BRC Imagination Arts Designated Leading Creator of Shuttle Launch Experience for NASA's Kennedy Space Center

release date: November 29, 2005

Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts Leads Development of New Attraction; Visitors to Experience the Sensations of a Space Shuttle Launch

Burbank, Calif. -- BRC Imagination Arts, one of the world’s leading creators of distinctive experiential exhibits for museums, corporate visitor centers and heritage attractions, announced today that the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, has chosen BRC as the lead creator of the Shuttle Launch Experience. The attraction is the anchor for eight new exhibits planned for NASA’s renowned Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is the third NASA project for BRC, and follows successful collaborations between NASA, Delaware North and BRC in creating the award-winning Apollo/Saturn V Center, which opened in 1996 and remains the centerpiece of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

“As we continue to develop the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the goal is to create the best place on earth to see, feel and understand space. The final outcome will be the ability to tell the NASA story better than ever before,” said Daniel LeBlanc, Delaware North’s Chief Operating Officer of the complex. “We are utilizing our own world-class resources and enlisting proven vendors, including BRC Imagination Arts as the creative lead for the Shuttle Launch Experience.”

The visitor complex is self-sustaining – no taxpayer funds are used to develop or operate these attractions. Funds are generated through admission, food and retail revenue.

Using its “Showmanship Meets Scholarship” approach to visitor center design, BRC is helping NASA and Delaware North create a high-fidelity simulated ascent aboard NASA’s space shuttle. State-of-the-art motion technologies and special effects will immerse visitors in the incredible sensations of a shuttle launch, and all the sights, sounds, visceral feelings and emotions of blasting into space, accelerating from zero to 17,500 mph in just over eight minutes. The project’s budget is estimated to be $60,000,000.

“Unlike amusement park simulators, this is a faithful depiction of a shuttle launch experience, and is being designed with input from astronauts who have flown on the shuttle. With their guidance, the experience will come as close as possible to the real thing,” said Bob Rogers, CEO and founder of BRC Imagination Arts. “The result will be a dramatic, riveting, and memorable experience, and the most realistic space simulation available to civilians.”

Initial plans for the Shuttle Launch Experience call for a facility of 44,000 square feet, including exhibit space, immersive exhibits and the centerpiece simulator that accommodates up to 1,200 passengers per hour. The new center is expected to open to the public in 2007. Delaware North is leading private development of eight new exhibits to be produced over 10 years, with a budget estimated at $160,000,000.

About BRC Imagination Arts

Founded in 1981, BRC Imagination Arts is the leader in the design, creation and production of innovative and immersive experience-based attractions for museums, experiential marketing, theme parks and cultural heritage sites worldwide.

BRC projects have consistently exceeded the expectations of clients and visitors, and have a proven track record of economic sustainability and the industry's best record for on time, on budget performance. BRC recently opened the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, the US Pavilion at World Expo 2005, Aichi, Japan and Images of Singapore at Sentosa Island. BRC’s clients include Ford Motor Company, General Motors, NASA, Disney and Universal Studios. With offices in California, Amsterdam and the United Kingdom, BRC has been honored with over 250 international awards for creative excellence including two Academy Award nominations and 11 THEA Awards for Outstanding Achievement in themed entertainment.

The company is currently engaged in major projects in the U.S., China, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, the UK, and Sweden. For more information, visit www.brcweb.com.