Amsterdam, the Netherlands — Cruden, one of the world’s leading professional motion simulation company, has created a race track around the streets of Lyon in France for simulator centre attraction, I-WAY. The 7.9 km track tours famous landmarks such as Bellecour, old Lyon and Opera, plunging guests into the Croix Rousse tunnel and crossing the Saône and Rhône rivers a number of times. Drivers of I-WAY’s six Formula 1 and six endurance simulators can reach 320 km (around 200 miles) per hour; guests who choose to drive the Citroen C2 cars can drive a special rally cross track devised around the Place Bellecour.
Lyon-based I-WAY was the world’s first professional motion simulator centre when it opened in 2008 and president and general director Pierre Nicolas puts working with simulator hard- and software supplier Cruden on fresh, annual updates, at the heart of the centre’s continued success. “We devise a very innovative new experience for our customers at least once per year. Following the success of our race track on the moon, the Lyon street track is our special attraction this year. After its first three months promotion, 80 percent of our guests want to drive it and we are attracting more interest from locals who find driving around familiar streets makes the track easier to learn. We welcomed around 70,000 guests in 2012; three and a half times as many as in our first full year of operation.”
Says Frank Kalff, commercial director of Cruden: “We create all the cars, tracks and the 3D environment for our simulators in-house so that we can be as flexible, quick and cost-effective as possible for our customers without having to rely on a third party. We can make all the changes ourselves and, importantly for the attractions market, we do not charge a license fee.
“To build a virtual race track, we take data from various sources such as LIDAR/laser scans, CAD data or create the content ourselves from scratch. Then come the hours of making it look exactly right to a professional level of accuracy and image generation. It can take between a week and three to four months depending on how much content is already available. We build race tracks including ovals, courses for rally or rally cross cars as well as roads. Anything really!”
As we start the new year, there is always the question of where might we see the field moving in the future. Interactive exhibits or interactive experiences are certainly robust and mature, so now, in the museum field, there is a constant search for different mediums, approaches and processes. The past year, both here in North America and internationally, reveals the following trends on some of the new directions for interactivity.
As you review these trends, a key point to keep in mind is that one of the primary factors driving the role of interactivity is the economy. The scarcity of funding, the decrease in attendance in some markets, the increasing costs of what is seen as the necessary modes of interactivity (exhibits, mobile and others) needed in an exhibition, and costs for traveling exhibitions are all part of the puzzle that drive interactivity trends. If you are interested in how the economy may be changing the exhibition world, both in interactivity but also in all areas of exhibition, I urge you to subscribe and pick up a copy of the Exhibitionist, the official journal of National Association for Museum Exhibition (NAME). You can do so at the following link (aam-us.org/resources/publications/exhibitionist).
Trends/Directions
Tinkering – Making
Certainly one of the largest movements occurring in children’s museums and science centers is the creation of Tinkering or Making spaces. This is a movement that originates from the work done by Make magazine and their affiliated “Maker Faires.” (www.makerfaire.com) As museums witnessed the creativity and the direct interaction that the public has with STEM (science, technology engineering and math) content, an essential need for museums to attract audience and funding, Tinkering/Maker spaces are popping up in many places. A Tinkering space is a place where visitors are allowed to build, create and tinker with low-end technology, use real tools and explore the concept of making something. These are usually staffed spaces although some are trying to explore minimizing staff engagement. Often, special events, fairs and other programs are being held in connection with these spaces. A key aspect of this is that these spaces do not require extensive design and development schedules and costs. They are a marriage of exhibit and program, where the activity is more important than the environment. The Exploratorium with their Tinkering Studio (blogs.exploratorium.edu/tinkering/) , New York Hall of Science who hosts the NYC Maker Faire and issued a report (www.nysci.org/learn/research/maker_faire_workshop) , and the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum MAKESHOP (pittsburghkids.org/exhibits/makeshop) are some of the leaders in this endeavor.
Collaborative Exhibits & Events
In the constant search for innovative (yet budget-conscious) exhibits and interactivity, museums are increasingly looking to create ways in which people can interact by engaging with artists, groups and community organizations. Exhibitions based on this approach tend to have interactivity that may be more experimental or short-term, perhaps built around a weekend event or happening. A benefit of this type of low-impact interactivity is the opportunity to try things that are different and not necessarily built to the fabrication and durability standards that would define more traditional exhibits. Additionally, by reflecting engagement with community groups and other organizations, the exhibit becomes more social, and the social networks of these organizations, both physical and electronic, become engaged with the exhibits and potentially become part of the exhibitions themselves. One place exploring this direction is the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. Check out their event at (www.santacruzmah.org/events/) and read Nina Simon’s article in the latest NAME Exhibitionist issue.
One recent MAKESHOP event encouraged kids to make a city out of found and recycled objects. Photo courtesy of Pittsburgh Children’s Museum
New Interfaces
Certainly, an area that piques everyone’s interest in the interactivity field is devising new ways for people to engage with digital content or digital displays through more physical interfaces. We have seen a move away from the idea of keyboard-and-mouse to touchscreen to touch tables and now Kinect or Kinect-like interfaces. This outlines an evolution of the interface becoming more and more physical, more fully-body engaging and with more seamless physical/virtual experience. Over the past year, we have seen interest in new and innovative ways to engage people physically but also marrying that with digital content. Examples include the “Firewall” by Aaron Sherwood created in collaboration with Michael Allison, “Water Light Graffiti” done under the Digitalarti Artlab by the artist Antonin Fourneau, or the work done by ART+COM. In part, this is driven by the need for museums to provide experiences that cannot be duplicated at home. The interface advances also reflect the evolution of museum experiences moving into the home. These marriages of art, computer, physical world and content create interactivity and experiences that can’t be duplicated on your Xbox.
