Our Past
Sky-Skan, Inc. was founded in 1967 as a manufacturer of special effects projectors for planetaria worldwide.
Since that time the company has grown from three employees to nearly thirty. Sky-Skan has expanded its products and services into the electronic and video fields, providing manual and automated control systems for planetaria, IMAX/OMNIMAX®, and Cinema 360® theaters. Sky-Skan has also developed a comprehensive system of computerized multimedia control equipment, the SPICE Automation system.
Sky-Skan has developed and produced a series of Special Effects Laser Discs, containing state-of-the-art renderings and visualizations of astronomical phenomena. Sky-Skan has also introduced new controllers into its SPICE Automation line, integrating control of audio and video with slides, optical effects, servo devices, lamps, etc. on one PC platform. In addition to these hardware developments, SPICE Automation software permits interactive audience control of multimedia programs by means of remote responders. The first such systems were installed in the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium in Concord, New Hampshire, the Henry J. Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the planetarium of Pachuca, Mexico, and over a dozen other sites. They are now a staple worldwide.
Above and beyond following the current trends in planetarium/space theater production tools, Sky-Skan has designed and produced the world's first true full dome digital video system. Debuting in 1998, SkyVision has grown into a valuable production tool that is increasingly becoming a new medium. After becoming the world's premier Full Dome Hi-Definition system, continuing advances led to the development of the DigitalSky digital planetarium and multimedia system. Providing all the full dome playback functionality of SkyVision, DigitalSky replaced SkyVision while adding full planetarium functionality and stands as the leader in quality digital theater. Innovations such as these have propelled Sky-Skan into a successful new century.
Below is a portion of Sky-Skan's resume:
Theater Design Consulting
Hamburg Planetarium, Hamburg, Germany
Technical project management, theater console design, console integration.
Eugenides Foundation Planetarium, Athens, Greece
Project management, systems integration, design consulting. Worked with local
staff and architect on theater design and layout for new state-of-the-art
planetarium incorporating interactive system, IWERKS large format film, digitalfull-dome
video system, laser projector, and live performances.
Earth Theater, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
Project management, currently working with local staff and architect to design
new digital panorama theater.
Forum der Technik, Deutches Museum, Munich, Germany
Worked with local staff and architect to design new state-of-the-art theater
on the site of the world's first planetarium. Architect: Joachim P. Zangenberg,
Munich, Germany
Pavilion of the Future, EXPO 92, Seville, Spain
Worked with local Expo staff in design of temporary tilted-dome planetarium theater with Digistar and SPICE automationÔ. Produced original show, "Cosmic Adventure" combining special effects, video and Digistar imagery. 1.2 million people saw show in 183 days.
Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Worked with staff of existing Planetarium and architect to design new facility.
Architect: E. Verner Johnson, Boston, MA
Henry J. Buhl Planetarium, Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Worked with local architect and planetarium director to design benchmark 15 meter planetarium with continuous projection gallery, optimized sightlines, and audience response system.
Architect: Tasso Katselas Associates, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, Concord, New Hampshire
Worked with local architect and planning Board to design 12 meter planetarium incorporating continuous projection gallery and audience response system.
Architect: Lavallee-Brensinger, Manchester, NH
Major Installations
In addition to the specific installations which follow, Sky-Skan has installed some four thousand special effect projectors in nearly 300 planetariums and museums around the world. Both Minolta and Goto feature SPICE Automation systems in their demonstration domes.
