Exhibit-goers begin by rediscovering the nature of energy in the dynamic Energy Garden area, where they can transform energy from one form to another via a series of electro-mechanical devices and immerse themselves in a short film that dramatically presents the story of energy in our world. Guests then convert their knowledge into action via a multi-player simulation game in which they design an energy-saving car, house, neighbourhood, transportation system and city power grid.
Electrosonic teamed with exhibit designers Evidence Design, interactive designers Potion Design and Steve Haas Acoustics (SH Acoustics) to meet the goals of the museum with the given budget and allotted exhibit space. Electrosonic's Design Consulting team was involved from the outset to ensure the smooth performance of all the interactives and to supply the custom programming required to deliver an informative and fun guest experience.
The first challenge was retrofitting the existing Energy Garden space with a 20ft wide curved oval screen to display a six-minute film from Donna Lawrence Productions. "To satisfy the size of the imagery, we had to pay extremely close attention to the lights and speakers and accurately position everything, including the Barco 3-chip DLP projectors, on the existing grid in a low-ceiling room," says Electrosonic design consultant Yiannis Cabolis.
Electrosonic also provided the video processing and masking to accommodate the oval screen; the film is fed to the projectors by a 7thSense server. Tannoy speakers are housed above and behind the screen along with Bag End subwoofers.
(Jim Evans)