Mobile Individuality
The world of mobile computing has been transformed over the past five years with the increasing size of and sophistication of smart phones, the acceptance of tablets, and the growing ubiquity of internet access through cellular plans or freely available wifi. Museums were quick to adopt these technologies as part of the visitor experience, and now they have become almost a necessary part of interactivity strategy for an exhibition or institution. Despite this, the field still struggles with what is the best way to use these technologies and how to integrate them into the exhibition form. For some collections-based exhibitions, they may be the principle interactivity, while a device at an interactive exhibition might actually be an obstacle to visitor experience. As our field continues to explore how to best apply new technologies, some of the more exciting experiments relate to how these devices might personalize everyone’s experience. For example, work is ongoing on enhancing personal instruction as part of school trips, accessing data through NFC technology, and integrating augmented reality into an experience. This personalization will certainly be another ongoing trend in interactivity over the coming year and beyond. Check out work being done at the Minnesota Historical Society in their Education Department with their new exhibition Then Now Wow (minnesotahistorycenter.org/exhibits/then-now-wow) with school groups talked about , The Australian Museum and the work lead by Lynda Kelly (australianmuseum.net.au/staff/lynda-kelly) and the Science Museum of London and their augmented reality with James May (www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/jamesmay)
At the Then Now Wow exhibit at the Minnesota Historical Society, the Grainland play area lets visitors trace the journey of soy and corn by climbing into a grain elevator and sliding through the chutes. Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
These trends are just a sampling. There are, of course, other trends in interactivity. Feel free to share your observations with me at [email protected]. The one constant we can count on is change, and, as we look back a year from now, no doubt we’ll be discussing innovations we couldn’t have imagined today.
• • •
Wayne LaBar, with twenty five years of science center experience, is the founder and principal of Alchemy Studio, an experience and institutional development, design and consulting services studio located in Maplewood, NJ. Alchemy Studio works with museums, science centers, boards, civic leaders, governments, NGO’s, filmmakers and others involved in the informal learning field. He is the Vice President on the Board of the National Association for Museum Exhibition. Wayne obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a graduate of the Getty’s Museum Leadership Institute.
Normally, I take some time to talk about the world of museums in my column for this issue. As this issue is distributed at the American Alliance of Museums show in Baltimore, and for the first time ever at the IMERSA Summit in Denver, our primary focus is on the expanding and changing world of museums. And with our special feature story on Global Immersion and their acquisition by Electrosonic, in this issue we take a close look at the technology side of museums.
But I would be remiss if I didn’t take a few sentences to talk about our own technology here at InPark Magazine. We recently launched our brand new website at inparkmagazine.com. Previously, our article archive, editor’s blog, news feed and digital issues were all housed in separate sites and different areas. Now, we’ve brought them all together in one convenient location.
With one click you can find all the recent features and news related to waterparks, theme parks, technology, and even museums. Or you can view our latest issue, peruse special feature stories on a variety of topics (formerly the Editor’s Blog), or visit the ever-expanding archives to check out a back issue.
We are still tweaking things and working on improvements, but things are off to a running start with plenty of content tailored to exactly what you are looking for.
Finally, I have to thank our News Editor Joe Kleiman and my Co-Editor Judith Rubin for their efforts at continually updating the website and making it the best it can be. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the NEW inparkmagazine.com
Stockholm, Sweden — On April 27th Gröna Lund, the 130-year-old amusement park in Stockholm, will open their brand new ride — the world’s highest StarFlyer named Eclipse. Located at the waterfront, this 400 foot high StarFlyer will provide a breathtaking ride as you soar high above Stockholm.
As Gröna Lund is to celebrate its 130th anniversary they searched high and low for a new sensational ride. The answer was Eclipse, the first StarFlyer in Sweden, and at 400 feet Eclipse will be the highest StarFlyer in the world.
“We wanted to do something really spectacular for our 130th anniversary, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Building a sensational ride such as Eclipse to give as a birthday present to all of Gröna Lund’s visitors is a dream come true”, says Peter Osbeck, ride manager at Gröna Lund.
Eclipse is a truly unique family attraction, with a height requirement of only 47 inches, but with an incredibly high excitement level. The question is not whether guests can handle the ride, but whether they dare to ride it. Eclipse has twelve swings with double seats, which hang from 26 foot long chains. If you ride the attraction at full speed, you reach an impressive 43 miles per hour as you soar high above Stockholm.
“Not everyone will dare to ride it, but those who do will admire a fantastic view across Stockholm, thanks to the waterfront location. Luckily it has double seats, which means that you’re not alone up there”, says Osbeck.
Dallas, TX, USA (February 5, 2013) — Dallas based CG animation and effects company Reel FX has won two prestigious awards in just three days for their work on the Universal Studios Florida attraction “Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem.” On Saturday, February 2, the attraction was awarded an Annie by the International Animated Film Society for Best Animated Special Production. Today, it won the VES Award for Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project from the Visual Effects Society. Other nominees in this category included “Turtle Trek” from SeaWorld and Falcon’s Treehouse, “Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet” from the California Academy of Sciences, and “The Ball Unleashed” from the New York Mets and Digital Domain. “Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem” is a co-production of Illumination Entertainment and Universal Creative.
Global Immersion, now part of Electrosonic, explains why it’s all about the programming
by Judith Rubin
Somewhere in the world, on a plane, in an airport, paying a business call or from his UK office, Martin Howe, VP of Global Immersion, is thinking about your programming.
If you attend a meeting with Martin, you may have gone in thinking about projection systems. But he wants you to come away pondering the digital strategy for your entire venue. Only then will he feel he’s been doing his job. “Don’t think of it as a theater. That’s not a good place to start. The question is not, ‘What will this digital theater do for me?’ It’s ‘How will this digital theater function as the hub of my facility infrastructure and guest experience?’ We’re not talking about ‘movie theaters’ but rather environments that include movie theater capability.”
It is in the digital dome (fulldome) sector – which is mostly the planetarium sector – that Global Immersion has carved out its biggest niche with more than 40 digital planetarium installations, and while remaining faithful to that market it’s been frying other digital fish too, making its mark quickly in giant screen. A short list of flagship projects includes the Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco), Adler Planetarium (Chicago), Moscow Planetarium, Peoria Riverfront Museum (Peoria, Illinois), Reuben H. Fleet Science Center (San Diego) and the JetBlue Sky Theater at New York’s Cradle of Aviation Museum.
