On May 25, 2021, the Faulkner Planetarium reclaimed its title as Idaho's most advanced planetarium theater. Shows are projected onto the 50 foot dome by a state-of-the-art Digistar 7 fulldome projection system from Evans & Sutherland. A 10,200W Dolby 5.1 surround audio system and programmable LED cove lighting from Bowen Technovation flood the theater with vivid sound and color.
Audiences are transported to other worlds, brought to life with breathtaking realism. The Digistar 7's powerful graphics engines will make you feel like you're actually drifting among the icy debris of Saturn's rings, or staring point blank into the maelstrom of a supernova explosion. The Digistar 7 also reproduces the night sky with greater fidelity than ever seen before in the Faulkner, including star colors, a Milky Way full of subtle texture, the Sun, Moon, planets, deep-sky targets, and atmospheric effects (including twilight, aurora, and clouds). If you haven't been to the Faulkner lately, you're really missing out!
As the number of fulldome theaters worldwide grows rapidly, so does the number of available programs. Hundreds of titles, covering a wide range of topics and genres, have been produced for fulldome theaters, with more appearing every day. Some large-format (e.g. IMAX) films have also been converted to fulldome, making them available to Magic Valley audiences for the first time.
The next generation of the Faulkner Planetarium has begun. Join us for the most thrilling tour of the universe you've ever seen.