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June 23, 2015 / News

CHRONSOII HYBRID into HAND-ON Science MuseumThings Are Looking Up for Children of Kariya City Japan

On May 2, 2015 the Kariya City Hands-On Science Museum re-opened after a major renovation. Part of that renovation was to the 15m diameter planetarium. That dome formerly used a GOTO GMII analog opto-mechanical projector for 34 years of successful operations. But in the renovation, staff wanted not only to continue programming as before, but to also take children on exciting and educational voyages into space!

So they chose another GOTO machine - this time a GOTO CHRONOS II was made the centerpiece of the GOTO HYBRID Planetarium®. The CHRONOS II not only replaced dozens of light bulbs with high-efficiency, long-life LEDs, it also brought unprecedented accuracy of motion to the stars, sun, moon, and planets. While older analog projectors suffered from the inherent backlash of gears moving against gears, the new CHRONOS II uses digital computer signals to move these objects to the precise proper locations. And it does this time after time, with no need for re-setting or adjustments. It just plain works beautifully!

Of course the CHRONOS II also brings some 9,500 stars, down to magnitude 6.5. These LED-illuminated stars are smaller, brighter, and more color correct than ever before. Fast and accurate, as well as subtle and beautiful these are the hallmarks of the GOTO CHRONOS II.

At Kariya, the CHRONOS II is joined by a VIRTUARIUM II fulldome video system. This system is synchronized with the CHRONOS II's motions via the GOTO HYBRID control system, which also features an ergonomically-designed manual control console for easy and fun, live programming with children. The VIRTUARIUM II system projects through GOTO's bespoke lenses to fill the sky with more than 5 million pixels of immersive video animation.

A beautiful interior design with seats which match the city's purple Kakitsubata flowers and a new 10-speaker audio system round out the theater renovation. Other renovations around the rest of the Hands-On Museum encourage a whole new generation of visitors to explore, learn, and have fun with science. You should visit too!

Address : 1-39-3 Kanda cho, Kariya city, Aichi 448-0861
please visit :
www.city.kariya.lg.jp/yumemana/