Engineer-turned-entrepreneur Howe started his career in the 1980s with 14 years of learning the ropes at Electrosonic, followed by stints at Barco and SEOS before leading a management buyout that formed Global Immersion in 2007. He’s found his way back to Electrosonic as the result of that company’s December 2012 acquisition of Global Immersion.
Before getting into the acquisition story, we’ll look a little more at the industry landscape that is its context.
Amid variety, the need for standards
According to Howe, as operators, designers and producers explore and begin to make the most of their new digital powers, individual institutions and venues will find compelling new ways to differentiate themselves via unique content and programming that builds brands, fulfills missions, bonds with local communities and earns revenue. They’ll fuel an explosion of variety.
Conversely, the technology powers the kind of widespread content distribution that lets many more theaters get a crack at showing the latest blockbuster. This recently happened with the premiere of The Hobbit, spread out through a wide range of commercial and institutional venues and exhibition formats and frame rates (from a variety of providers, including Global Immersion): digital and film, flatscreen and dome, 2D and stereoscopic 3D, 24 fps and 48 fps.
Visual canvas spanning the three stories called the SECU Daily Planet at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ Nature Research Center. AV systems by Electrosonic. Raleigh, North Carolina. Photo courtesy of batwin + robin productions.
Consistent exhibition standards are important to robustly fulfill this vision, as are resourceful providers and dialog between the various industry sectors, especially planetariums, giant screen cinema and themed entertainment. Global Immersion’s activity in this arena includes Howe’s involvement with the DIGSS initiative (Digital Immersive Giant Screen Specs) as chair of the task force within GSCA (Giant Screen Cinema Association), participation in IMERSA (Immersive Media, Entertainment, Research & Arts) and in IPS (International Planetarium Society), and expanding the company’s professional scope through the acquisition by Electrosonic.
Howe will speak about DIGSS at the IMERSA Fulldome Summit in Denver this February, and the company will also take up a visible position at the GSCA Film Expo and Digital Cinema Symposium in Galveston, Texas this March.
Distribution economics and the 400 domes
“What do we need from producers right now?” says Howe. “Great content. What do producers need? A healthy distribution network. The economics of great content are driven by the number of screens a show can be played on. A multiformat distribution model helps economies of scale; investors in production can be confident that there is a market to sell to.”
Priming a show for maximum digital distribution, therefore, calls for an umbrella of standards, specifications and best practices, reaching from domes to flat screens. There are the digital dome (fulldome) planetariums in all their various sizes and tilts – a network where digital conversion has spread quickly since the late 1990s. There are the giant domes in science centers, where digital conversion is just getting started. And there are the 2D and 3D digital flat screens in many museums, existing and new.
Those flat screens have been the primary distribution circuit for years in the special venue world, but the sleeping giant of fulldome may now flip the model on its head.
Typhoon Theater at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore. Projection fills a 180º space about six meters high. The show simulates the amazing journey of an ancient shipwreck. AV systems by Electrosonic. Sentosa, Singapore
Moreover, the digital dome shows signs of entering the mainstream and dramatically transforming the planetarium sector. Two recent signs: the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival & Symposium’s incorporation of fulldome presentations in its screenings and competitions (the 2012 JHWFF Science Media Awards fulldome winner was Undiscovered Worlds: The Search Beyond our Sun by the Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science, Boston); and the 2013 Sundance Film Festival screened the fulldome production CORAL: Rekindling Venus, directed by Lynette Wallworth and produced by John Maynard.
The size of the fulldome network – at this point estimated to be well over 1,000 domes worldwide – is impressive, but the market is segmented. Realistically, Howe estimates that an enterprising producer can aim for a maximum of some 400 domes in the 60-foot-diameter-and-smaller category; enough to be an economic and strategic game-changer and empower the dome community. All this facilitates cross-platforming so that existing assets can be repurposed and new productions designed with multiple formats in mind from the start.
The upward spiral
Fulldome specifications, known as Dome Masters, are already in place and practice, enabling virtually any fulldome playback show to be distributed to virtually any fulldome theater, although the range of theater configurations complicates the task. DIGSS was launched in 2010 to pick up where Dome Masters leave off and bridge the gap for large format film domes and giant flat screen theaters in museums that are converting to or adding digital systems. “DIGSS will help speed up the migration to digital, and make it quicker and less expensive to get content out there and earning a return,” says Howe. “As digital formats continue to take hold throughout the industry, this will open the market significantly.” For conventional digital flat screens, there is the already well-established DCI (Digital Cinema Initiative) – but there are some gaps to fill when it comes to giant screens, especially in regard to aspect ratios.
The standards and specs should also help maintain quality across market sectors. Giant screen theaters have taken longer to get to the stage of digital conversion because of the need to match the quality of the specialty film systems they would be augmenting or replacing. “They want to maintain their high standards in the digital age,” says Howe.
Appreciating the scope of the dome market is changing the way media producers and distributors approach their projects. “The dome is the biggest frame, as well as the biggest potential market,” Howe says. “It doesn’t mean everything has to be produced for the dome, but a producer should have it in mind. There are levels of complexity depending on whether a show is live action or CGI – and in terms of camera geometry, the capture process doesn’t readily translate between the two. That’s a chapter being written now in the real world of the industry.”
The situation looks favorable for dome theater operators, and Howe urges them to make the most of it. “Planetariums are facing revenue opportunities they have never had before,” he says. “They are in a position to build more lucrative business models – to enjoy better attendance, more exhibition options and more revenue.” Enough, he indicates, to change the equation of a facility: to sustain regular upgrades – for while the technology is considered to have reached a stage of maturity, it will continue to evolve – and to support bigger production budgets, better shows and healthy marketing campaigns on a par with their giant screen cousins.
“The giant screen market is used to having $5-7 million for a show, but in general planetariums are accustomed to thinking much smaller,” explains Howe. “For those wanting to broaden their scope beyond conventional astronomy presentations, production budgets need to go up. The strategy that will support that is higher ticket prices plus a marketing approach more akin to a giant screen theater than a planetarium. This will foster an increase in money available across all sectors and the gate that is received there. If some of that money is re-injected into the production world, the quality of shows will go up and growth will take an upward spiral.”
