Fly Like a Bird in New Film EARTHFLIGHT, Opening Next Month at AMNH

Narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett, EARTHFLIGHT is a totally immersive experience, taking the audience on an incredible flight across the world on the wings of birds.

Filmed in 11 countries on four continents, the film took four years to make. Revolutionary aerial techniques and state-of-the-art 3D cameras deliver the reality of flight as viewers join a variety of different avian species on their seasonal journeys. The audience will discover the fascinating Science of flight: how birds maneuver simultaneously in flocks a million strong, manage long-distance journeys, navigate across whole continents, and collaborate with other animals to find food.

A significant challenge for the Production Company was operating 3D cameras in the air on microlights, paragliders, and octocopters to fly alongside birds. The camera was stripped down to the bare minimum to not overload the microlight, and the 3D rig was redesigned to be compact and light and still resist the flex from G-force and wind speeds.

Visitors interested in learning more about birds can visit the Museum's Leonard C. Sanford Hall of North American Birds and Hall of Birds of the World. When it opened it 1902, the Sanford Hall of North American Birds was the first space in the world devoted to what are now called habitat dioramas. It was created by ornithologist Frank. M. Chapman, whose grasp of the power of the diorama paved the way for millions of Museum visitors to lose themselves in these engaging windows into the natural world. In the Hall of Birds of the World, 12 dioramas depict various biomes-specific regions with a particular community of living things, such as tundra or tropical rain forest-and the enormous variety of birds that inhabit them. The grasslands and marshes of Argentina's pampas, for example, host waterbirds, insect-eaters, and seed-eaters, while Australia is home to fruit-loving parrots and cockatoos as well as the flightless emu, which can go for weeks without food.

Screening through March 8, 2018, EARTHFLIGHT will be shown daily in the Museum's Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Theater, in 2D at 11:30 am and 4:30 pm, and in 3D at 10:30 am and 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30 pm. Times are subject to change. To purchase tickets in advance, the public should call 212-769-5200 or visit amnh.org. A service charge may apply.

BBC Earth presents a John Downer Productions and BBC Earth Production EARTHFLIGHT distributed by BBC Earth and Giant Screen Films.

Hours: The Museum is open daily, 10 am-5:45 pm. The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Admission: Museum admission is free to all New York City school and camp groups. Pay-what-you-wish admission is available only at ticket counters, where the amount you pay is up to you.

General Admission, which includes admission to all 45 Museum halls and the Rose Center for Earth and Space but does not include special exhibitions, giant-screen 2D or 3D film, or Space Show, is $23 (adults), $18 (students/seniors), and $13 (children ages 2-12). All prices are subject to change.

General Admission Plus One includes general admission plus one special exhibition, giant-screen 2D or 3D film, or Space Show: $28 (adults), $22.50 (students/seniors), $16.50 (children ages 2-12).

General Admission Plus All includes general admission plus all special exhibitions, giant-screen 2D or 3D film, and Space Show: $33 (adults), $27 (students/seniors), $20 (children ages 2-12).

For additional information, the public may call 212-769-5100 or visit the Museum's website at amnh.org.

About the American Museum of Natural History (amnh.org) - The American Museum of Natural History, founded in 1869, is one of the world's preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. The Museum encompasses 45 permanent exhibition halls, including those in the Rose Center for Earth and Space and the Hayden Planetarium, as well as galleries for temporary exhibitions. It is home to New York State's official memorial to Theodore Roosevelt, a tribute to Roosevelt's enduring legacy of environmental conservation. The Museum's approximately 200 scientists draw on a world-class research collection of more than 34 million artifacts and specimens, some of which are BILLIONS of years old, and on one of the largest natural history libraries in the world. Through its Richard Gilder Graduate School, the Museum grants the Ph.D. degree in Comparative Biology and the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree, the only such program at any museum in the United States. Annual physical attendance has grown to approximately 5 million, and the Museum's exhibitions and Space Shows can be seen in venues on six continents. The Museum's website, digital videos, and apps for mobile devices bring its collections, exhibitions, and educational programs to millions more around the world. Visit amnh.org for more information.

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Photo by Christian Moullec © John Downer Productions