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Wildwalk-At-Bristol and the IMAX Theatre-At-Bristol
Wildwalk and the IMAX Theatre sadly closed their
doors for the last time on Saturday 31 March 2007.
At-Bristol is a registered educational charity, and like the majority of
science centres around the world, At-Bristol does not cover all of its
costs through earned income.
To give the organisation long-term financial sustainability, At-Bristol
is now concentrating on providing interactive exhibitions and programmes
in Explore and the
Planetarium. It will also
continue to provide high quality science-based exhibition and education
services to schools and colleges,
as well as its programme of CPD for science teachers through the Science
Learning Centre.
What’s the background to this?
Since opening in 2000 At-Bristol had an annual operating deficit of
about £1.5 million to be filled by fundraising. We were extremely
successful in securing short-term funding and grants, which enabled us
to continue operating the three venues for nearly seven years.
We had always been open about our then requirement to secure £1.5m
annually to fund the deficit. What changed after 2005/6 is that most of
the short-term funding opportunities either came to an end or were
significantly reduced in size. It also became clear that central
government wasn’t going to support science centres in England in the way
that the devolved governments do in Scotland and Wales.
Closing Wildwalk and the IMAX Theatre, and continuing to operate
Explore and the
Planetarium, was the most
viable option for At-Bristol to become financially sustainable into the
future. The deficit is now reduced to a manageable level, achievable
through fundraising. We will continue
to seek support for Explore’s valued exhibits, exhibitions and education
projects.
If you have further questions, please click
here for our FAQ.
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IMAX Theatre-At-Bristol
…what was hot, what was not!
The IMAX Theatre was the first of At-Bristol’s original
three venues to open, on 20 April 2000.
Since then nearly 1.1 million people saw a film, usually in 3D, on the
giant four-storey screen. Between then and March 2007, we showed 70
films in the IMAX Theatre.
Which were the most popular films?
It depends on how you look at it! The longest running, and therefore
with the highest attendance figures, was Cyberworld 3D. This always did
well in holiday periods even after six years - people loved the 3D
effects, even if the storyline was a bit ropey! Over 158 000 people saw Cyberworld 3D in the IMAX Theatre-At-Bristol.
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Bugs! 3D was another long-runner, popular with schools for its content
but also with leisure visitors - it’s a great, quirky documentary,
narrated by Dame Judy Dench and with some great music! It was also made
with help from At-Bristol, and we supplied one of the stars of the show,
a praying mantis from Wildwalk.
In terms of visitor numbers, Space Station 3D was the second most
popular after Cyberworld, with over 109 000 space cadets feeling the
force of the rocket launch into space.
Also in the top ten for total admissions and income are The Polar
Express 3D (DMR), Sharks 3D, Haunted Castle 3D, Wild Safari 3D, Everest
2D, Santa vs the Snowman 3D (DMR) and The Ant Bully 3D (DMR).
Based on average occupancy per show, The Polar Express came out tops –
followed by The Ant Bully and Cyberworld. Batman Begins (DMR) came in at
number 4!
Which were the most unpopular?!
Based on average numbers per show, Pulse: A STOMP Odyssey 2D came out
bottom - a real shame, as it was such a fantastic film. Everyone who saw
it loved it, but it was in 2D and for some reason it never took off.
Then came Mystic India 2D, and Poseidon (DMR) – that sank without trace!
Adventures in Animation 3D was another slow mover for the Bristol IMAX.
Where else can I view IMAX films in the UK?
The closest ones to Bristol are at
Thinktank in Birmingham and at the
Science Museum or the
BFI in London. Visit
www.bigmoviezone.com to
locate the others.
http://www.imax.ac
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/imax/index.asp
http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/imax
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Wildwalk-At-Bristol
…explain what it is in no more than ten words
Wildwalk opened its doors to the public on 20 July 2000.
Since then over 800 000 people have discovered the amazing animals and
plants that were hidden behind the deceptively urban architecture.
So many people loved Wildwalk’s uniqueness - was it a zoo, was it a
hands-on science centre, was it a botanical house, was it an aquarium,
was it a film museum?
Wildwalk was actually a little bit of all these
things – a unique mix of plants, animals and interactive exhibits and
activities. There was nowhere else quite like it. |
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There were hundreds of colourful and interesting creatures inside, along
with on-demand video footage so that you could learn more about their
lives. The botanical house was a real living rainforest in the heart of
the city – hot, muggy and full of jungle noises! Then there was the Live
Science zone – a place for special exhibitions (eg Great Apes – How
Great are You? or Let’s imagine… In the Jungle) or for themed programmes
with our dedicated Live Science team – with lots of hands-on activities,
events and Meet the Expert sessions.
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Animals
From crabs to chameleons, spiders to scorpions, butterflies to birds,
frogs to finches, seahorses to snakes, partridges to piranhas and
tarantulas to triggerfish, Wildwalk brought over 150 species from all
the major animal groups on the planet together!
Over 95% of all animal
species known to science are smaller than your thumb – and Wildwalk let
you look at these small creatures and many other forms of life in a
totally new way. |
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Plants
Wildwalk’s botanical house contained hundreds of amazing species, a
beautiful walk-through garden with birds and butterflies flying free.
Plants on land traced the development of plants from simple mosses and
liverworts through ferns and conifers to the flowering plants. Tropical
forests showed plants from all tropical continents, with palm fronds and
exotic flowers, rice, coffee, sugarcane, the coconut palm and the
tropical tree Theobroma cacao - amongst many others too numerous to
mention. The Cycad was a great success story – in 2003 it produced a
rare, bright red cone, which attracted national media interest, reaching
an incredible size of 45cm tall and 80cm in circumference! Even more
surprisingly, our hunt for a love match to pollinate the rare female
cone ended in success as with amazing co-incidence, Kew Gardens had a
male of the same species also in cone. By December, over 300 cycad
seeds had been produced. |
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All our animals and plants were all re-homed to other zoos and natural
history venues following Wildwalk’s closure.
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