The above model refers to playback or “pre-rendered” fulldome shows, not the real-time dome shows that navigate digital datasets from sources such as NASA and NOAA. (These image generators are part of the capability of virtually all fulldome systems, and a factor in the segmentation of the market.) “The story is a little different for live data presentations,” Howe says, “and will probably take a different trajectory – which is a whole other subject for another day.”
Giant Screen and GSX™
The suppliers’ role in the upward spiral is to build equipment that complies with the standards and specs, and anticipates future advances. Now that Global Immersion is part of Electrosonic, the combined group has combined strengths to further this goal. “We want to continue to lead the market in technology and innovation,” says Howe. “We have more resources to do that now. On our own, Global Immersion focused on the mid- to high-end, but as part of a larger group, we should be able to bring innovation to smaller screens now as well. This year, you will see us broadening our range of products. Something unique that we bring to the mix is our experience in producing and distributing media, borne of serving planetarium customers who need a wide range of services.”
Inside the Giant Screen Theater at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, Peoria, IL – home to a Global Immersion GSX digital giant screen system and the highest resolution and brightest digital giant screen cinema in the world.
Global Immersion’s existing strong base in the planetarium sector appealed to Electrosonic and provided an immediate market expansion – but equally attractive was its growing presence in the worldwide giant screen markets and the product developed to serve that niche, the GSX system. Howe says, “GSX is a range of digital, high performance giant screen theater products for flat screen and domes that utilize the brightest, high-resolution cinema grade projectors to replace large format film. It is designed to go head-to-head with quality film systems and outperform them; to deliver the highest performance in all of the areas that we care to measure that we think are important: such as brightness, resolution, frame rate, screen size. Today GSX uses 4K resolution projectors, and all GSX systems are designed to be DIGSS compliant.”
Describing specific GSX installations, Howe elaborates, “The Fleet installation, in a 2D giant dome, has 4 projectors and is 3D-upgradable; Peoria is a 70’ x 52’ giant flat screen 3D system with 2 projectors. Both are capable of high frame rates up to 60 frames per second, and are simpler to operate than film systems. In Peoria, for instance, the shows are pre-loaded and the system will auto-configure to match the show it has been scheduled to play. At the push of a button it can go from 2D to 3D, 1.85:1 to 4:3 and from 24 fps to 48 fps, in 20 seconds or less. These GSX systems also integrate all the other capabilities that used to be acquired as separate extras – connecting a laptop to display PowerPoint slides, load the Internet, stream a satellite feed or even run non-DCI movies. They’re designed with a roadmap for upgrading to laser projection when it becomes available in the future.”
The 4D Cinema at the Moscow Planetarium , Russia. Global Immersion supplied the full cinematic solution including projection system, screen, special effects, motion seating and audio. Shown is nWave’s “The Little Prince.”
Creating industry-wide standards and specs to unite such a wide range of theater configurations will continue to be a challenge. “DIGSS provides a way to go forward,” notes Howe. “DCI is established and people know how to work with it, but it doesn’t cover other aspect ratios such as 4:3, nor does it cover domes. Fortunately the fulldome community and now the giant screen community have provided standards and best practices that DIGSS can adopt. The specs being drawn up in DIGSS 1.1 are targeted to be ahead of the market.”
Entertainment, novelty and spectacle
The Global Immersion-Electrosonic synergy will also flow into the entertainment markets where Electrosonic has become well-established over the decades, with the leading theme park and attraction operators as clients and a long line of World Expo pavilions. As a supplier to media-based experiences in giant-screen, custom-dome and curved-screen attractions, Electrosonic’s projects include the SECU Daily Planet at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the Typhoon Theatre at Resorts World Sentosa, the Information & Communications Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010, and the 4D experience “Beyond All Boundaries” at the Solomon Victory Theater at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.
Global Immersion installed a digital fulldome system into the Giant Screen Dome theater at the Taiwan Astronomical Museum in Taipei.
Novelty and spectacle have always been part of the appeal of specialty cinema, whether Cinerama, a giant movie dome, a one-off surround theater at a world’s fair or a curved-screen 3D experience. Eventually some specialty formats become standardized and appear in multiple venues; this part of the cycle engenders creative and commercial opportunities, but it also leads to the novelty wearing off, and then the onus falls on content. As the giant screen theater has gone from novel to familiar, what has lately brought people flocking back into those theaters is blockbuster content. As digital technology becomes omnipresent and transparent, the opportunity arises to look past technology, and deliver novelty again and again, through content and guest experience.
That brings us back to Martin Howe’s digital strategy planning vision, and his thoughts about your programming. “Think about how a theater fits strategically within the whole institution; as a key hub in the whole business model. Consider whether the media in your theater should be related to the other media across the institution. Should it be linked to other infrastructure? That could include interactives, ticketing, visitor recognition and other technology in your exhibit spaces and operations, inside and outside the building. All that will help you decide what kind of programming you want. ”
Howe continues, “One digital asset can join up with other digital assets, and your digital strategy can unify the whole space. At the Adler and in Moscow, Global Immersion helped design and build the backbone of the museum even to the extent of integrating telescopes with digital cameras that can send their images to any theater in the building. Another part of the strategy: How will you brand, position and market your facility’s new persona? These are big questions to answer, but they are worth answering. They lead to viable new business models and incredible, new immersive guest experiences.” • • •
[box] FACTS ABOUT ELECTROSONIC • Operates from 14 offices globally with locations in the USA, the UK, Sweden, China and the United Arab Emirates. • Offers some of the market’s most extensive managed services, with remote monitoring and management capabilities. • Offers one of the most comprehensive projector lamp replacement programs in the market • Has completed over 50 World Expo projects from Expo’67 Montreal to Expo 2010 Shanghai • Was established in 1964 and is privately owned • Is one of the largest AV systems integration companies in the world • Has a highly qualified engineering department with over 140 people • Has a service solutions business with over 180 dedicated staff • Has completed projects in over 60 locations worldwide • Installed the world’s biggest video wall with 850 monitors at Expo ’92 Seville, Spain • Its Los Angeles office exterior is a castle[/box]
Gouda, The Netherlands (February 5, 2013) — Dutch multinational Royal Imtech is a worldwide provider of electrical services, information and communications technology, and mechanical services. The company reports an annual revenue of €5.1 billion. On Monday, February 4, 2013, Imtech announced that it will be postponing its 2012 financial statements due to irregularities with its Polish projects, primarily the Adventure World theme park and resort under construction near Warsaw.
