Technology Turns into Drama At Wallops Visitor Center
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Posted By Admin on March 19, 2009
Technology Turns into Drama
At Wallops Visitor Center
By Tammy Rickman
When the projectors flicker to life, the darkened room becomes a wonder land of sound and pictures that swirl and twirl around the surface of a sphere. The sun looms large turning the sphere into a molten ball of liquid heat right before your eyes. Then grass grows and smoke stacks puff out clouds of pollution all to sighs of wonderment from the crowd.
This drama is the latest presentation at the Wallops Visitor Center created to teach us about the world of science. This particular production explores the sources, consumption and impact of energy use around the world.
In a spacious, specially designed room near the back of the visitor center the lights are turned down low and a circular row of benches wrap around the room. Suspended in the middle of the room, a large white orb appears to hover just above the floor in such a way, that adults and children alike are tempted to swipe their hands through the air to check for invisible cables.
In the dimly lit space the sphere creates a stark contrast even when off. Suspended in the center of the room, it is surrounded by a series of four cameras which shoot four distinctly different pictures onto the sphere. A fifth, larger computer coordinates the pictures from the projectors of the four smaller computers into one simultaneous, moving image. The sphere seems to float in the room much like the planets of our universe. The 3-d visual effects of the projectors are stunning to say the least.
In early February the Wallops Visitor Center became one of only three locations along the seaboard to house, “Science on a Sphere.” The others are housed at the Goddard Space Center in Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C. and at The Nautilus in Norfolk.
According to Mrs. Deanna Hickman, a 12 year employee of the site, the technology is a project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She said there were only 27 of the spheres worldwide the last time she checked.
The center currently has four short movies which are available upon request. However, plans are to convert some of the educational movies, normally shown in the regular theater, into pieces for the sphere. The first on the list, and already underway, is “Night Sky.”
The sphere offers a new experience in exploration. Whether guests choose to sit on the benches circling the sphere or wander around on foot investigating the picture as it moves and changes along the sphere’s surface, the new attraction is a great addition to the other displays at the visitor center.
The center is currently open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In the coming months it will open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to accommodate visitors to the surrounding area. The center is located on Route 175 just before the causeway that leads over to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
For more information on the sphere you can visit www.sos.noaa.gov .
Tammy Rickman is a staff writer for www.wildponytales.info, an on-line magazine published in Accomack County that covers the ponies, people and wildlife of Chincoteague and Assateague Islands.
Thanks to Tammy for the great article on the Projection Sphere. You have a unique tool there for environmental and tourist education. That in itself would warrant a trip to the islands for me in the off season!
Your magazine format has a warm and inviting feel to it. Thanks, Ron