By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
February 29, 2012

Audience members stared in awe at the 30-foot wide dome ceiling.

Once a blank canvas, the ceiling now transformed into galaxies and stars within mere seconds. The 3D picture whirled and twirled around Saturn. This was only a glimpse of what students would see in the Kansas City Public School’s newly renovated Panterra Theatre.

More than 250 people attended Panterra’s open house Sunday, Feb. 26, at Southwest Early College Campus.

KCPS’ SciDome XD, an “ultra-high resolution digital display system,” is only one of two in the world, said André Riley, KCPS public relations. The other is located at the University of Toledo in Ohio.

For years, KCPS used the planetarium to lead science lessons, but the 1960s equipment became outdated, Riley said.

“It was just a very basic planetarium with a machine that projects lights on a ceiling in a dome room,” he said. “We decided we could do more under the Transformation Plan, and we did.”

KCPS spent $425,000 in renovations for the 50-seat theatre and Riley compared the new space to an IMAX with 3D.

“It’s a 360-degree experience that’s impactful and really immerses the students into the video. They’re not just watching something on the screen. They’re actually being pulled into it,” he said.

Teachers from across the district will use the theatre to teach lessons in science catered to each grade level.

“For instance, one of the videos is entitled, ‘Saturn.’ Instead of just reading a book about the planet Saturn, they’ll actually go on a visual tour of it – almost like they can reach out and touch it,” Riley said.

Thomas Brenneman, KCPS executive director of technology, called the theatre a “wonderful teaching tool that very few schools have.”

The interactive lessons restore the joy of learning and help students better retain the information, he said.

Eventually, KCPS wants to open the theatre to the public and show educational videos for a minimal fee.

Proceeds would go toward purchasing additional programming for the theatre, Riley said.

Riley summed up the theatre experience by saying, “We’re on the cutting edge now, which is where we want to be as a school district.”