According to Imtech: “The write-off of at least 100 million euro relates to three projects for Adventure World Warsaw and one project involving energy-generating bio power stations, also in Warsaw. These projects have a combined value of 757 million euro.
“Imtech has established that the advanced payments for the four Polish projects do not comply with the agreements made with the customer regarding the availability of the payments to Imtech. This is because the customer has not secured its financing.
“. . . The Board of Management has also determined that a promissory note and pledged accounts related to the Adventure World Warsaw project – amounting to around 200 million euro – that had been recognised in the half-yearly 2012 financial statements under cash and cash equivalents must, according to IFRS, be reclassified under current financial assets. Most of this amount was recognised as an advance payment under work in progress for the four projects concerned. This advance payment was considerably higher than the incurred costs. As stated above, the advance payments have not become available to Imtech. The effect of this is incorporated in the expected write-off of at least 100 million euro.”
Imtech has suspended the management of its Polish projects and is beginning a “forensic investigation” into “possible irregularities.”
At close of day February 4, Imtech’s stock value had dropped by 47%, with Bloomberg now valuing the company at €992 million based on the end of day stock price.
Adventure World’s management responded to the developments at Imtech, stating “Given that the project development phase of the park construction is to be completed this month, the board of AWW is confident that the long term finance will be secured latest in in the second quarter of 2013.
“It now becomes apparent that the situation at Imtech will not be without an influence over the construction of AWW theme park. However, the board of AWW remains confident that Imtech Poland will properly perform as a general contractor for AWW park construction and offers any needed assistance in investigation of irregularities that has been reported at Imtech Poland.”
Other Dutch companies involved in the design and construction of Adventure World include Jora Vision, Vekoma, Hellebrekers, and Tebodin. At this time, it appears the issue at hand only involves Imtech. InPark Magazine contacted Jora Vision, the master planner and design firm for Adventure World, and was told that they had been paid in full and “are happy to design this beautiful project.”
IPM News will continue to report on this story as it develops.
A museum’s public and private partnership saves history to ensure a future
by Ashley Higson, Corpus Christi Museum Joint Venture
Located on the bay in the S.E.A. (Sports, Entertainment & Arts) District in downtown Corpus Christi, Texas, the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History has been preserving and displaying the region’s past and naturally abundant scientific beauty for over six decades. Founded as a junior museum and private institution by schoolteachers in 1956, the CCMSH became a department of the City of Corpus Christi in 1967, where it remains today. The Museum has doubled in size since its inception, now totaling over 85,000 sq ft with almost 40,000 sq ft of exhibit space featuring the natural history, archeology and geological wonders of the area, though its attendance and popularity among locals and visitors to the area has waned for more than a decade, resulting in significant financial losses.
Children play and learn at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History.
So how could a facility that’s located in a region steeped in Native American, American and Mexican history, flourishing diverse cultural heritages, industrial booms due to fortunate proximity to increasing oil and natural gas finds and a thriving ecosystem come so close to failing? Many factors can be discussed and attributed to this: extensive and consistent budget cuts leading to zero marketing dollars that played catalyst to little exposure and promotion within the market, exhibits in need of enhancement and an overall demand for an updated vision and execution process. But more importantly, the question must be asked: After reaching the brink, is the Museum still an asset to the community that is worth saving? Absolutely.
At least that’s what local businessman and Corpus Christi native, Bill Durrill, and the Durrill Family believe, as do many others in the community, according to recent attendance, membership and event booking numbers following the new partnership and management transition. Corpus Christi Museum Joint Venture (CCMJV), a private management firm formed by the Durrill Family and led by a team of professionals with extensive and varied backgrounds in the Leisure & Tourism Industry, have partnered with the City of Corpus Christi to work with Museum staff on a plan to breathe new life into the facility. The first step was to hire a leader to navigate its future, following the retirement of the previous Executive Director, who guided the Museum for over twenty years.
Carol Rehtmeyer, Chicago businesswoman and former Executive Director of Sci-Tech Museum in Aurora, Illinois, came on board in late 2012 to work hand in hand with her talented Museum staff, CCMJV and the City of Corpus Christi to perform a turnaround and ensure the Museum’s future vitality by creating sustainability for the facility. The management teams in place have extensive plans and ambitious goals for this near forgotten gem.
The Museum introduced its first new exhibit in years in September of 2012, Big Big Bugs, and is currently in the process of scheduling exhibit and gallery openings for 2013 that are cutting-edge and advance from a more modernistic approach than former exhibit offerings. Special event and group sales bookings are on the rise with the introduction of exclusive, in-house catering company, Diamond Point Catering, and plans are in the works for a café overlooking the Corpus Christi Bay, as well as school group programs based around the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum. By continuing to execute fresh & current programming, placing an emphasis on exciting, educational and interactive exhibits and introducing innovative revenue streams, the new team intends to increase traffic and renew the childlike sense of wonder and awe in guests as they step into a world filled with the science and history of South Texas and the Coastal Bend.
For more information on the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History or to make it part of your next trip, please visit www.ccmuseum.com or call (361)826-4667.
by Dan Martin, Managing Principal, Market Feasibility Advisors, LLC
A few years ago we were treated to the legal spectacle of the $25 billion dollar Barnes (Art) Collection disregarding its benefactor’s wish by moving from suburban Merion to Center City Philadelphia. The legal battle, begun in the 1990s, was finally resolved last May with the opening of a grand new building on prestigious Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Center City. The battle was brought on by the assumption that the collection was just too exceptional for the suburbs and wasn’t reaching as many people as it could in a suburban location.
