Follow the extraordinary expedition of naturalist and explorer Henry Walter Bates in the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago’s (MSI) newest film, Amazon Adventure. Guests will follow Bates’ 11-year journey during the 1800s into the Amazon rainforest, which culminates with an incredible scientific discovery about the development of life on Earth. Amazon Adventure opens Memorial Day, May 29, 2017 inside MSI’s five-story Giant Dome Theater (formerly Omnimax® Theater) and is the first new film to be presented using the Theater’s newly installed laser projection system.

The film follows the inspirational true story of Bates’ historic findings on animal mimicry, the astonishing phenomenon where one animal adopts the look of another in order to survive, which provided proof to Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Filmed on location in the lush Amazon region, Amazon Adventure immerses guests into a wild world of breathtaking beauty and captivating animal behavior.

“Walking in the footsteps of Henry Walter Bates, audiences get to follow the clues and see one of the most important discoveries about life unfold before them scene by scene,” said Executive Producer Sean B. Carroll. “Through Bates’ eyes, we see some of the first and best evidence of how and why species evolve. We hope this film, in tracing his adventures in the Amazon, shows where curiosity and perseverance can lead and inspires younger and older viewers alike.”

Painstakingly researched for three years, Amazon Adventure enlisted the expertise of more than 100 scientists and historical advisors. The team’s commitment to authenticity not only resulted in this rigorous re-creation, even using actual instruments and tools from the 1850s, but the writing team also incorporated many of Bates’ own words, as he was a gifted storyteller. The film was granted unprecedented access by the Natural History Museum of London to film Bates’ own scientific field notebooks and botanical drawings, and to film the butterflies he personally collected over 160 years ago.