30 Second Bottom Line: Experience the large format screen of IMAX, and travel to seven of the world's most dynamic landscapes.

Story Line: Travel the world in 45 minutes to visit seven places of dramatic beauty and wildlife: Madagascar…Amazon River…Iguazu Falls...Greenland…The Namib Desert…Okavango Delta...and Tibet. Experience the power and the beauty of these locations, the ecosystems created and the people of each region. This is a look at the scientific wonders that surround us as inhabitants of this earth, including biology and physical and human geography. A world view, which began 250 million years ago, whose subtle story line is that this planet is beautiful and will stay that way only if we work at it.

Madagascar: The fourth largest island in the world, its isolation allows for a rich and unique diversity of plants and wildlife. The lemurs are fascinating to watch as they scamper among 10,000 species of flora, 80 percent of which are found nowhere else on Earth. In spite of its isolation, 300 miles east of Mozambique, deliberate killings and destruction of habitats have in recent years caused considerable devastation.

Tibet: Think about a valley floor that is higher than the tallest peaks of the Rocky Mountains and you are on the high plateau called the Quidam Basin. Visit the land as well as the people who live in this special place.

Amazon River: This river often looks like a flood plane, as its waters cover much of the huge tree trunks that grow there. It is over 4,000 miles long and encompasses more than two thirds of the South American continent. The river and its forest are almost as large as the United States. Its weather is unique in that the Amazon skips summer and winter because of its proximity to the equator…its seasons are differentiated by being either dry or wet.

Iguazu Falls: Brilliantly feathered parrots and macaws flit through the bamboo, palms and delicate tree ferns. This paradise has 275 individual cascades and waterfalls along a crescent-shaped cliff of 2.5 miles in length. It's dramatic, especially viewed from above; looking like a jewel just as earth does when seen from outer space.

Greenland: The world's largest island is 1,600 miles long and 750 miles across at the widest point. The island is buried beneath a cap of permanent ice and snow that averages 5,000 feet and goes as thick as 14,000 feet in some places. Each year 10,000 to 15,000 icebergs are created by Greenland's glaciers, which dump as much as 125 cubic miles of ice into the sea.

Namib Desert: Following the Atlantic Coast of Africa, the desert spans a distance of 1,200 miles averaging a width of approximately 70 miles. It is home to the highest sand dunes in the world, exceeding 800 feet. Even in this desolate place, life finds a way to exist.

Okavango Delta: The Delta is Africa's largest and most beautiful oasis. Located in Botswana, this river, which never finds the sea, disappears into a 6,000 square mile maze of lagoons, channels and islands. It's estimated that over 35 million fish of approximately 80 species call the Okavango home. Being the habitat to crocodiles, fish, and hippopotamuses who feed on vegetation, the Okavango is a delicate and unique example of the diversity of nature that makes Earth the most alive planet in our solar system and possibly the universe.

Tell Me More About It: This is the first informal science education project using the IMAX format with related educational materials. You can visit www.greatestplaces.org and obtain things such as a teacher's guide, family activity guide, compasses, maps and more.

Some folks may not like this film as well as other IMAX productions because it's more of a quick look travelogue of how beautiful and fragile the earth is, rather than a saga of human drama that was shown in Everest. The facts that you learn are interesting but not startling. Yet in spite of these "drawbacks," The Greatest Places is a film worth seeing because of the beauty it shows.

It also reminds us adults of things we want to possibly see on this earth in our lifetime, which merit being preserved for future generations to enjoy. For our children, it's a positive way to show a world without "clear cutting," filling the sky with pollutants or using our oceans as a dumping ground. If the mantle of preserving our environment is to be passed on, a foundation must be provided to understand what we have so that we care enough to ensure that it's not taken away.