See a new view of Kansas in Exploration Place’s new original dome theater film

A new film produced by Exploration Place for screening only in its digital dome theater gives new meaning to the term flyover country.

While the phrase is often used to describe areas between the coasts of the United States that are not worthy as a destination, the creators of “Kansas: An Immersive Dome Experience” believe showing residents and visitors a bird’s-eye view of the state’s most beautiful sites will provide a new perspective. The 25-minute film is shot exclusively with aerial footage captured by cinematographers flying drones at more than 40 locations across Kansas.

“People who live here are going to love this film, and hopefully people who don’t live here will see a side of Kansas they didn’t know existed,” said Adam Smith, president of Wichita’s science museum, Exploration Place, 300 N. McLean Blvd.

After a week of private screenings for contributors and other groups, the film debuts to the public on Friday, Sept. 16. Daily screenings are scheduled for 10:15 a.m., noon and 3 p.m., with an additional 7 p.m. showing on Thursdays, when Exploration Place stays open until 8 p.m.

Visitors are not required to purchase science center admission to attend an event in the dome theater. Tickets for the theater are general admission and each screening costs $8 for adults, $7 for ages 3-11 and 65 and older, free for ages younger than 3. Exploration Place members get a discount based on membership level.

Tickets are on sale now at exploration.org, and there are two other films showing as well: “Serengeti,” a 40-minute Africa journey produced specifically for the giant screen, and “Superpower Dogs,” a 47-minute movie that showcases real life working canines in remarkable roles.

“Kansas” is suitable for all ages, and at 25 minutes it isn’t so long that a 5-year-old would have trouble sitting still for the duration. Smith said he is proud that the film is by Kansans and for Kansans yet the end result is as interesting to locals as it is to non-residents with amazing landscape views from a vantage point most don’t see.

“I feel really good about what I call the heart and soul or the spirit of the project because it has come from our community,” he said.

The idea for the film developed when Smith, who moved to Kansas in 2019 to lead Exploration Place, starting seeing photographs in his Facebook feed from Drone-tography, a company started in 2018 by Jeremy and Amanda Miller to provide aerial imaging in the Wichita area using camera drones. Appreciating the technology revolution surrounding what he calls the “age of the drone” and its impact on everything from global events down to Kansas agriculture, Smith reached out to Jeremy about putting together a photography exhibition at Exploration Place showcasing Drone-tography images from across the state (Drone-tography Elevated Eye exhibition runs through Dec. 31).

“I resonated with his passion, his vision and his love of Kansas, and he started talking to me about his ultimate dream to make a film that was a love letter to Kansas,” Smith said. “From Day One at Exploration Place, I had been interested in having a film that had been made by Exploration Place and could only be seen here.”

Now, nearly two years later, “Kansas: An Immersive Dome Experience” is ready for its world premiere in the 169-seat theater, which has a 60-foot screen providing 360-degree views and booming surround sound. Expect to see rock formations, waterfalls, controlled prairie burns, skies at all times of the day and more from every corner of the state. Rather than feeling they had to include a certain number of places, Smith said, the team chose to include only the most interesting footage.

Jeremy, a self-taught photographer and drone pilot, started filming for the movie in April 2021. Amanda served as visual observer on most of his outings, keeping an eye on surroundings for safety and compliance in restricted airspace. That allowed him to focus on getting the best footage for the dome theater, which required a different angle and smoother shooting than what you would capture if watching the footage on a regular screen (this is one reason the film will not be shown outside the dome or posted on YouTube).

He worked closely with Nate Jones, who has worked in marketing at Exploration Place for five years, and served as the editor and producer on “Kansas.” Filmmaking had been a hobby of Jones’ for a while and it became part of his job duties when the science center needed more online educational content while it was closed to visitors because of COVID.

While this is Jones’ first dome film, he has created nearly 20 short films over the past seven years with friends. When the pandemic kept him from collaborating with them, he wrote, shot, starred in and edited “Junk Drawer,” a one-man short film that played at Wichita’s 2021 Tallgrass Film Festival as well as film festivals in Houston, Wyoming and Kansas City.

There were others involved in creating “Kansas,” as well. When Jeremy’s main source of income – as a contractor in the aviation industry – required he spend months out of state earlier this year, the Exploration Place team enlisted local photographers/videographers Kevin Stebral and Matthew Kesterson to complete the shot list.

The film will introduce an exclusive musical score by Wichita recording artist Trevor Stewart, who Smith first heard play his fusion of New Age, jazz, rock and classical at an Exploration Place fundraiser.

Exploration Place started a Kickstarter campaign to raise the majority of the $25,000 budget needed to complete the film, with more than 100 backers contributing.

When the Kickstarter fundraiser reached its initial goal, Exploration Place extended the campaign to raise money that will soon be used to expand the theater by about 20 seats. The theater opened alongside Exploration Place in 2000 and has been upgraded during the past two decades to become a digital theater. That means prime space that originally held a projector can be reconfigured for more seating, which Smith said will be useful with at least 20 showings in the past year selling out as the science center expanded beyond documentary films related to science and nature to host event cinema themed around classics such as “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and the Harry Potter film catalog.

If you go

“Kansas: An Immersive Dome Experience” in the Exploration Place Dome Theater

Dates/times: 10:15 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. beginning Friday, Sept. 16 and showing daily indefinitely, with an additional 7 p.m. showing on Thursdays

On sale date: tickets are on sale now at exploration.org

Ticket prices: $8 for adults, $7 for ages 3-11 and 65 and older, free for ages younger than 3; discounts available for Exploration Place members (admission to the science center is not required)