A new era soon will be ushered into the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and it’ll be shown in 8K resolution.
After closing its doors in March 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Omni IMAX Theater is expected to welcome visitors in fall 2024 after a $21 million renovation project is completed. The museum on June 13 held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upgrades.
The newly named Jane and John Justin Foundation Omni Theater will feature a 78-foot diameter dome adorned with 8K LED screens and will be accessible for attendees with disabilities.
The renovation also includes adding a more modern foyer and entrance, and wider, more comfortable seats.
The June 13 event marked a significant milestone in the museum’s commitment to providing educational and immersive experiences for the North Texas community, museum President Orlando Carvalho said.
“More than 10 million visitors have come to this theater over the last 37 years, truly making it an institutional pillar of education and entertainment in our community,” Carvalho said.
With the new 8K dome, Carvalho expects Fort Worth will again become a world leader in the application of visual technology and science and history.
A ceremonial wall showing black and white images of the old Omni IMAX Theater is knocked down at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Omni Theater groundbreaking event, revealing a wall reading ‘Jane & John Justin Foundation Omni Theater, Opening Fall 2024.’ (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report). 
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker spoke at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History’s Jane and John Justin Foundation Omni Theater groundbreaking event on June 13, at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report).
Mayor Mattie Parker, who visits the museum often with her kids, realized her first field trip to Fort Worth as a young girl from Hico, a small town in Central Texas near Waco, was to the Omni IMAX Theater.
The memories she made at the museum as a child — and now with her own kids — is one reason she is proud Fort Worth is partnering on the project.
“This place was opened the same year I was born in 1980,” Parker said. “Today is a culmination for a lot of amazing, hard working people.”
Parker stood alongside other project dignitaries, including Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare and City Manager David Cooke, with a sledgehammer to knock down a ceremonial wall with a black and white picture of the old Omni IMAX Theater.
Behind it, spotlighted by confetti, another wall was made clear, reading: Jane and John Justin Foundation Theater, opening fall 2024.
Matthew Sgroi is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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