Welcome to Curiosum for a seminar with Ryan Wyatt, visiting professor at Linköping University in Visual Scientific Communication.
Planetariums have the potential to transform worldviews and to ignite conversations. The star theaters of a century ago have transformed into the cutting-edge immersive environments of today, offering audiences an embodied experience that engages both the intellect and emotions. These spaces invite a new kind of storytelling, a “narrative journey” that combines a sense of travel with a compelling storyline. Coupled with the authenticity of data visualization, this can enable new insights, prompt discussion, and perhaps encourage new ways of acting in the world.
Ryan will describe work at the California Academy of Sciences to leverage visualization in immersive science storytelling. Capitalizing on the Bay Area’s visual effects community, the Academy has assembled a team of scientifically literate visual artists to create planetarium shows. And because of the Academy’s mission to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration, the topics of this work have ranged across many disciplines, including the life sciences. Furthermore, the Academy has explored how these immersive experiences can promote behavior change in audiences.
Ryan Wyatt, has served as Senior Director of Morrison Planetarium and Science Visualization at the California Academy of Sciences since April 2007 and have 30 years of experience in the planaterium field. He has written and directed the Academy’s nine award-winning planetarium shows: science documentaries that rely on visualization to tell their stories, on topics ranging from astronomy to geology, from ecosystem science to cutting-edge technology.
He previously worked at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Wyatt is cofounder and vice president of Immersive Media Entertainment, Research, Science, and Art (IMERSA), a professional organization dedicated to advancing the art and technology of immersive digital experiences. He served as co-chair of the 2017 and 2019 Gordon Research Conferences on Visualization in Science and Education, and he is a Fellow of the International Planetarium Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is currently the Wallenberg Visiting Professor in Visual Scientific Communication at Linköping University in Norrköping, Sweden. Click here to read more.