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It’s high time we made a list of the best interactive museums in the US. Kitcast Blog spends much time describing the immersive experiences driven by digital signage. Let’s see how they are used in practice. Whether it’s AR, VR, or AI, interactive museums across the country put these technologies to good use. Here are which ones you can visit to get up close with immersive digital signage solutions.
What is an immersive museum?
An immersive museum is a museum where you take an active part in the exhibition.
Usually, these establishments use interactive exhibits to create the feeling of presence, give a “wow” effect, make you fully invested, or simply have fun. When the immersive art is done right, it’s a thrilling journey that activates various human senses like touch, smell, taste, and sound.
For the sake of this article, we’re looking at interactive museums that use digital signage as a way to reach immersion. There are many ways displays can be utilized to improve the museum experience.
With museum digital signage you can:
– create a special atmosphere
– enhance the effect of the artworks by providing their bigger digital versions and inviting visitors to “step into” the paintings
– impress with bigger video solutions like LED screens and video walls
– interact with visitors using social media platforms and QR Codes
– provide more information about the exhibits with the help of the screens
– give clear wayfinding instructions
– use displays as a way to improve the interior design
– boost your museum branding
As you can see, there are just so many different ways digital signage is used at interactive museums and galleries. Still, some places do it better than others and we would like to invite you on a journey through the best interactive museums in the US.
Role of new technologies (AR, VR, and AI) in interactive museums
AVA (stands for AR, VR, AI) is among the most trending technologies not only in marketing but also across all industries. Tech companies are investing billions of dollars in the development of AI, augmented reality becomes much more mature every year, and Vision Pro and Oculus Rift are making VR the new normal.
The rise of AVA directly influenced the museum space too. On the one hand, the classic, “old-school” if we may, museums are actively deploying trendy new technologies to make the visitor experience more immersive. On the other hand, a whole new branch of purely immersive museums has arisen.
We’re talking about museums that made AR, VR, or AI (or all three together) the main exhibit and the reason to come. Thus, the new technologies gave birth to a new kind of high-tech museum. And we think it’s amazing.
Digital signage plays a vital role in the functioning and enabling of these new immersive art spaces. The interaction goes through the screens. Displays serve as the link between the real world and digital experiences.
1. Artechouse (multiple locations)
Why: with 4 locations around the US, Artechouse is a household name among the interactive museums. The deal here is simple. You come inside and your jaw drops from the mesmerizing works of media art that are broadcast by means of cutting-edge projectors and screens.
Also, this is not just a fancy space to watch one cool projection show and never come back. Artechouse is a premier spot for media and digital art with regular exhibitions and curated events. They take their domain seriously and invite visitors to fully immerse themselves in the exciting world of digital signage-enabled art.
2. Denver Immersive Art Museum – Convergence Station
Why: Meow Wolf has mastered the art of creating engaging immersive experiences. Convergence Station is their Denver location that actively uses digital signage to give visitors a feeling of full escape from reality.
Here everything is not what it seems, the walls have secret passageways, the ceiling projects psychedelic imagery, and the unexpected turns await on every corner. It’s the royalty of immersive museums created by more than 350 local and international artists and Meow Wolf partners.
While it’s more of an enhanced version of an escape room with a story arc, the involvement of artists makes it an experience like no other. It’s what’s next in technology-driven immersive museums. A space where you become the main hero and have lots of fun in the process.
3. Houston’s Seismique Immersive Museum
Why: everything is bigger in Texas. This includes interactive museums. Take Houston’s Seismique Immersive Museum. It’s a giant of an immersive experience with 40,000 square feet, 40 separate galleries (called “galaxies” here), and an epic program of activities including live performances. It’s where you go to “lose yourself” in the world of technology in the best meaning of this phrase.
The Seismique’s spaces are filled with all kinds of trending technologies. There are LED screens, projectors, life-sized sculptures, gigantic installations, tunnels of light, and extraterrestrial mega mushrooms with displays on the “petals.” It’s a wild ride, so better not to come high because it will simply be too much to handle.
4. Van Gogh Exhibit: The Immersive Experience
Why: probably, you know this one. Maybe you’ve even seen it once or twice. Here is the 4th of the best interactive museums in the US – Van Gogh Exhibit: The Immersive Experience is the golden standard of how you use digital signage and projection to breathe a new life into well-known artistic works. It has been around for some time too. The Van Gogh Exhibit has been touring since 2017 and accumulated a crazy number of 5,000,000 visitors who came to see the captivating digital painting of the Dutch master.
It doesn’t have a permanent residency, but the exhibit is almost always somewhere in the US, so check their website to check the place of the next arrival. The secret to success here is the people’s love for the masterpieces of the post-Expressionist painter and the incredibly smart usage of modern digital signage technology. Today, Van Gogh’s exhibit uses more than 1,000 square feet of screens, installs 360-degree projections, and lets visitors have a VR experience too.
5. Superblue Miami
Why: Here is the last of the best interactive museums in the US – Art Basel puts Miami into the world’s classic art agenda, but Superblue makes this city extremely interesting for fans of digital art. Occupying a whopping 50,000 square feet, Superblue is a 2021-opened immersive arts center with a changing exhibitions agenda and a stunning permanent Es Devlin-created interactive space. Devlin’s involvement is what makes this Vice City spot worthy of your full attention. She is the designer behind the best concert stages in the world (the artist created for Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, and The Weeknd).