In the Midwest, suburban population growth is twice core metro county growth and the “burbs” are well ahead in the West and Southern regions too. Even in the urban Northeast, with its comparatively minimal growth, the suburbs still grow.
Some predict this trend will slow or reverse and core cities will pull ahead. After all, most of the new household creation is in small one- and two-person households that would seem an ideal fit for cities. This may be true for the maybe three dozen large metro areas with lively downtowns in their centers, but of the 366 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), most will continue to like, and no doubt seek to improve, their suburbs. If the current gun control battle seems brutal, consider the response of hundreds of millions of Americans to taking away their cars and strip centers. Won’t happen.
All of this matters to museums because a large percentage of America’s 10,000 museums are in the suburbs and they have been happy recipients of the suburban population surge. The result is that a surprising number of US metro areas are duplicating their center city museums with a whole new set of similar facilities in the suburbs. The starkness of what is continuing to happen in Detroit is a good example. Detroit and core Wayne County have great museums, including the esteemed Henry Ford Museum (and Greenfield Village – which is actually in a suburb). Oakland County to the north and Washtenaw County to the west are busy growing a set of museums of their own. The trend is starting in Indianapolis and Kansas City too.
In southern California, the suburban sprawl of Orange County has been growing a duplicate set to LA County’s great collection of cultural institutions, and this is happening in the Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest as well. Chicago is a remarkable story. DuPage County to the west seems eager to have one of everything that makes Chicago great, and Lake County, more quietly, is adding more to the north. By number, there are more educational attractions in Chicago’s suburbs than in the city. Even Chicago’s biggest zoo is in the suburbs — at the western edge of Cook County.
The trend typically starts with children’s museums – after all, the suburbs are where many flee to raise families. Chicago has a large and expanding Children’s museum at Navy Pier that routinely attracts visitors in the mid-400,000s. However, two of the Chicago suburban children’s museums are not far behind and regularly attract in the 300,000s. In addition, there are four more respectable suburban children’s museums dotting the metro area that also do well. Detroit, with the country’s oldest children’s museum, already faces suburban competitors, and there are plans for Indianapolis, the US’s largest, to face a suburban competitor soon.
The next step is science centers, another non-collection-based museum type. The development of science centers will get a boost from the national push that STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is receiving. Universities may enter this contest, with STEM centers targeting the high school- and middle school- aged market.
All major US metro areas now feature places called “edge cities” and they may be particularly fertile ground for new museums and educational attractions. Author Joel Garreau in his 1991 book Edge City: Life on the New Frontier coined the phrase, referring to the new suburban cities that have risen near major highways. They sport large malls, office towers, hotels and midrise housing. They often span two or three once small communities. We know the names of many of these places: Tysons Corner in DC, Buckhead and Perimeter in Atlanta, Towson and White Marsh in Baltimore, Overland Park in Kansas City, Oak Brook and Schaumburg in Chicago, Bloomington in the Twin Cities, Waukesha in Milwaukee, Los Colinas and Plano in Dallas, Clayton and Chesterfield in St. Louis, the Domain area in Austin. There are now more than 200 Edge Cities by Garreau’s definition; only 45 cities have downtowns as large.
The largest or most advanced among these edge cities already have convention centers anchored by large hotels and performing arts centers. Many have developed faux downtowns that use cultural facilities as anchors like a shopping mall uses a Macys. Can museums be far behind? Local art collections and those now privately held but destined for museums someday will find themselves in these larger and wealthier (by tax revenue) communities; such cultural treasures add a feather in the cap of suburbs and edge cities and help make them seem as full-featured as the original city at the metro core. The lower formality outside traditional downtowns may broaden what we consider the definition of museums as the new facilities are freer to try new educational attraction concepts and are not hampered by old edifices that can constrain like a turtle’s shell. (Many museums housed in old structures seem to be defined by the edifice and its constraints from another era.)
Rather than adding to their core facilities, larger center-city museums might be wise to develop satellite facilities in these outlying areas. They will reach new audiences, access new sources of philanthropy, and be freer to try new facility concepts. Chicago’s edge city of Schaumberg is so far from the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago in both time and distance that it might as well be in another metro area.
This museum and others could learn from a legendary Midwestern department store. Marshall Fields, now a part of Macys, followed its market to the suburbs as the population sprawled outwards with a dozen new locations notwithstanding its investment in a million-square-foot grand retail palace in downtown Chicago. It was a smart move. The downtown store and suburban stores all thrive.
The competition for a slice of a household’s lifestyle in many suburban areas isn’t very intense past youth sports and movies. Museums that offer member events and summer camps — that is, lifestyle activities for families — may find fertile ground in the suburbs.
Merion, PA, the community Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation fled for downtown Philly is not an edge city, so maybe the move downtown will turn out to be a smart one. But they are not necessarily a harbinger. Museums can still do a lot in and for America’s suburbs. • • •
Dan Martin is a principal at Market Feasibility Advisors, LLC and can be reached via email at [email protected]
What’s happening in the museum and attraction scene in the heartland
by Hilary McVicker, Judith Rubin, Elizabeth Mathews, David Smith & Linda Smith
Minneapolis & Milwaukee
GeoDomes• Immersive projection design firm The Elumenati have developed a turnkey solution for Earth and space science education, the GeoDome that is proving to be quite popular around the Midwest.
The first GeoDome project launched in 2006 in Minneapolis, when the Minnesota Planetarium Society (MnPS) was in search of a temporary solution to use for outreach while funds were raised for a permanent planetarium. The GeoDome combines the Elumenati’s dome and projection system with Uniview, the software platform in use in the world’s leading planetariums, which uses videogame technology to bring NASA’s Digital Universe Atlas to life in interactive 3D. More than thirty GeoDome installations are now at work around the globe.
