Audiences Can Enjoy Star Wars in Two Distinct IMAX Experiences

Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens is playing at both of the National Air and Space Museum’s IMAX theaters, with projectors representing the past and future of the medium. The Airbus IMAX Theater at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center features one of the most advanced projection rooms in the world, with twin 4k-laser projectors (always two, there are, for 3-D presentations) and a 12-channel sound system. In a cinema not-so far, far away in downtown Washington, D.C., the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater will run Episode VII in IMAX’s original format: 70 mm film. Star Wars will be the final 70 mm feature shown at the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater before it too is converted to the state-of-the-art 4k-laser system in mid-January 2016.

For more information, including comments from Smithsonian Theaters Director Zarth Bertsch, see the AirSpace Blog.

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center’s Airbus IMAX Theater began playing Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX 3-D with Laser Dec. 17; show times are available daily starting at 1:50 p.m. The film is at the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater in downtown Washington, D.C., daily beginning at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are likely to sell out, so it is recommended to purchase tickets online in advance at si.edu/imax.

The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located in Chantilly, Va., near Washington Dulles International Airport. The museum building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. Both facilities are open daily from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25), with extended hours during peak visitation times. Admission is free, but there is a $15 fee for parking before 4 p.m. at the Udvar-Hazy Center.

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