Bishop Planetarium, Bradenton, FL
DigitalSky planetarium and multimedia system, 6.1 digital audio, LED cove lighting, SPICE theater control system
Fels Planetarium, Philadelphia, PA
DigitalSky planetarium and multimedia system, SPICE theater control system
Eugenides Planetarium, Athens, Greece
DigitalSky planetarium and multimedia system, SkyVision full dome video system,
AVS system, SPICE Automation, 6.1 digital audio, optical special effects,
Iwerks film projector control, LED cove lighting, audience interactive system
Queen Mary 2 Cruise Ship
DigitalSky planetarium and multimedia system, SkyVision full dome video system,
AVS system, SPICE Automation
Horizon Planetarium, Scitech Discovery
Center, Perth, Australia
DigitalSky planetarium and multimedia system, digital audio sources and automated mixing, standard video system and automated matrix routing, SPICE theater control system
Hamburg Planetarium, Hamburg, Germany
5.1 digital sound system, Zeiss emulator, LED cove lighting, dome tour, theater
lighting, slide projection systems, video system, SPICE Automation
Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA
DigitalSky planetarium and multimedia system, SkyVision full dome video system,
AVS system, , LED cove lighting, 5.1 digital sound system, SPICE Automation
Museum of Victoria Planetarium, Melbourne, Australia
DigitalSky planetarium and multimedia system, SPICE Automation, audio, theater lighting
Louisiana Arts & Science Center, Baton Rouge, LA
DigitalSky planetarium and multimedia system, standard video, slide projector arrays, SPICE theater control system
LodeStar Astronomy Center, Albuquerque, NM
DigitalSky planetarium and multimedia system, DigitalSky production system and test theater, 5.1 digital audio, theater lighting, standard video, SPICE theater control system
Isla Magica, Seville, Spain
SkyVision full dome video system, SPICE Automation
Albert Einstein Planetarium, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
SkyVision full dome video system, standard video, manual controls, Zeiss projector and instrument lift control, SPICE theater control system
Adventure Learning Center, Nassau, Bahamas
SPICE Automation, special effets, video, audio, projection array
Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Michigan
SPICE Automation, Digistar II interface, special effects, projection array
Tianjin Science & Technology Museum, Tianjin, China
SPICE Automation, DigiStar II interface, special effects, video, audio, projection array
Universarium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
SPICE Automation, Zeiss interface, special effects, video, audio, lighting system,projection array
(The New) Adler Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois
SPICE Automation, StarRider interface, DigiStar II interface, special effects, video, audio, projection array, interactive
CyberSphere Theater, The Renaissance Center, Dickson, Tennessee
SPICE Automation, DigiStar II interface, special effects, video, audio, projection array, interactive
Exploration Place, Wichita, Kansas
SPICE Automation, StarRider interface, DigiStar II interface, special effects, video, audio, projection array, interactive
Dorrance Planetarium, Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, Arizona
SPICE Automation, DigiStar II interface, special effects, video, audio, projection array, interactive
Drescher Planetarium, Santa Monica, California
SPICE Automation, DigiStar II interface, special effects, video, audio, projection array
Victor Valley Community College, Victorville, California
SPICE Automation, DigiStar II interface, special effects, video, audio, projection array
Navarro College Planetarium, Corsicana, Texas
SPICE Automation, DigiStar interface, Video, Audio, projection array, special effects
Dr. Phillips CineDome, Orlando Science Center, Orlando, Florida
SPICE Automation, DigiStar II interface, video, projection array.
Henry B. DuPont III Planetarium, Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Connecticut
SPICE Automation, video, projection array
Delta College Planetarium, Bay City, Michigan
SPICE Automation, DigiStar interface, special effects, interactive, video, projection array
Coca-Cola Space Theater, Columbus, Georgia
SPICE Automation, special effects, Interactive, video, projection array
Kalamazoo Valley Public Museum Planetarium, Kalamazoo, Michigan
SPICE Automation, DigiStar interface, special effects, interactive, video, audio, projection array
Sony IMAX 3D Theater, New York, New York
SPICE Automation
Faulkner Planetarium, Herritt Museum, Twin Falls, Idaho
SPICE Automation, Interactive, video, projection array
Dupont Planetarium, Aiken, South Carolina
SPICE Automation, video, projection array
San Bernardino Valley College Planetarium, San Bernardino, California
SPICE Automation, video, projection array
Canberra Observatory Planetarium, Canberra, Australia
SPICE Automation, Interactive, video, projection array
Vanderbilt Planetarium, Centerport, New York
SPICE Automation, Goto star projector automation, video, projection array
Redlin Arts Center, Watertown, South Dakota
SPICE Automation, All-Sky system
Howard B. Owens Science Center Planetarium, Lanham-Seabrook, Maryland
SPICE Automation, Minolta instrument automation
Charles Hayden Planetarium, Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts
SPICE Automation w/video and interactive.