Since 2006, the MnPS’s popular outreach dome has reached over 120,000 students and other learners in Minnesota schools. The program is now managed by the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota, which is also home to a second GeoDome system that lives on campus. The MnPS and the Bell Museum have built a successful business model with the outreach dome, generating revenue through business sponsorships and direct fees. This “little planetarium that could” was recently ranked the 4th best planetarium in the US by Listosaur.com.
Photo credit: Alex Roob
Educators Joel Halvorson and Sally Brummel guide the effort to promote the GeoDome as a tool for teaching and learning. Their work with the MnPS project developed the Minnesota Regional Planetarium Network, a mix of fixed and portable GeoDome systems. Educators in both formal and informal education, from elementary schools to universities and museums, share costs and program development. Networked “domecast” presentations enable collaboration with colleagues around the world, including other GeoDome clients like NOAA’s Climate Program Office and NASA centers at Goddard, Marshall, and JPL.
The Minnesota Regional Planetarium Network now boasts ten systems in the midwest, with several more on the horizon. The network includes GeoDome Evolvers – the Elumenati solution for digital planetariums – at Mayo High School, Mankato East High School, Como Elementary, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Southwest Minnesota State University, and the University of Wisconsin River Falls. GeoDome Theaters – based on the Elumenati’s 6.5m fully enclosed dome – are in use at the Bell Museum and The Journey Museum. The Bell Museum’s campus installation and the Jackson Middle School Observatory both use a GeoDome Portal, a smaller truncated dome.
The most recent addition to the network is the GeoDome Evolver at the University of Wisconsin River Falls. The UWRF physics department will be working with the UW-Madison Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center to bring new ways for students and community members to explore the Universe. Their goal is to develop new content to show the incredible advances that have fundamentally changed our understanding of the Universe, to exploit the multidisciplinary capabilities that the GeoDome offers, and to partner with other facilities running Uniview to fully leverage the opportunities they can offer students and community members. Their initial focus is on particle astrophysics, but UWRF programs in General Physics, Astronomy, Biotechnology, Geography, Chemistry, Mathematics, and other applied and social sciences will be involved with this engaging way to explore data and images of all types.
The Elumenati was incorporated in Minneapolis, MN, in 2003, but its founders have been involved in virtual environments since the 1990’s. In 2007, the company moved to its current headquarters in Milwaukee, WI. From there, they’ve built a diverse client base around their patented OmniFocus fisheye lenses, OpenDome inflatable and semi-permanent immersive screens, and interactive software. Integrators use Elumenati products in a range of applications from location-based entertainment to training simulators. The Elumenati creates custom projects for museums, science centers, art installations, and creative clients like Cirque du Soleil. Find out more at www.elumenati.com and www.geodome.info.
St. Louis
The Loop Trolley • Developer, entrepreneur and local legend Joe Edwards gave the St. Louis metro area The Loop. This thriving, pedestrian-friendly retail, restaurant and entertainment district began in 1972 to bring urban renewal to Delmar Blvd. with the founding of music venue Blueberry Hill. Loop landmarks today include the Tivoli Theater, Pin-Up Bowl, Moonrise Hotel, St. Louis Walk of Fame, The Pageant and everybody’s favorite new photo op, the statue of favorite son Chuck Berry. The Loop was named “One of the 10 Great Streets in America” by the American Planning Association in 2007.
The Loop catalyzed development and economic growth. Edwards’ $43 million Loop Trolley project seeks to galvanize more of the same. A major funding hurdle was cleared recently with approval of a $25 million Federal grant. With completion projected for summer 2014, the Loop Trolley will travel a fixed track along a strategic 2.2 mile route connecting The Loop with the Missouri History Museum, bridging neighborhoods and connecting two major St. Louis visitor destinations. It will use salvaged, restored vintage streetcars from the mid-1900s.
Speaking at an AIA meeting in 2008, Edwards explained that a fixed-track trolley is key to spurring development because businesses can rely on its permanence. More recently, he said at a community traffic meeting that track-laying was planned to begin in late spring 2013. www.looptrolley.org
CityArchRiver flows• The enduring icon of St. Louis is Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch, symbolizing the city’s status as “gateway to the west.” For several years an effort, CityArchRiver 2015, has been underway to improve the riverfront area surrounding the Arch (the Jefferson Memorial National Park) and better connect it with surrounding attractions such as the Museum of Westward Expansion and the Old Courthouse as well as the downtown area, from which it is divided by a freeway. There are also plans to tie it in with the River Ring, an integrated trail system connecting trails located in St. Louis City, St. Louis and St. Charles counties that is a project of Great Rivers Greenway. The goal is to have substantially accomplished the project by 2015 in time for the 50th anniversary of the Arch. An “Arch Tax” to help raise some $38 million over the next two years is likely to be on the local ballot in April 2013.
The design team that resulted from the international competition is headed by landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. The price tag for the full CityArchRiver plan is estimated at $500 million plus. CityArchRiver 2015 describes itself as a public-private partnership formed to fund and coordinate the design and development of the project and reports that “Private donors funded the entire cost of the international design competition, Framing a Modern Masterpiece: The City + The Arch + The River, and continue to fund design costs for the project. In December 2011, more than $57 million was secured through federal, local and private sources (USDOT, MoDOT, and CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation) to completely fund construction of the Park Over the Highway and I-70 connections associated with the project. Great Rivers Greenway has committed an initial $18 million to the new riverfront design. An additional $250 million in private gifts and grants will be raised to help fund the $380 million project in Missouri and endowment for the Foundation’s work as a conservancy.” www.cityarchriver.org.
