Turkey’s Konya Science Center, the country’s first large interactive institution dedicated to informal learning about science and technology, has added a gallery on human health with audio-visual equipment, installation and programming by Electrosonic.
The gallery joins exhibits on basic science, new technology, earth and biosystems, space, and the history and culture of the region. Exhibition work and funding for the science center was overseen by TUBITAK (Turkish Scientific and Technical Researches Institution). The museum is located in the Municipality of Konya, Turkey’s third-largest city.
Maltbie, which creates experiences for museums, visitor centers and specialty projects, hired Electrosonic to provide AV support for the science center’s latest gallery. Electrosonic built all the racks and configured the equipment in the US and sent it to Maltbie’s headquarters in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, which shipped the units to Turkey.
Electrosonic spent about one month at the science center where Levent Komurcu, the exhibit production and maintenance manager, proved to be “of great assistance during the on-site installation portion of the project,” says Electrosonic project manager Tim Wilson. “He assisted us with everything from finding local suppliers to helping with translations” – a must when working on international jobs.
The new gallery offers a wide range of exhibits designed to inform and engage visitors. Three exhibits, “Cells of Your Body,” “Immune Cell Army” and “Reduce Your Risk,” have game formats played out on Ideum Pro 55 55-inch touch tables, customized by Maltbie and connected by Electrosonic to network control. “Immune Cell Army,” for instance, begins with a slide show about the body’s cells and what they fight, and then offers advice to the player about how to use the cells in his or her arsenal. The touch table launches the game, pitting good cells against harmful cells and keeping score for the player.
“The Anatomical Family” features flat cutouts of a man, woman and child. Three Panasonic short-throw projectors display the skeletal system, nervous system, digestive systems and other internal views onto the body shapes. Visitors use Elo Touch Solutions touchscreen kiosks in front of the exhibit to learn more about the various anatomical systems.
“Our Basic Needs” takes visitors through an interactive aging process. A Microsoft Kinect camera for Windows captures visitors when they walk into the field of view triggering a representation of themselves at various stages of life: a crying baby, a child jumping rope, an adult playing soccer, an elderly person walking with a cane. A Panasonic short-throw projector displays the successive images on a wall as the visitor passes through the camera’s field of view.
BrightSign HD media players drive eight exhibits, including “Blood Vessel Voyager.” A Panasonic short-throw projector displays animations of red blood cells coursing through our arteries onto a screen with a reflective coating on the back. Tannoy speakers playing a heartbeat audio track enhance the sensation of the blood vessels pulsating with life.
Panasonic rear projection also plays a role in “Embryonic Fetal Development,” an exhibit whose hemispheric display surface mimics a womb. Visitors turn a wall-mounted dial to see how images of the embryo grow and change during the gestation process.
The lab area boasts a number of fun, hands-on mechanical exhibits by Maltbie – such as testing reaction time and exploring microscopes – which feature touchscreen instructions supplied by Electrosonic.
Seventeen Dell PCs supply PC-driven content throughout the gallery. One Dell PC powers the final “Healthy Habits Survey” that visitors are invited to take. It stores information and shows visitors how they stack up against other participants; it also enables visitors to receive health-based emails and literature once they get home.
Electrosonic’s Elliot Nyfield, who served as programmer and commissioning engineer on the project, created the custom AMX control system GUI. AMX allows blanket and individual control of all the exhibits in the new gallery.
Blue Telescope created the content for the Human Health gallery.
About Electrosonic
Electrosonic is an international audio-visual company that creates tailored, state-of-the-art solutions for a wide range of markets including theme parks, museums, control rooms, and corporate meeting rooms. Since its founding in 1964, Electrosonic has built a strong reputation for working on complex projects, both large and small, and has developed lasting partnerships with customers and suppliers. Beyond complete integrated systems, Electrosonic provides a comprehensive scope of services including technical design, projector lamp sales, maintenance and operational support.
Learn more about Electrosonic. Visit http://www.electrosonic.com
