Auburn teen named 15 millionth visitor to Boston IMAX

Neil Pomerleau stood in the line outside Boston’s Mugar Omni Theater, readied himself for the five-story movie screen and took a number from the attendant.

“I didn’t know what the number was about,” said Pomerleau, issued a deli-counter-style “4” as he got in line with his mom and dad. “The workers said it was something special but that’s all.”

Once inside the dome-shaped theater, the 15-year-old Auburn boy learned what they meant.

Before starting up the movie, they announced that the 15 millionth visitor to the theater was in the audience and holding a No. 4.

Moments later, Neil was shaking hands with the director of the Boston Museum of Science, where the theater is located, and receiving a bag of souvenir-shop merchandise while people applauded.

For a moment, he was a celebrity. Museum workers took his picture. They awarded him a giant membership card, like one of those oversized checks presented to lottery winners.

“It was a special day,” Neil said.

So, too, for the theater.

It opened in March 1987. Its first film was a documentary on the then-recently destroyed Challenger shuttle.

At the time, it was the first IMAX theater in New England. IMAX theaters use film that is 10 times larger than standard movies and are often projected onto extra-large screens. There is none in Maine.

Counting the customers – 1 million, 10 million or 15 million – was merely a way of marking time and popularity, said Cherie Rivers, the theater’s director.

The presentation to Neil was fun for both the staff and Neil’s family, who cheered when he left his seat to meet with museum leaders.

His prize package included DVDs, mugs, astronaut ice cream and water bottles. It also included a promise to hold a private screening of a movie for him and 24 friends.

However, Boston’s distance may make that impossible. Perhaps the museum will give him vouchers for movie tickets instead.

“We get down there once a year,” he said. “Tickets would help me go back.”