Kirkpatrick Planetarium, Omniplex Science & Arts Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
SPICE Automation
Adler Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois
SPICE Automation in two theaters
Northeast Bronx Planetarium, New York, New York
SPICE Automation
Planetarium, Pachuca, Mexico
SPICE Automation, video, interactive
Manitoba Planetarium, Museum of Man and Nature, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
SPICE Automation
Orion Planetarium, Spurvevej, Denmark
SPICE Automation
Katsushika City Museum Planetarium, Katsushika, Japan
SPICE Automation
Kitatama Planetarium, Kitatama, Japan
SPICE Automation
Tokyo Star Hall, Machida, Japan
SPICE Automation
Sakai Planetarium, Sakai, Japan
SPICE Automation
Tochigi Planetarium, Tochigi, Japan
SPICE Automation
Shibayama Scientific Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
SPICE Automation
Suginami Science Center, Tokyo, Japan
SPICE Automation
Sunshine Planetarium, Tokyo, Japan
SPICE Automation
Sanyo-Joshi High School Planetarium, Japan
SPICE Automation
Chesapeake Planetarium, Chesapeake, Virginia
SPICE Automation
John Deere Planetarium, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois
SPICE Automation
Planetarium, Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, Aiken, South Carolina
SPICE Automation (installation pending)
Flandrau Planetarium, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
SPICE Automation, video
Minolta Corporation, Toyohashi, Japan
SPICE Automation system & SkyVision full-dome video system installed in factory demo dome.
Goto Optical Mfg. Co., Tokyo, Japan
SPICE Automation system installed in factory demo dome.
University of Aarhus Planetarium, Aarhus Denmark
SPICE Automation control of projection array, sound system, video system.
Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, Grand Rapids, Michigan
SPICE Automation control of projection array, sound system, video system, sound system, Digistar interface
Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California
"Planet Odyssey," an interactive video exhibit.
OMNIMAX Theater & Planetarium, Stockholm, Sweden
SPICE Automation control of projection array, houselights, and video with SMPTE sync to OMNIMAX projector.
OMNIMAX Theater, Lubbock, Texas
SPICE Automation control of projection array, houselights, and misc. theater functions.
OMNIMAX Theater, Markahari, Japan
SPICE Automation control of projection array, houselights, and misc. theater functions.
OMNIMAX Theater, La Defense, France
SPICE Automation control of projection array, houselights, and misc. theater functions.
Defense Mapping Agency, Quito, Ecuador
SPICE Automation, special effects
Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Canary Islands, Spain
SPICE Automation, video control, special effects
EXPO '93, Daejon, Korea
SPICE Automation, projection array, extensive zoom, rotate, and slew capability for Daejon pavilion. SPICE Automation systems also installed in Prosperity Pavilion and Materials Pavilion.
Planetario de Castellon, Castellon, Spain
SPICE Automation
Burke Baker Planetarium, Houston, Texas
SPICE Automation control of slide projectors and video, SkyVision video system.
Museo de los Niños, Caracas, Venezuela
SPICE Automation, projection array, sound system, video system.
Forum der Technik, Deutches Museum, Munich, Germany
SPICE Automation, Interactive system, projection array, sound system, video, Zeiss star projector control.
Pacific Science Center, Seattle Washington
Manual Control system, video
Shawnee Heights High School Planetarium, Techmseh, Kansas
SPICE Automation, video, sound system, projection array
Europlanetarium, Genk, Belgium
SPICE Automation, projection array.
Alabama Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama
SPICE Automation, projection array
Schreder Planetarium, Redding California
SPICE Automation
Morrison Planetarium, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California
SPICE Automation with control for Academy Planetarium Projector, video, manual controls
Wallace Fiske Planetarium, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
SPICE Automation with control for Zeiss projector, video, manual controls
Loch Ness Productions, Groton, Massachusetts
SPICE Automation
Gates Planetarium, Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Colorado
SPICE Automation for video
Langly Imax Theater, National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
SPICE Automation
Buehler Planetarium, Broward Community College, Davie, Florida
SPICE Automation, projection array
Bishop Planetarium, Honolulu, Hawaii
SPICE Automation, projection array
Herbert Trackman Planetarium, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, Illinois
SPICE Automation, video, projection array
Lakeview Museum of Arts and Science Planetarium, Peoria, Illinois
SPICE Automation, video
Merrillville Community Planetarium, Merrillville, Indiana
SPICE Automation, video, projection array
Southworth Planetarium, University of South Maine, Portland, Maine
SPICE Automation, video, projection array
The Computer Museum, Boston, Massachusetts
SPICE Automation
Higgins Armory Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts
SPICE Automation
