By Sam Russolello
TAMPA- The Museum of Science and Industry held an event in the planetarium to celebrate the music of the iconic singer, Prince in a laser light show on August 29.
The Planetarium Light Show Experience is presented on LED screens with laser technology that flashes and pops with the music. Before the show began, the audience was first given a tour of the galaxy. The way the screens moved during this galactic tour makes the audience feel like there were in their own private shuttle. After the show, audiences were left stunned and curious about how the planetarium tech worked. When audience members were asked about how popular this technology would become, they were unsure but thought there could be an audience for this.
“I don’t know how popular this tech will be,” one audience member said. “It’s all about supply and demand for it.”
In the following days, as the museum underwent renovations, John Grayson Smith, CEO and President of MOSI, discussed the upcoming slate and talked about how audiences have reacted to this technology. According to Smith, younger audiences have shown great interest in the laser light shows, especially with musicians like Taylor Swift. At the end of the interview, Smith presented ideas of how the laser tech and artists can connect with the audience and improve the audience experience.
To better explain the technology of the MOSI Planetarium, Matthew Stiller, director of AV at the Bay Hope Church, spoke about the LED screens, lighting and video. The LED screens of the MOSI planetarium are similar to those of the famous Las Vegas Sphere and are more common in everyday life than we know, just on different scales. Furthermore, Stiller said audiences can become more engaged with the proper use of technology in live shows.