Charmaine and Maurice Kaplan Theater

Welcome to The Downing 3D Experience, the largest Dolby® 3D theater for a museum in California! Visitors to the San Diego Natural History Museum will be dazzled by the latest in digital 3D technology that delivers a premium viewing experience from anywhere in the 300-seat, stadium-style theater.

All film times subject to change daily. Assistive Listening Devices for films and lectures in the Charmaine and Maurice Kaplan Theater are available at the Visitor Services Desk.

Giant-screen theater included with paid admission. The 3D theater is included with Passports to Balboa Park, Go San Diego Cards and for members of the San Diego Natural History Museum. Tickets are available at the Visitor Services Desks at the Museum.

The Downing 3D Experience in the Charmaine and Maurice Kaplan Theater is sponsored by John and Tracy Downing, the Downing Family Foundation, the Eleanor and Jerry Navarra Family, Jerome’s Furniture, and Stephen Cohen, President, Private Asset Management, Inc.

Please note that the film schedule on Sundays will be adjusted to reflect a noon showing of Pixar’s A Bug’s Life as part of Six-Legged Sundays.

Theater Schedule

Sunday Film Schedule for Six-Legged Sundays

Movie Trailers

Bugs 3D Movie

Bugs! explores the dramatic and savage lives of an Old World praying mantis and a beautiful butterfly, known by their Latin names, Hierodula and Papilio. Producers, Phil Streather and Alexandra Ferguson, brought together a team of visual masters led by Director of Photography, Sean Phillips, and Specialist Photographer, Peter Parks (winner of 3 Oscars® for his designs of Large Format film equipment). Narrated by Dame Judi Dench.

• From January 21st, 2013 To July 3rd, 2013

The Last Reef 3D

Fly across iridescent tropical reefs, brush through a cloud of a million jellyfish, visit an alien world where the closer you look, the more you see. Shot on location in Palau, Vancouver Island, French Polynesia, Mexico, and The Bahamas, The Last Reef takes us on a global journey to explore our connection with the ocean’s complex, parallel worlds. New underwater 3D technology takes us into the heart of the reef, revealing a habitat more diverse and more colorful than you ever imagined. Last Reef is produced by Giant Screen Films.

• From June 1st, 2012 To May 31st, 2013

Ocean Oasis

Take a fascinating journey into two remarkably different, but inextricably linked worlds—Mexico’s Sea of Cortés and the Baja California desert. Ocean Oasis , a giant-screen film, mesmerizes audiences as they witness the beauty of life in Baja California's rich waters and seemingly barren land. Note: Ocean Oasis is a 2D film.Produced by the San Diego Natural History Museum, Summerhays Films, and PRONATURA A.C., with sponsorship from Sempra Energy. Winner of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and the International Wildscreen Film Festival.

• From January 1st, 2005 To December 31st, 2020