In the Sacred Places exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, visitors learn about the religious and cultural stories and values of people throughout the world. Audiences in a custom-designed Elumenati immersive environment step into 360° videos of locations around the world. The exhibit supports two modes of user experience – user-driven via a touchscreen user interface, and facilitated by interpretive actors who perform shows at select times. All content is powered by WorldViewer.
We created a 7.3-m diameter Theater for the exhibit. The truncated dome design starts at the floor and sweeps around and above the audience. This replicates the natural field of view and places the horizon where it should be, creating a sense of presence. Two blended OmniFocus projectors create roughly 7K resolution at 18,000 lumens, with folded optics allowing us to mount them horizontally in a platform on the floor. The technology disappears so that the audience is not distracted from the content. 5.1 audio completes the immersive experience.
We also installed a customized Hue lighting system controlled by WorldViewer, providing theatrical lighting for the actors as well as ambient and emergency lighting in the dome. Actors drive their presentations from a wireless tablet, while audiences interact with a touchscreen kiosk mounted to a customized glass railing that maintains distance from the screen without interfering with immersion, especially for younger guests.
Experience a virtual tour of the exhibit on the TCM website, and check out the dome in this video on their YouTube page. Check out local press coverage here:
Photo credit: Children’s Museum of Indianapolis