Zoo Expands• In October 2012, the Saint Louis Zoo Association, a private nonprofit, purchased the 13.5-acre Forest Park Hospital site at 6150 Oakland Ave. in the City of St. Louis. The 90-acre Zoo is landlocked, and the new 13-acre expansion area is located on the other side of I-64 from the main facility. A planning team is already in place, headed by St. Louis-based firm SWT Design and including consultants Vector Communications, Horner & Shifrin, Lawrence Group, Crawford Bunte Brammeier, and Cowell Engineering, as well as Chicago-based architect Edward Uhlir, owner of Uhlir Consulting, LLC. The team will complete a framework plan in May 2013. The zoo’s origins trace back to the City’s purchase of the 1904 World’s Fair Flight Cage, a walkthrough exhibit of birds, commissioned by the Smithsonian. Annual visitorship at the Zoo is 3 million. www.stlzoo.org/expansion
(Larger than New York’s Central Park, Forest Park adjoins the well-to-do Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, and is heavily used year-round. In addition to the St. Louis Zoo, it is the home of the Missouri History Museum, St Louis Science Center, St. Louis Art Museum and the venerable Muny outdoor theater. The park retains several legacy buildings and remnants of the 1904 world’s fair.)
Central Library is restored • Nothing but praise has followed the $70 million, 2-year restoration of the grand, downtown St. Louis Central Library, beloved by local citizens, completed in December 2012 during the library’s centennial year. Funded by bonds and private donations, new and old are aptly juxtaposed in this painstaking restoration and update of the 190,000 square foot library. The monumental original structure, designed by architect Cass Gilbert, is graced by huge bronze doors and arched windows, ornate exterior carvings, intricate ceilings inspired by Renaissance palaces, Gorham-designed stained glass, granite steps, heavy oak tables, and marble walls and floors. The restoration directed by renovation architect George Z. Nikolajevich of Cannon Design integrates all the information technology features of a modern library, including the conversion of the old coal cellar into an auditorium.
BSI Constructors was the general contractor; CLR Consultants was the developer. Subcontractors included Sachs Electric, Wiegmann Associates, Niehaus Construction, PaintSmiths. The St. Louis Public Library Foundation and president Rick Simoncelli were charged with raising $20 million toward renovation; the capital campaign was chaired by Thomas F. Schlafly and Alison Nichols Ferring. The St. Louis Central Library restoration joins other, notable achievements in the city’s ongoing renewal of its downtown, such as CityGarden and the Peabody Opera House. www.slpl.org
Kansas City
LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City brings families together through LEGO. The building areas inside the attraction give families the opportunity to compete in LEGO races in the Build & Test area, design a LEGO skyscraper at the Earthquake Tables and create a unique model in the pools of LEGO bricks around the attraction. Families can also work together to save the princess from the evil skeletons and trolls or even help Merlin conjure up a magic potion on two rides, Kingdom Quest and Merlin’s Apprentice. Also housed inside this indoor attraction is a 4D cinema where a 3D movie comes to life in the fourth dimension, as flurries of wind, rain and snow burst through the auditorium.
One last area to check out before leaving is the Master Builder Academy Workshop. Guests get step-by-step guidance on building a LEGO model designed by LEGO Master Model Builder, Jeremiah Boehr. These models can be anything from an airplane, a turtle or even a mini model of one of Kansas City’s landmarks featured inside MINILAND. Guests can take the model home for $5 with a portion of the proceeds going to Merlin’s Magic Wand charity, helping disabled and disadvantaged children around the world.
SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium has added many new creatures since the opening in April 2012. Some of the more unique creatures are a giant pacific octopus, nurse shark, bowmouth guitar shark and a litter of Stingrays, to add to the more than 5,000 sea creatures in the 260,000 gallon aquarium.
SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium takes visitors on an adventure beginning at the Missouri River where guests see the fresh water fish from streams and lakes around the Midwest. Guests then glide down the Mississippi River and land on the Gulf shoreline, where they see lobsters and horseshoe crabs, as well as many different types of saltwater fish. Next to the Shoreline, guests can touch starfish, baby horseshoe crabs and other small creatures that live in the ocean. Heading down into the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, guests come across a Shipwreck where spooky creatures, such as an octopus, eels and even a Nurse Shark, are among other large fish that are found in the dark abyss of the ocean.
Traveling a bit further off the coast and to the center of the aquarium is the enormous 130,000 gallon Ocean Tank; complete with a tunnel that provides an almost 360 degree view. The Ocean Tank houses different species of sharks, even including a bowmouth guitar shark, also known as the Panda of the aquariums because it is so uncommon. More stingrays can be found inside Stingray Bay where different species of stingrays live among Moray Eels. Finally, travel along to Seahorse Temple to check out the different species and learn fun facts about seahorses.
Cleveland
Cleveland Botanical Gardens
Too often, special events and new attractions are created without thinking early in the planning process about a singular image to powerfully convey the experience, both for marketing purposes as well as for guests to capture and spread through social networking. Smithink strategically planned to deliver a telegraphic, iconic image through the rebranding and reimagining of Cleveland Botanical Garden’s holiday show, called “Glow”. The Garden’s iconic Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse, literally glowing at night during the special event, was picked up by Reuters and posted on their big screen on Times Square.
Botanical Gardens, by their very nature, are a lot about “viewing” while appreciating multi-dimensional horticulture displays. With the specific goal of appealing to a large audience, a trackless train – named the Garden Express – became an important “doing” experience, taking guests to the Peppermint Garden during Glow. This experience was an instant hit for all ages.
A judicious balance of visually stunning horticulture displays, overlaid with special effects such as snow and scent machines, complemented with audio design & theatrical lighting, brought Glow to life in a multi-sensory way that resulted in dramatic increases in paid admission, revenue and membership sales.
Smithink assisted Cleveland Botanical Garden in developing a long-term strategic roadmap in 2011 and then executed a key component of that plan as Executive Directors in developing both brand and the guest experience for “Glow”, the Garden’s holiday special event that premiered in 2012.
Smithink is a consulting firm based in St. Louis, MO specializing in strategic planning for experience destinations.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands — Cruden, one of the world’s leading professional motion simulation company, has created a race track around the streets of Lyon in France for simulator centre attraction, I-WAY. The 7.9 km track tours famous landmarks such as Bellecour, old Lyon and Opera, plunging guests into the Croix Rousse tunnel and crossing the Saône and Rhône rivers a number of times. Drivers of I-WAY’s six Formula 1 and six endurance simulators can reach 320 km (around 200 miles) per hour; guests who choose to drive the Citroen C2 cars can drive a special rally cross track devised around the Place Bellecour.
