In our latest apps and audioguides round-up, an inventive mobile experience scores points at the Hunger Games exhibition and Google Glass brings a Velázquez retrospective into focus
Interview: Michiel Buchel
Michiel Buchel is Ecsite’s new president and CEO of the Netherland’s biggest science centre, NEMO. He shares his optimism about the science centre sector and the secrets of NEMO’s success
Attractions: All Work, All Play
KidZania, star of the edutainment world, has opened its newest franchise in London, its 17th location to date. We meet the global top team to find out what makes these small cities a big success
Analysis: Be Our Guest
TEA/AECOM’s 2014 Theme Index shows attendance growth across all regions. AECOM experts analyse the recent trends
Mobile Experience The Hunger Games: The Exhibition Location: Discovery Times Square, New York Design: Acoustiguide The Hunger Games: The Exhibition opened in July in New York’s Discovery Times Square, and Acoustiguide helped bring the attraction to life with an integrated mobile experience.
Acoustiguide worked with Lionsgate and partners Imagine Exhibitions and Thinkwell Group.
The mobile experience is designed to immerse visitors in Panem, the world of the Hunger Games movies. (The fourth and final instalment, Mockingjay Part 2, opens on 20 November.)
Acoustiguide wrote and produced the audio content and designed and developed the mobile experience for the exhibition. When users access the app, they follow heroine Katniss Everdeen on a journey packed with multimedia features designed to enhance the experience. Users can customise and share their journey, photos and “achievement badges” on social media. Features and hidden content include deleted movie scenes, interactives, AR and location-aware beacon technology.
PHOTO: STARPIX
Stars of the film franchise Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson enjoy The Hunger Games: The Exhibition in New York
PHOTO: STARPIX
The mobile experience brings added layers to the exhibition, designed to immerse visitors in Panem, the Hunger Games’ world
PHOTO: STARPIX
The mobile experience brings added layers to the exhibition, designed to immerse visitors in Panem, the Hunger Games’ world
PHOTO: STARPIX
The mobile experience brings added layers to the exhibition, designed to immerse visitors in Panem, the Hunger Games’ world
Google Glass Velázquez Location: Grand Palais, Paris Design: Acoustiguide A recent Diego Velázquez exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, has been exploring the use of Google Glass as a museum guide.
Visitors were able to discover the works of the Spanish painter through a range of audiovisual and multimedia add-ons available via Google Glass. Those included video, music, images and special commentaries.
Acoustiguide especially worked on creating a fluid and uninterrupted viewing experience for the visitor, ensuring looking from the Google Glass screen to the artwork was as seamless as possible. The software developer was GuidiGo.
“A major advantage of the glasses is that you can look at the painting and simultaneously view or listen to audiovisual content, without this hindering viewing the picture,” says Agnès Alfandari, Acoustiguide’s vice president of digital strategy. “The glasses are simple to use and so light you forget you’re wearing them, which enables you to concentrate on the artwork while you are shown its most interesting details.”
Acoustiguide created a fluid viewing journey from Glass screen to artwork
Audioguide Tchaikovsky and Peace Location: Museum of P Tchaikovsky and Moscow, Moscow Design: Dataton In the year of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 175th birthday, Dataton PICKUP audioguides created a musical soundtrack to complement a Moscow exhibition. Tchaikovsky and Peace – at the Museum of P Tchaikovsky and Moscow in Moscow, Russia – presents over 500 artefacts put together thanks to loans from other institutions. Each room features a themed soundtrack with personalised sound from Dataton PICKUP, supplied by Russian AV solutions partner INTmedia.
The audio tour brings together a selection of material from the museum’s rich biographical and musicological libraries, combining music and narration to create a unique immersive atmosphere for visitors. Visitors can move freely around the exhibition, triggering soundtracks by pointing and clicking at discreet microtags, or transponders, mounted in each room. The audio tour is available in both English and Russian.
Dataton’s Tchaikovsky audio tour combines music and narration
Audioguides Panorama Mesdag Location: Panorama Mesdag, The Hague Design: Guide ID Panorama Mesdag is a cyclindrical painting housed in a purpose-built museum of the same name. The museum, in The Hague, the Netherlands, in June started using Guide ID’s Podcatcher platform and new audio tour, which teaches visitors about Hendrik Willem Mesdag’s unique work. The tour is available in 20 languages.
Guide ID’s Podcatcher platform and new audio tour
Audioguides Koninck Experience Location: Koninck City Brewery, Antwerp Design: Guide ID The Koninck Brewery in Antwerp, Belgium, is set to launch its interactive tour experience in September. Billed as informative, exciting and fun, the tour features multimedia and audiovisual effects to tell the story of the brewery and Belgian beer. It’s available on Guide ID’s Podcatcher platform in four languages.
Guide ID’s Podcatcher platform
Audioguides Bus and Boat Tours Location: Tours & Tickets, Amsterdam Design: Imagineear Imagineear has created audio content for Dutch company Tours & Tickets, who offer bus tours and canal cruises in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands and Belgium. Imagineear was asked to create audioguides for bus and boat tours in Amsterdam, meaning it had to consider different routes and tourists’ different viewing perspectives of attractions and points of interest. The digital agency built right and left versions to cater for both directions of travel. The audio content was produced on a small budget in 14 weeks. Imagineear scripted and produced over 70 hours of audio in 18 languages.
