Rick Pukis experienced a thrilling roller coaster ride at the 1974 Spokane, Wash., World's Fair without leaving the movie theater. Mr. Pukis, an associate professor of communications specializing in television and cinema at Augusta State University, still remembers his first IMAX movie.

"It's a whole other viewing experience," he said. "It plants you like you are there."

The "IMAX experience" could come closer to home for Augusta moviegoers. IMAX and the Regal Entertainment Group plan to open 31 theaters in 20 U.S. markets, one of which could be Augusta's Regal Exchange 20.

IMAX plans to put screens in existing Regal theaters, transforming the largest auditorium by removing the first few rows of seats and installing a slightly curved screen closer to the audience. Auditoriums also will be treated to reduce sound vibrations for clearer acoustics.

IMAX, which stands for "image maximum," features movie screens several stories tall that encompass a viewer's peripheral vision so one sees only the projected image.

Fewer than 300 IMAX theaters exist around the world, according to the IMAX Corp. Web site. The Atlanta area has two of the giant screens -- one at the Mall of Georgia Regal Cinemas and the other at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Many museums and aquariums, including the Chattanooga, Tenn. aquarium, house IMAX theaters to screen educational films ranging from Alaska: Spirit of the Wild to Dolphins and Whales 3D .

The roots of IMAX movies are in educational films about 40 minutes long. In the past decade, IMAX Corp. expanded into Hollywood with such films as Superman Returns and Kung Fu Panda .

The IMAX film projection system developed from demonstrations at the 1967 and 1970 World's Fair Expositions in Montreal and Osaka, Japan. The original innovators, including a group of Canadian filmmakers, set out to see how fast film could move through a projector.

"The speed tricks the mind," Mr. Pukis said. "The mind is perceiving that you are actually there experiencing the movie."

IMAX technology uses 70 mm film turned sideways instead of the 35 mm used for traditional movies. The projectors run at more than 50 mph.

Since the first public showings at World Fairs, modern upgrades have helped improve the IMAX technology. The IMAX 3-D system premiered in 1986.

"A lot of people are now believing that 3-D will save the cinema and draw the people in," Mr. Pukis said.

Increasingly, Hollywood movies are premiering in IMAX theaters. This month, The Dark Knight , which was partially shot with IMAX cameras, contributed to a record weekend for IMAX, according to box office returns.

Michelle Ewart's family, from North Augusta, have seen numerous IMAX movies at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and the aquarium in Charleston, S.C., which closed its theater in September.

"It's able to show you more," daughter Shelby Ewart said. "You can visualize it better."

Reach Meg Mirshak at (706) 828-2946 or meg.mirshak@augustachronicle.com.