United States Naval Academy Planetarium, Annapolis, Maryland
SPICE Automation with control for hydraulic instrument lift
Abrams Planetarium, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
SPICE Automation
Robert T. Longway Planetarium, Flint, Michigan
SPICE Automation
Shiras Planetarium, Marquette, Michigan
SPICE Automation, video
Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, Concord, New Hampshire
SPICE Automation, video, projection array, sound system, manual controls, interactive system control
Gustafson Planetarium, Fishkill, New York
SPICE Automation
New Rochelle High School Planetarium, New Rochelle, New York
SPICE Automation
Omnimax Theater, Portland Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon
SPICE Automation
Dickenson College Planetarium, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
SPICE Automation
Raritan Valley Community College Planetarium, North Branch, New Jersey
SPICE Automation, video
New Jersey State Museum Planetarium, Trenton, New Jersey
SPICE Automation
Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York
SPICE Automation, video, sound system
Andrus Planetarium, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York
SPICE Automation
Cincinnati Omnimax Theater, Cincinnati, Ohio
SPICE Automation, cinema automation synchronizer
U.S. Army Field Artillery School Planetarium, Fort Sill, Oklahoma
SPICE Automation, projection array
Central Bucks School District Planetarium, Buckingham, Pennsylvania
SPICE Automation
Good Hope Middle School Planetarium, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
SPICE Automation with instrument control
Fels Planetarium, Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
SPICE Automation, video, sound control, manual control
Omnimax Theater, Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
SPICE Automation, cinema automation synchronizer
Carnegie Omnimax Theater, Buhl Science Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
SPICE Automation, cinema automation synchronizer
Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium, Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
SPICE Automation, video, projection array, sound system, manual control, interactive system control
Robert J. Novins Planetarium, Ocean County College, Toms River, New Jersey
SPICE Automation
Gibbes Planetarium, Museum of Arts and Science, Columbia, South Carolina
SPICE Automation, video
T.C. Hooper Planetarium, Greenville, South Carolina
SPICE Automation, video, sound system, projection array, manual control
Stanback Planetarium, Orangeburg, South Carolina
SPICE Automation, video, instrument control
Settlemyre Planetarium, Rock Hill, South Carolina
SPICE Automation, video
Ethyl Universe Planetarium, Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
SPICE Automation for video control
McLaughlin Planetarium, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
SPICE Automation for video
Planetario de la Armada, Guayaquil, Equador
SPICE Automation
Stuttgart Planetarium, Stuttgart, Germany
SPICE Automation, video
Hiratsuka City Museum Planetarium, Kanagawa, Japan
SPICE Automation
Planetron Dwingeloo, Dwingeloo, Netherlands
SPICE Automation
Northern Lights Planetarium, Tromso, Norway
SPICE Automation, video, manual control
National Science Museum, Seoul, South Korea
SPICE Automation
Seoul Land UFO Planetarium, Seoul, South Korea
SPICE Automation
Planetario de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
SPICE Automation, video, projection array
Armagh Planetarium, Armagh, Northern Ireland
SPICE Automation, video
PLANETARIUM PRODUCTIONS
Albert Einstein Planetarium, National Air and Space Museum,
Washington, D.C.
Provided design and production consultation for "State of the Universe," "Calling
All Stars," and "Exploring New Worlds." "Universe of Illusions," produced
entirely by Sky-Skan premiered in late 1993. "The New Solar System" opened
in 1996. "And a Star to Steer Her By," narrated by Sir Alec Guinness, opened
in 1998. "Infinity Express," a SkyVision full dome video show narrated
by Lawrence Fishburne ("The Matrix") premiered in 2002 and is currently
running.
Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium, Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
Two audience-driven interactive programs, "Planet Quest" and "Galactic Adventure"
Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, Concord, New Hampshire
Two audience-driven interactive programs, "Planet Quest" and "Galactic Adventure"
Pavilion of the Future, EXPO 92, Seville, Spain
Worked with local Expo staff in design of temporary tilted-dome planetarium
theater with Digistar and SPICE automation. Produced original show, "Cosmic
Adventure" combining special effects, video and Digistar imagery. 1.2 million
people saw the show in 183 days.
Medicines: The Inside Story, Washington, DC
Developed a program "Inner Space" on the human body and medical technology, funded by Glaxo Wellcome pharmaceuticals. Over 100 copies of this program were distributed to planetariums worldwide in late 1995.
Kalamazoo Valley Public Museum Planetarium, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Produced a whimsical 20-minute opening show, "Dome Improvement," which premiered in 1995.