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Chabot Space & Science Center Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Flight

Pioneering 1976 Film opens March 15, 2003

OAKLAND, CA (February14, 2003) -- In celebration of the centennial of powered flight in America, Chabot Space & Science Center will feature the pioneering documentary To Fly! in the giant dome-screen of the Tien MegaDome Theater beginning Saturday, March 15, 2003. Audiences travel first-class at Chabot, relaxing back in cozy seats as the wonders and beauty of flight unfold on the huge domed screen overhead. To Fly! presents a stunning overview of transportation and flight in America from exhilarating vantage points -- floating in a helium balloon over Niagara Falls and the Vermont countryside, flying an old barnstormer bi-plane, taking off in a rocket, the precision flying of the Blue Angels, and hang gliding over Hawaii.

To Fly! pioneered the IMAX medium with its release in July 1976 in conjunction with U.S. Bicentennial celebrations in Washington, D.C. Filmed in five months in the Fall of 1975, the 27-minute documentary premiered at the opening of the new IMAX Theater at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum. Winner of numerous awards, To Fly! was one of the first movies filmed for large format, which differs from standard film in that the 70mm IMAX frame is ten times larger than the standard 35mm frame, and runs horizontally through the projector (rather than the vertical projection of 35mm). The film screens at Chabot in a special anniversary release issued in 1996. Showtimes are: 10:30 & 2:30 Tues-Thurs; 10:30, 2:30, 4:30 & 8:30 Fridays; 2:30, 4:30 & 8:30 Saturdays; 2:30 & 4:30 Sundays.

To Fly! was produced and directed by MacGillivray Freeman Films for Francis Thompson, Inc. and the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution; the film was sponsored by Conoco, a subsidiary of Dupont.

General Information

Chabot Space & Science Center is located at 10000 Skyline Blvd. in Oakland’s Joaquin Miller Park. Open Tuesday–Sunday. Tickets to shows are $8.75 adults/$6.50 for seniors and children, and are in addition to General Admission tickets to the Science Center, except for evening shows at 8:30 pm. Children under 3 are admitted free; Students with ID receive a $1.00 discount. General admission to the galleries is FREE on the first Wednesday of each month (with an additional charge for Planetarium and Theater). Tickets may be purchased at the door, or by calling (510) 336-7373. Advance tickets are available on-line at www.ticketweb.com or by phone at (866) 468-3399.

For more information, call (510) 336-7300, or visit www.chabotspace.org

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