Fort Worth Museum of Science & History Omni theater to become first in the country with new video system

NewsRadio 1080 KRLD
By Alan Scaia, NewsRadio 1080 KRLD
June 13, 2023

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History has started a $20 million renovation of its Omni Theater. The theater first opened 40 years ago but has been closed since 2020 when the pandemic started.

The museum started construction Tuesday with a "board breaking" ceremony in the theater's lobby. The lobby and theater will be rebuilt on one level to meet standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"This lobby area today has many, many levels to it as you go toward the theater," says museum President Orlando Carvalho. "At the time it was designed, the idea was with many levels, you could create lines and queues for people. Well, it's not very friendly to people with disabilities."

Inside the theater, the Omni will be the first in the country to use a digital 8K LED display.

"Our new technology is leaps beyond the original IMAX projection-based technology that will enable us to only be limited by our imagination," Carvalho says.

Carvalho says a more immersive experience can spark kids' interest in science.

"This enhances the museum's mission to inspire curiosity and foster a lifelong love of learning," says Marianne Auld, chair of the museum's board of directors.

"Like many of you as parents, I take my boys here very often," says Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. "This is their favorite place to go."

Funding for the project is coming from several sources, including the city of Fort Worth, Tarrant County and also the Jane & John Justin Foundation. Leaders of the organization say the experience being created with the latest technology can draw crowds from across Texas.

"I am sure they both would be thrilled to be participating in a venture of this magnitude and the impact it's going to have on Fort Worth, being able to bring the newest technology and being the first in the nation to have it," says the foundation's executive director, Roy Topham.

The theater will now be called the "Jane & John Justin Foundation Omni Theater."

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History remains open The Omni theater will stay closed through the fall of 2024.

More information is available on the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History website.