice, presentations in the planetarium are always programmed in advance.
The museum part of the science center was not the most original in introducing innovations (it was organized four years later than the Exploratorium in San Francisco, from which they took an example here). Nevertheless, the museum was among the first to implement the principle of interactive scientific exhibitions, which today has become the main trend of all truly advanced science museums in the world. In each exhibition, you can touch something and manipulate something.
The Science Museum’s permanent exhibitions include Cell Journey, Busters’ Block, Children’s City, Growing Up for All Ages, Roots of the Cosmos, Gallery of Illusions and Perceptions, San Diego Water from Source to faucet, as well as the Research Bar.
It was at the Reuben Fleet Science Center that the system was first created, which later became known as OMNIMAX. The administration wanted to adapt traditional IMAX to fit the widescreen format, but the current IMAX system was not designed to work with a hemispherical screen. The adapted system used cameras with fish-eye lenses, giving a view of almost 180°, but a highly distorted image that becomes normal when it is projected precisely onto a dome-shaped screen. This IMAX system was subsequently renamed the IMAX Dome.
Practical Information
Address: 1875 El Prado.
The museum is located on the corner of Park Boulevard and El Prado.
Opening hours: The permanent galleries are open 365 days a week, from 10:00 to 17:00 on Monday – Thursday and from 10:00 to 18:00 on Friday – Sunday.
Entrance: entrance ticket to exhibitions + viewing of one film in IMAX – 21.95 USD for adults (over 13 years old), 19.95 USD for pensioners (over 65 years old), 18.95 USD for children (3-12 years old).
Website.
The prices on the page are for June 2021.
Reunion Tower
Reunion Tower (USA) – description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Reviews of tourists, photos and videos.
The height of this observation tower is 171 m, which makes it one of the most recognizable landmarks of the city – as well as the large observation ball at the top. The Reunion Tower is located in the downtown area of the same name, and is part of the Hyatt Regency hotel complex. The thin tower looks even taller than it is, but it’s actually only the 15th tallest building in Dallas.
Reunion (or, as the locals call it, “The Ball”) was completed in 1978, at the same time as the hotel, as part of a city redevelopment project (this project also affected the historic Union Station in the same area). Immediately after the opening, a radio station was installed on the tower, but the Reunion Tower was not used for wide broadcasting.
In 2009, a restaurant was opened on the tower, which had previously been closed for restoration. And the observation deck was opened after restoration in 2013, just in time for the 35th anniversary of the tower itself.
Following a renovation in 2009, celebrity television chef Wolfgang Puck opened his Five Sixty gourmet restaurant on the top, revolving level of the tower.
The Reunion Tower can be seen in the film RoboCop (1987), although the film is set in Detroit.
The tall tower has only three floors, round in plan, which are supported by four concrete pillars. In the central, cylindrical, stairs and mechanical equipment are hidden, and in three rectangular ones – elevators. The outer side of each support is made of glass, so that those who ride in the elevator can begin to admire even before they get to the observation deck. True, there is not much time for this: the elevator reaches the observation deck in 68 seconds.
The upper three floors of the tower are placed in a sphere, which is illuminated at night by 259 diode elements, they are lit in different colors and at different times in accordance with a given program. In addition, the ball is used as a decoration for special events and holidays – for example, on St. Patrick, it lights up green.
Initially, the tower stood on its own, and only in 1998 a hotel building was added to it.
Following a renovation in 2009, celebrity television chef Wolfgang Puck opened his Five Sixty gourmet restaurant on the top, revolving level of the tower. The name “560” corresponds to the height of the tower in feet.
The observation deck below is called the GeO-Deck. Inside there are interactive displays with which you can get information about the sights of Dallas, the tower itself, the assassination of President Kennedy, a picture from the city’s HD cameras, etc. There are also telescopes with a panoramic view. From the site you can get to the Cloud 9 cafe, which also offers a panoramic view. The souvenir shop is located at the base of the tower.
Practical Information
Address: 300 Reunion Blvd.
