An immersive museum experience features advanced technologies to engage audiences and promote tolerance.
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The Social Lab is a 10,000 square feet experiential space at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, CA that aims to help visitors understand and overcome contemporary prejudices and social issues.
Technology plays a key role in engaging digital-savvy visitors. Videos, ultra-high-resolution touchscreens with 100-point capability, a unique media cube using dynamic projection on four glass surfaces and powerful soundscapes immerse visitors in 15 distinct spaces. Together, they promote tolerance and inclusion by taking visitors on a journey of self-discovery.
Electrosonic has worked with the Museum for over 25 years and was involved from initial concept through detailed technology design and specification to build and system integration and help desk support, working in partnership with Museum owner Simon Wiesenthal Center, exhibit designer Yazdani Studios and content producers Unified Field.
The new Social Lab is an upgrade of the original Social Lab designed and installed by Electrosonic in 1996. Fifteen galleries feature innovative technology to engage visitors and tell stories in compelling ways. After an initial orientation film, visitors see the ‘Point of View’ a four-sided glass cube. Within the cube, a rear projection solution presents parallel scenarios reflecting different perspectives on challenging topics.
Next is ‘The Forum’, a large circular exhibit with five wings where visitors debate today’s critical issues. Each wing incorporates one large 100-point capability touchscreen for group interactivity, an ultra-high-resolution video display to guide the presentation and audio communicating alternative views. Next, they visit the ‘History Wall’ where 20 large touchscreens allow visitors to examine and dive deep into issues of tolerance and diversity from different periods.
Moving to the ‘Global Crisis’ exhibit, visitors interact with three identical tables with 12 individual touchscreens around the table perimeters revealing media rear-projected onto a center glass screen in each table. This dynamic experience shows how world leaders deal with a crisis. Throughout the Social Lab, transparent veils made of metal coils act as dividers for the different exhibits and backdrops for video projection. Interactivity is key with specially designed 100-point touch tables throughout. Working closely with Smart Monkeys, Electrosonic implemented their ISAAC platform to create a virtualized platform to host the control, monitoring, user and content management systems.
The sheer amount of technology in the Social Lab was challenging. Every exhibit used advanced technology to engage visitors or tell a story in a unique way. The sleek modern gallery design meant that audiovisual devices could not simply be attached to gallery surfaces. Instead, each device had to be fitted flush into walls, ceilings or furniture.
The large-scale installation required special projection techniques, high levels of complex integration, a sophisticated content management and distribution platform and a virtualized platform that hosted the overall museum control system.
Electrosonic collaborated with Yazdani Studios and Unified Field to provide blue sky technology concepts and technical direction, detailed audiovisual design and equipment specification, build and system integration, together with project management, training and help desk support. Electrosonic worked closely with MidState Expositions to integrate audiovisual devices into exhibit walls and furniture, and with HLB Lighting to integrate their modern lighting design.
The Social Lab uses innovative technology in a powerful way to tell compelling stories in a format that is familiar and relevant to a digital generation. Interaction, debate and collaboration are at the heart of the exhibition as it uses technology in every exhibit to engage visitors and influence hearts and minds.
Delivering the Museum’s creative vision required high levels of collaboration between project partners and the ability to fuse architecture, storytelling and technology.
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