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.

Professional Drag Racing comes to St. Lucia!

Absolute Promotions is pleased to announce “Drag Wars” to be held at the old Bean Field airstrip Vieux Fort, better known as “The Base” on the 5th and 6th December 2009.

This is the first time that Drag Racing has been endorsed by the Government of St. Lucia along with a promoter which will ensure that this event is properly managed for the benefit of both the general public and the participants.

Race cars from both Trinidad and Grenada are expected to take part in the event along with a number of local racers. Leading the local contingent will be Neil Beepats “Full Drag” Supra which should give the visitors a run for their money.

Also in attendance will be an 8 second Drag Rail car from Trinidad, this will be a unique opportunity to see a vehicle of this caliber running in St. Lucia.

In order to make for the fairest type of racing and also to encourage enthusiasts with slower cars, there will be bracket racing starting from 16 seconds down to 9.

Bracket racing is a form of drag racing that allows for a handicap between predicted elapsed time of the two cars over a standard distance, usually ¼ mile (402.336 m).

Trophies will be awarded and prizes to be won are as follows:

Grand Prize: Weekend for 2 at Coconut Bay
1st Prize:Dinner for 2 at Kimatrai
2nd Prize: $200.00 Gif Voucher from Saint Lu Metal & Plastic.
3rd Prize: $100.00 Gift Voucher from Hobie

All proceeds are to go to rebuilding the St. Judes Hospital.

Please visit the following link to the Lucianriders forum to discuss this event and to download an entry form: Lucianriders

Petr Kraus will be in St. Lucia on June 12th

The world Champion BMX Biker will be in St. Lucia on June 13th, 2009 as a spokesman for Red Bull. The sponsored rider will be starting an island wide tour that starts in Vieux Fort and then travels up the West coast, stopping off at most of the major villages along the way to put on a thrilling show for St. Lucian’s of all ages.

He will be terminating his tour at Pigeon Island and is expected to be there by 3 pm. Petr has been traveling the Caribbean and is being hosted by the local Red Bull dealer which is St. Lucia Distillers Ltd.

Here is Petr in action:

Click here to view the embedded video.