LUCIANRIDERS

OUR PLANET CENTRE

The future is here now at La Place Carenage in Castries where the new “Our Planet Centre” has recently opened and is wowing visitors both local and tourists alike.
Taking over from where the Desmond Skeete Animation center was previously located, even more space has been allocated to this large and well planned out exhibit.

The brain child of Pablo Rosenthal and Sara Adams, this dynamic duo have worked tirelessly to bring to St. Lucia a World Class feature that all St. Lucians can be proud of. The bulk of the money to build the center came from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, we are very fortunate that they agreed to cover the huge costs to construct the centre. A number of local companies have also been instrumental in providing much needed assistance.

The Our Planet Centre theme is one of education but not at the expense of entertainment. Who knew that learning about our planet and how best to care for it could be so spell binding!?

The fully computerized exhibit features the following:
Speeches from HRH Prince Charles and the Governor General “Dame Pearlette Louisy of St Lucia via life sized Holograms;
An Immersion Tunnel showing how our Planet and its climate started;
A “Mirrorsphere” where you can see a kaleidoscopic view of our world;
A view of our Planet from Space with “Science on a Sphere” installed by NOAA/NASA;
More than ten interactive games and a “learning zone”;
Motion sensitive floor projection screens that change as you walk on them;
Special effects theatre where you can experience extreme weather events.

The two floors are nicely laid out and one can either wonder around the various exhibits or take the guided tours which will lead from one theatre experience to the next before culminating on the top floor at the Extreme Weather Events theatre. Hold onto your hats as strong gusts of wind, flashes of lightning and fog fills the air, transforming the once calm room into a mini hurricane!! With screens on three sides you are transported into the center of the storm! An amazing laser show finishes off the spell binding event!!

After your brush with a hurricane, don’t forget to try out the various computerized games using the large touch screen panels that utilize the latest innovations in immersive technologies.

A small canteen serves refreshments and homemade ice cream! A well stocked store selling Tee shirts and other trinkets also waits.

Although it is hoped that the main target audience will be the many tourists that come to St. Lucia, it is the schools, both primary and secondary, that will benefit the most by visiting the centre. To this end a steady stream of school children have been passing through the center and a very affordable entry fee has been arranged just for them.

My visit was on a Sunday afternoon which is a good time to go as parking is easy and there are apparently smaller crowds. The centre is open every day of the week from 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 6pm on Sundays.

For more information, check out their web site here.

To go to the forum for more pictures and a glimpse of the technology behind some of the exhibits, click here.