By Howard M. Wedgle
I went to the Phipps IMAX 3D Theatre this past Wednesday for the 1:00 showing of “A Beautiful Planet”. Before I talk about the movie, I must tell you in advance to go early, if you are going during the daytime. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is very busy and parking is a little bit difficult.
I haven’t been to an IMAX movie here in quite some time. I figured that readers of this newsletter might not have been to this theater in awhile as well. Since I arrived in the theater at around 12:55pm, I didn’t get a seat in the middle, but still good. The theater was filled with grandparents, parents and kids.
The only real critique I have is the volume of the narration by Jennifer Lawrence. It really wasn’t loud enough, but the voice-overs from the astronauts were much better.
If you read the newsletter from this week, you’ll know that I have an interest in tracking the flyovers of the International Space Station, where most of the movie is filmed. The film shows incredible views of the Earth as well as a small insight into life on board the ISS, one of which is watching Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti drink one of the first espressos ever brewed in space. Buona Salute!
I think the biggest message of the movie, which is only about 45 minutes, is the environmental message with some politics thrown in. We have a lot of problems, but as Barry “Butch” Wilmore, one of the astronauts who helped film this movie said: “Life on Earth is like life on a space station. We all need to work together to keep it running”.
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By Howard M. Wedgle
The Denver Zoo welcomed Echo, a 3 year old gerenuk. He just arrived from the Phoenix Zoo to be paired with 7 year old female Squirt, through a recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan, which ensures healthy populations and genetic diversity among zoo animals. Zookeepers say Echo is very mellow and took seeing snow for the first time in stride. 
By Howard M. Wedgle
Denver Zoo celebrated the birthday of male orangutan Robin, who turned 40-years-old on Sunday, March 27! This is a big milestone as the median age of Sumatran orangutans in zoos is 28. Zookeepers placed streamers and enrichment – including LEGOs – throughout his indoor exhibit. He also enjoyed fruits, veggies, seeds, nut butters, as well as a special birthday “cake” made of primate biscuits. Robin has lived in the Great Apes building in Primate Panorama since it opened in 1996 and is described by his keepers as having a sweet personality.