The Denver Museum of Nature & Science selected Roto to produce a total replacement design for DMNS' most highly interactive, non-collections-based exhibition – the 9,000 square foot "Space Odyssey," first installed more than 15 years ago. Since that original exhibit opening, DMNS has undergone significant transformation, and is today much more committed to meeting audience-specific goals, rather than purely research goals, for its primary permanent exhibitions.
Services
- concept development
- exhibit and graphic design
- immersive media design
- a/v system integration
- interactive engineering
- exhibit fabrication
Roto’s task was to bridge this gap – producing a content-rich framework with immediate relevance for diverse visitor populations, delivering a highly engaging and popular attraction for Denver families while maintaining the institutional brand for strong science content. This was accomplished through a devotion to the wonder of modern space science in both intellectual and emotional terms, seamlessly integrating science, nature, art, pop culture, and technology to foster a deeper understanding of our planet and the universe.
The exhibits blend techniques in immersive theater, rewarding interactivity, embedded technology, and compelling social participation to amplify guests’ innate curiosity. The experience begins with our earliest attempts to make meaning of the night sky and the Earth's origins through an animated storybook and highly immersive “campfire” theatre. The exhibition makes space technology relevant and accessible in new ways, such as inviting guests to create their own stunning and colorful “Hubble” images of nebulae and galaxies. And it also delights in the ways that space has ignited our imaginations about what is possible.
The gallery was expanded by more than 40% to enable guests to step abord the new Fantasy Spaceship as passenger or crew where they take control of the ship's helm and "jump to light speed" on the interactive bridge, talk to the ship’s computer, fire a laser canon, decode an alien language, and trigger audio and lighting effects that ripple throughout the entire ship.
