IMAX Opening – Tornado Alley – at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

When I’m not enjoying my evenings and weekends at home in our little slice of paradise on Coronado, I’m working in Balboa Park at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and visiting the 15 museums housed within “San Diego’s Cultural Jewel.”

It’s a busy month at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center as we prepare to open the IMAX blockbuster Tornado Alley. Anyone who’s caught an episode of Storm Chasers on the Discovery Channel knows the intensity, adrenaline and sheer awe of seeing the spectacle of tornadoes on camera. I still can't believe imagine the actuality of being caught in such severe weather. Now, on the Fleet’s giant 76-foot IMAX Dome Screen, these tornadoes are really going to seem larger-than-life. (Warning: those who are prone to motion sickness should grab a seat high in the upper balcony, toward the center!)

Tornado Alley opens this Friday, March 18. I’ll be grabbing my seat to watch storm-chaser Sean Casey and the researchers of VORTEX2, the most ambitious effort ever made to understand the origins and evolution of tornadoes, take me on a thrilling quest to experience a tornado’s destructive power at point blank range.

In addition to the film opening – which is pretty exciting in itself – there are going to be 2 opportunities to meet the famous storm-chasing scientists who star in the film – and see (and climb inside!) the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) featured in the film. Plus, another famous TV scientist visits the Fleet to talk about climate change. 

Starting Thursday, March 18 See the new IMAX film Tornado Alley

Traversing the “severe weather capital of the world,” Tornado Alley documents two unprecedented missions seeking to encounter one of Earth’s most awe-inspiring events—the birth of a tornado. Filmmaker Sean Casey’s personal quest to capture the birth of a tornado with a 70mm camera takes viewers on a breathtaking journey into the heart of the storm. A team of equally driven scientists, the VORTEX2 researchers, experience the relentless strength of nature’s elemental forces as they literally surround tornadoes and the supercell storms that form them, gathering the most comprehensive severe weather data ever collected. This science adventure reveals the beauty and the power of some of our planet’s most extreme—and least understood—weather phenomena.

Friday, March 19 – Balboa Park Science Family Day
- Free admission to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Exhibit Galleries.
- Climb inside the cockpit of the 26,000 pound Doppler on Wheels – the biggest mobile weather radar to ever visit the park!
- Meet Dr. Josh Wurman, a famous-storm chaser from the film Tornado Alley and Discovery Channel series Storm Chasers
- See the Fleet Science Center’s newest hands-on exhibition “Cellular Journey”
- Visit museums throughout Balboa Park for hands-on science activities and the Balboa Park Visitor's Center for a chance to win cool prizes. |

Thursday, March 24 – Meet Storm-Chasing Scientist Dr. Karen Kosiba at “Tornado Thursday”

- $20 per person admission to IMAX film Tornado Alley and lecture. 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM

- Karen Kosiba, who stars in Tornado Alley, and was a part of VORTEX2 study talks to audience after screenings of Tornado Alley.

Friday, March 25 – Meet Climatologist Dr. Richard Alley at “Richard Alley and Tornado Alley”

- $20 per person admission to IMAX film Tornado Alley and lecture. 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM

- Dr. Richard Alley, a leading climatologist and host of new KPBS series Earth- The Operator’s Manual, set to premiere Earth Day 2011 visits the Fleet to present climate change and sustainable living tips in a fun and exciting manner. He’ll show clips from the new show and you’ll take in a screening of Tornado Alley.

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center|
1875 El Prado, San Diego 92101www.rhfleet.org
(619) 238-1233

There are a lot of transplants in San Diego, and living on Coronado too, I’d love to hear stories of anyone’s encounters with tornadoes or any time you’ve spent in “Tornado Alley.”