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Museums

We believe that authentic stories and dimensional, multisensory experiences – the core strength of museums and exhibitions – have unmatched power to forge genuine human connections. Roto projects are bold and inspiring, blending an immense range of interpretive and interactive modes that help transform how visitors think and feel about their world and themselves.

Transportation themed exhibtion at the Cincinnati Museum Center - museum design and fabrication by Roto.
Cincinnati Museum Center, Shaping Our City, Cincinnati OH View Case Study →

Accelerating change

We are optimistic about the future of museums. We view the rise of digital media as an asset, not as competition. We believe strongly in the power of well-designed exhibits to help strengthen social bonds between visitors, the institution, and the communities they serve.

The Battle of Chosin exhibit at the National Museum of Military Vehicles features fully immersive sets, media installations, themed lighting, projection mapping, and lifelike figures among fully restored military vehicles.
For the National Museum of Military Vehicles, Roto served as both the exhibition design firm and the museum fabrication firm.
Bakken Museum Design Build By Roto 10 2020 Corey Gaffer
The Bakken Museum, Spark, Minneapolis MN View Case Study →

Stoking curiosity

Museums excel when they combine the spark of intellectual excitement with the resonance of genuine human emotion. Roto excels by combining popular and accessible interpretive techniques within rich multisensory environments and immersive media to elicit lasting meaning for visitors of all ages and interests.

Roto's museum clients
Roto Ohio Statehouse Constitution
Smithsonian National American Museum Of American History Roto Magic Book
Smithsonian National Museum Of Asian Art Freer Sackler Gallery Turquoise Mountain Exhibit Design Build By Roto
High Museum Of Art Greene Family Learning Gallery Design Build By Roto
High Museum of Art, Greene Family Learning Gallery, Atlanta GA View Case Study →

Plan. Design. Build.

Roto is the premiere, trusted museum design partner from strategy through sustainability. By integrating expert planning, design, technology and execution under one roof, exhibition projects from 1,500 to 150,000 square feet can be delivered to exceptional standards of innovation and quality on time and budget without destructive “value engineering.”

Milwaukee Public Museum Stories Of Nature And Culture Concept Design By Roto
Milwaukee Public Museum Stories Of Nature And Culture Collections Concept By Roto
American Home Furnishings Hall Of Fame Exhibit Design Build By Roto
American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame, High Point NC

Services

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    Nauticus Maritime Museum, Fairfax VA View Case Study →

    Master Planning

    Roto's planning services include architectural programming and assessment, interpretive frameworks and development, exhibition concepts, cost and feasibility analysis, marketing and fundraising support, and other key strategic functions that enable emerging museums to take the next logical step, and existing institutions to renew their missions and experiences.

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    Concept Design

    Exhibition conceptual design assesses existing assets, develops central themes and ideas, revises floor plans, and creates compelling visuals to propel fundraising or the next step in creative design. Outcomes can take the form of colorful illustrations, loose storyboards, or bound and narrated concept books that blend words and images to tell the project’s full story.

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    Ohio Statehouse Museum, Ohio Constitution, Columbus View Case Study →

    Exhibit Design

    Roto provides a full spectrum of interpretive development and design services for museum exhibitions, including content research, writing, education programs, architectural design, and A/V integration. We also provide engineering of casework, graphic design, themed environment design, interactives, and media. This versatility is matched by generous flexibility, coordinating Roto's skills with a museum's in-house capabilities and preferences.

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    National Museum of Military Vehicles, Puller Gallery, Dubois WY View Case Study →

    Interpretive Design

    Roto’s visitor-centered values engender an original and spirited approach to interpretation that is aimed at promoting intellectual curiosity and effective storytelling. We believe that meaning and understanding are enhanced through equal commitments to curatorial scholarship and visitor evaluation, investing in creative conversations and testing with content experts and visitors alike.

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    Prototyping & Evaluation

    With design, engineering, and fabrication professionals working together daily under one roof, Roto’s design practice naturally incorporates an extensive array of mock-ups and prototypes for interpretive and interactive elements throughout the development cycle. A unique partnership with Dublin City Schools brings hundreds of K-12 visitors inside Roto’s facility (averaging more than one visit per week) to participate thoroughly in these efforts.

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    Design-Build

    Roto is both a design firm, and a design-build firm, with equal passion. However, the company evolved its highly efficient design-build model expressly around the opportunities for enhancing visitor participation and engagement with art, objects, cultural stories, historical events, and scientific concepts. For exhibitions requiring deep experiential integration between design, prototyping, and fabrication, Roto offers a single, focused project team problem-solving together under one roof to deliver projects of any scale to guaranteed budgets and deadlines.

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    National Museum of Military Vehicles, Puller Gallery, Dubois WY View Case Study →

    Immersive Media Installations

    Cutting edge media technology makes adapting brand personality and messaging possible in virtually any physical space and user context. Roto’s in-house studios create the environments, interiors, lighting, interactive software and media, and complete a/v installation through an innovative and highly-efficient single source delivery model.