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Taylor Made Designs
Founded in 1993, Taylor Made
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Painting With Light
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In our latest apps and audioguides round-up, an inventive mobile experience scores points at the Hunger Games exhibition and Google Glass brings a Velázquez retrospective into focus
Interview: Michiel Buchel
Michiel Buchel is Ecsite’s new president and CEO of the Netherland’s biggest science centre, NEMO. He shares his optimism about the science centre sector and the secrets of NEMO’s success
Attractions: All Work, All Play
KidZania, star of the edutainment world, has opened its newest franchise in London, its 17th location to date. We meet the global top team to find out what makes these small cities a big success
Analysis: Be Our Guest
TEA/AECOM’s 2014 Theme Index shows attendance growth across all regions. AECOM experts analyse the recent trends
Mobile Experience The Hunger Games: The Exhibition Location: Discovery Times Square, New York Design: Acoustiguide The Hunger Games: The Exhibition opened in July in New York’s Discovery Times Square, and Acoustiguide helped bring the attraction to life with an integrated mobile experience.
Acoustiguide worked with Lionsgate and partners Imagine Exhibitions and Thinkwell Group.
The mobile experience is designed to immerse visitors in Panem, the world of the Hunger Games movies. (The fourth and final instalment, Mockingjay Part 2, opens on 20 November.)
Acoustiguide wrote and produced the audio content and designed and developed the mobile experience for the exhibition. When users access the app, they follow heroine Katniss Everdeen on a journey packed with multimedia features designed to enhance the experience. Users can customise and share their journey, photos and “achievement badges” on social media. Features and hidden content include deleted movie scenes, interactives, AR and location-aware beacon technology.
PHOTO: STARPIX
Stars of the film franchise Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson enjoy The Hunger Games: The Exhibition in New York
PHOTO: STARPIX
The mobile experience brings added layers to the exhibition, designed to immerse visitors in Panem, the Hunger Games’ world
PHOTO: STARPIX
The mobile experience brings added layers to the exhibition, designed to immerse visitors in Panem, the Hunger Games’ world
PHOTO: STARPIX
The mobile experience brings added layers to the exhibition, designed to immerse visitors in Panem, the Hunger Games’ world
Google Glass Velázquez Location: Grand Palais, Paris Design: Acoustiguide A recent Diego Velázquez exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, has been exploring the use of Google Glass as a museum guide.
Visitors were able to discover the works of the Spanish painter through a range of audiovisual and multimedia add-ons available via Google Glass. Those included video, music, images and special commentaries.
Acoustiguide especially worked on creating a fluid and uninterrupted viewing experience for the visitor, ensuring looking from the Google Glass screen to the artwork was as seamless as possible. The software developer was GuidiGo.
“A major advantage of the glasses is that you can look at the painting and simultaneously view or listen to audiovisual content, without this hindering viewing the picture,” says Agnès Alfandari, Acoustiguide’s vice president of digital strategy. “The glasses are simple to use and so light you forget you’re wearing them, which enables you to concentrate on the artwork while you are shown its most interesting details.”
Acoustiguide created a fluid viewing journey from Glass screen to artwork
Audioguide Tchaikovsky and Peace Location: Museum of P Tchaikovsky and Moscow, Moscow Design: Dataton In the year of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 175th birthday, Dataton PICKUP audioguides created a musical soundtrack to complement a Moscow exhibition. Tchaikovsky and Peace – at the Museum of P Tchaikovsky and Moscow in Moscow, Russia – presents over 500 artefacts put together thanks to loans from other institutions. Each room features a themed soundtrack with personalised sound from Dataton PICKUP, supplied by Russian AV solutions partner INTmedia.
The audio tour brings together a selection of material from the museum’s rich biographical and musicological libraries, combining music and narration to create a unique immersive atmosphere for visitors. Visitors can move freely around the exhibition, triggering soundtracks by pointing and clicking at discreet microtags, or transponders, mounted in each room. The audio tour is available in both English and Russian.
Dataton’s Tchaikovsky audio tour combines music and narration
Audioguides Panorama Mesdag Location: Panorama Mesdag, The Hague Design: Guide ID Panorama Mesdag is a cyclindrical painting housed in a purpose-built museum of the same name. The museum, in The Hague, the Netherlands, in June started using Guide ID’s Podcatcher platform and new audio tour, which teaches visitors about Hendrik Willem Mesdag’s unique work. The tour is available in 20 languages.
Guide ID’s Podcatcher platform and new audio tour
Audioguides Koninck Experience Location: Koninck City Brewery, Antwerp Design: Guide ID The Koninck Brewery in Antwerp, Belgium, is set to launch its interactive tour experience in September. Billed as informative, exciting and fun, the tour features multimedia and audiovisual effects to tell the story of the brewery and Belgian beer. It’s available on Guide ID’s Podcatcher platform in four languages.
Guide ID’s Podcatcher platform
Audioguides Bus and Boat Tours Location: Tours & Tickets, Amsterdam Design: Imagineear Imagineear has created audio content for Dutch company Tours & Tickets, who offer bus tours and canal cruises in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands and Belgium. Imagineear was asked to create audioguides for bus and boat tours in Amsterdam, meaning it had to consider different routes and tourists’ different viewing perspectives of attractions and points of interest. The digital agency built right and left versions to cater for both directions of travel. The audio content was produced on a small budget in 14 weeks. Imagineear scripted and produced over 70 hours of audio in 18 languages.
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
Taylor Made Designs Founded in 1993, Taylor Made
Designs supply corporate clothing
and brand-enhancing merchandise
to [more...]
Painting With Light By combining lighting, video, scenic and architectural elements, sound and special effects we tell s [more...]
