At birth every child is bestowed with a mighty super power – the ability to wonder. To goggle in awe at the wide world before them. But wonder is an ability that dissipates with time, weakened by the Kryptonite grind of maturity, wasting through lack of use. Rather than relying upon YouTube clips, Instagram and annual jaunts abroad to sustain us, London’s Science Museum is offering an exciting 3D IMAX experience seemingly tailor-made to exercise our awe: Mysteries of the Unseen World.
With celebrated time-lapse cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg as our expert guide and the inimitable Forest Whitaker our narrator, this transportive educational exploration becomes a roller coaster ride. Dynamic filmmaking partners with cutting edge science to take us into alternate dimensions of time and scale Gene Roddenberry would applaud. And every last astonishing spectacle takes place right here on earth. The air we breath, the sound we make, the mini beasts that feed upon us all, each scrutinised in unimaginable microscopic detail.
Single strands of spider silk are rendered sculpture by the scrutiny of the lens’s gaze. The world’s air traffic condensed into fine art by time-lapse technique. An inhalation of air into our lungs is confided to be dappled with space-dust and diamond particles. And a dragonfly flies, inverted, with 14 independently moving wings. Maverick wishes he had such mad skills. An owl swoops towards us and steals our breath away. Living things decay and make way for the melancholy beauty of what comes next. Death’s inevitable dance has never been more hypnotic.
And then a great improbable dive into nanotechnology, a voyeuristic glimpse at the building blocks of everything, impossible either to discern or deny. It feels like a tall tale but this is our future foretold. The tip of a powerful microscope manipulating a single atom and a great carbon nanotube elevator straight to the moon! Suitable for children of 8 and above, Mysteries of the Unseen World will command their attention, capture their imaginations and ignite an inextinguishable spark of wonder.
Tackling complex concepts in an accessible way with macro cinematography, well distributed humour and digestible chunks of information, there is no fear of patronisation here. In fact the majority of adults watching will come away with the same head rush of knowledge and new perspective. This is not a feature which panders to a younger audience and more sensitive souls might be unsettled. There is, however, a very kid-friendly level of ick. Sufficient gruesomely forensic attention to dead skin, lurgy, monstrous beasties and decay to please even the beastliest little mind.
National Geographic have produced a splendid companion app for those wishing to explore the mysteries further and National Geographic offer a search function to find other venues, worldwide, where it will play. Mysteries of the Unseen World will run at London’s Science Museum until the end of next year. Allowing plenty of time for wonderers big and small to pop by and flex those superpowers.
