In 1972, the deputy director of the Smithsonian, Melvin B. Zisfein, wrote a memo praising IMAX over other giant-screen formats like Cinerama and Circle-Vision 360°, and suggested making an IMAX film for the NASM. Several film treatments were written, the first titled "The Beautiful Mysteries of Flight", though all were rejected. A year later, IMAX's co-founder Graeme Ferguson expressed interest in an IMAX film for the US Bicentennial, also considering the possibility of it being feature-length. In 1974, after hearing about plans for a new building of the NASM at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as part of the Bicentennial, he proposed this to the museum director Michael Collins. While Ferguson believed this would enhance the museum, Collins had not seen an IMAX film and initially rejected the proposal. However, at Expo '74, an IMAX representative convinced him to go to the IMAX theater and see Ferguson's film Man Belongs to the Earth; he became convinced that an IMAX theater would provide a sense of realism to visitors and accepted the idea.
In 1972, the deputy director of the Smithsonian, Melvin B. Zisfein wrote a memo praising IMAX over other giant-screen formats like Cinerama and Circle-Vision 360°, and suggested making an IMAX film for the NASM. Several film treatments were written, the first titled "The Beautiful Mysteries of Flight", though all were rejected. A year later, IMAX's co-founder Graeme Ferguson expressed interest in an IMAX film for the US Bicentennial, also considering the possibility of it being feature-length. In 1974, after hearing about plans for a new building of the NASM at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as part of the Bicentennial, he proposed this to the museum director Michael Collins. While Ferguson believed this would enhance the museum, Collins had not seen an IMAX film and initially rejected the proposal. However, at Expo '74, an IMAX representative convinced him to go to the IMAX theater and see Ferguson's film Man Belongs to the Earth; he became convinced that an IMAX theater would provide a sense of realism to visitors and accepted the idea.