A bigger, brighter, newly imagined Jane & John Justin Foundation Omni Theater at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History will open to the public on December 14, in time for holiday crowds.
The former IMAX Omni Theater underwent an 18-month, full-scale renovation that included the removal and reconstruction of the dome. The finished product is a completely digitized 8K LED viewing experience powered by Cosm Technology, the group responsible for the new Cosm "shared reality" space at Grandscape in The Colony.
Gone is the IMAX projector system of the past, although it is being kept as a nostalgic exhibit. The new-and-improved Omni Theater, complete with an updated version of the famous Fort Worth Flyover, will feature the largest LED dome in a museum in the world, Omni leaders say.
It will leverage Cosm’s CX System, state-of-the-art LED dome display technology that delivers 30 to 40 times more brightness than the previous Omni screen.
The new state-of-the-art screen offers a bigger, brighter picture.Photo by Jay Betsill
“This is so much brighter, so much clearer, and has the ability to make you feel like you are there instead of just watching something,” says Kirk Johnson, chief operating officer for Cosm. “It really puts you in the environment and makes you feel like you are transported into being a part of the content shown here that will bring the Omni back to its special ‘wow’ that it was 40 years ago.”
The new Omni Theater will primarily focus on science and educational content designed to inspire both children and adults, museum leaders say. (The Cosm venue in The Colony is more focused on live sports and entertainment.) The museum sees over 50,000 field trip kids on an annual basis, they say, a number that is expected to increase with the opening of the new venue.
Many adults who grew up in Dallas-Fort Worth visited the Omni Theater when they were kids, including Cosm CEO and president Jeb Terry.
“I have fond memories of visiting the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History as a child and will never forget visiting the Omni for the first time,” Terry says in a release. “I am honored to partner with them now to help inspire and entertain guests for decades to come. Cosm’s technology and content capabilities will empower the Museum to deliver next-level experiences, and I look forward to seeing how the new Omni Theater leaves museum-goers in complete wonder and awe — just as it did for me years ago.”
The Omni Theater has a seating capacity of 278 and is available to rent for private events including weddings, birthday parties, product launches, fundraisers, and corporate events. Cosm technology also allows for live sporting events to be watched on screen, based on availability through the Cosm’s licensing deals, and for live attractions around the world - such as the famous Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas - to be brought inside the theater.
The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is still home to the Omni Theater.Photo by Jay Betsill
"We can not only take you to places on Earth, but anywhere throughout the universe," Johnson says. "The team here can create anything they want and display it on the dome. The flexibility of this system is only limited by your imagination."
The grand-opening lineup on December 14 will include screenings of five different films throughout the day, capped off with a pajama party themed to a screening of the holiday film The Polar Express, at 7 pm.
Tickets to the new Jane & John Justin Omni Theater are now on sale. General admission is $15 for adults and $12.50 for children (ages 3 and up). Museum members receive a discounted ticket rate of $12 for adults and $10 for children (ages 3 and up).
Tickets to the Omni Theater do not include general admission to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.
