NC Nature Research Center to feature 'very unusual' theater

It's part of the new Nature Research Center and is “a very unusual space – kind of a spherical theater,” according to designer Elle Kamihira.

Kamihira is with Batwin and Robin, a New York design firm putting together the videos and sounds that visitors will see and hear inside The Daily Planet. She says it will be a different kind of theater experience.

“You walk into it, and there are these 45-second to one-minute ambient video pieces that play,” she said.

Visitors can absorb 30 million pixels of scenes and stories about nature, science and research in North Carolina. The designers used North Carolina photographers and videographers to capture high-resolution images of the state's natural wonders. Surround-sound completes the experience.

Guest speakers will also use the theater for presentations, and every public school in North Carolina will be able to watch over the Web. The Nature Research Center opens April 20 and will showcase labs and exhibits in all fields of science.