The dome theaters are the crown jewels of Wisdome. The experience visitors have of being completely surrounded by sound and visuals is called immersion. Immersion means being so absorbed by an experience that you feel like a part of it. The term is often used in gaming, film, or art to describe the feeling of being inside the world you’re experiencing, rather than just observing it from the outside. The technology found in a dome—with its large projected hemisphere, 3D, and surround sound—is entirely designed to create this sensation.
This means that visitors inside the dome don’t just see visualizations of science—they actually experience what it’s like to travel into scientific data, whether that means landing on the surface of Mars or journeying into the smallest components of the human body.
“Creating stories for immersive environments requires a slightly different mindset than when producing films for flat screens,” says Anna Öst, director and producer. “We work a lot on maintaining a feeling of motion throughout the story—almost to the point where the visitor feels weightless.”
But it’s not just about creating thrilling experiences—it’s also about learning. Studies have shown that immersive environments can help our brains better understand complex relationships, especially when there are spatial (three-dimensional) aspects involved.
“We’re trying to figure out how visualization, storytelling, and immersive technology can help people connect with complex science,” Anna continues. “A great example is astronomy—it’s incredibly hard for our brains to grasp scale and the positions of stars in the universe. But when you see it in a dome, and in 3D, it becomes an aha moment. Suddenly, you begin to understand the universe in three dimensions, and you also realize how amazing it is that it’s humans who’ve discovered all the things you’re now seeing on screen.”
At Visualiseringscenter C in Norrköping, there’s a dedicated team working to develop the dome theater as a space for both storytelling and learning. But this isn’t traditional filmmaking. The collaboration between public-facing production and research—exploring both technology and didactics—is unique and enables entirely new forms of storytelling, both in film format and through interactive presentations. Here, creative storytelling and scientific research meet in close collaboration, where technology, pedagogy, and content are tested, developed, and shared.
“We’re not a production company—we are always rooted in research,” says the team. “Our mission is to develop and evaluate new technologies, create conditions for innovation, and share our experience with others while producing groundbreaking content that we showcase in our dome theaters in Sweden and around the world.”