Theme parks have evolved from traditional fairgrounds to immersive, multi-sensory experiences. Innovations in technology introduced animatronics, virtual reality rides, and interactive storytelling. Parks increasingly focus on themed lands, personalized experiences, and cutting-edge attractions, catering to diverse audiences and embracing storytelling immersion. Amusement and museums converge in generating immersive experiences, blending entertainment with education. Both aim to captivate audiences, whether through thrilling rides or engaging exhibits, fostering memorable and enriching encounters.
Currently, many museums are experimenting with the use of virtual tools to enhance visitor engagement, offering immersive experiences and interactive learning. Augmented reality exhibits, VR tours, and interactive installations deepen understanding, enabling exploration beyond physical constraints. Digital tools can amplify storytelling, fostering a dynamic and educational journey, and catering to diverse audiences' interests and preferences. But without proper care, exhibits meant to improve knowledge and inform users can fall into the trap of becoming mindless amusement devices.
This section starts by looking at the role of creating visitor experiences for both education and entertainment. We then highlight examples of interactive and multimedia experiences at museums and learning centers. We conclude by showcasing guided and free-flowing expereicens at theme parks along with links to trade publications to the amusement park industry.
Interactive Technology (2min)
This video by The Wall Street Journal highlights how museums are embracing cutting-edge technology to transform visitor experiences. Featuring immersive displays and interactive exhibits, institutions like The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown explore innovative ways to engage and educate audiences, making history and art more accessible and dynamic.
Amusing Ourselves to Death (8min)
This presentation by Carlos Farias examines Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, comparing the dystopias of George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. It discusses how Postman’s thesis critiques media’s role in shaping society, includes David Foster Wallace’s perspective, and encourages deeper exploration of Postman’s works.
The Internet & Our Brains (18min)
Nicholas Carr’s talk explores how the internet is reshaping our brains, particularly impacting memory and attention in ways that may be harmful. He urges reconsidering our reliance on technology, encouraging viewers to rethink their smartphone use. Carr is known for his books The Shallows and The Glass Cage, which examine technology’s cultural effects.
Interactive Museum Exhibits (3min)
This video showcases how Unique Interactive revolutionizes museum exhibitions by combining innovative technology with creative design. Their immersive, multi-sensory installations—featuring projection mapping, interactive displays, and 360° environments—transform traditional exhibits into engaging, educational experiences that deeply connect visitors with history, art, and culture.
CMA: Studio Play (2min)
This interactive exhibit at The Cleveland Museum of Art highlights the museum’s interactive space designed for creativity and engagement. Studio Play encourages visitors of all ages to play, create, and connect with art through hands-on activities, fostering a deeper and more personal experience with the museum’s collection.
CMA: Artlens (2min)
Using digital technology, ARTLENS lets visitors create, engage, and connect with the museum’s collection in personalized and immersive ways. It offers tools to explore artworks through touchscreens, interactive displays, and augmented reality, making art more accessible and dynamic for everyone.
Crash Course Educational Games (8min)
This episode explores gaming’s role in education, focusing on classic educational games like Chess, Number Munchers, and The Oregon Trail. It discusses how games teach players rules and real-world skills, tracing the history and impact of educational games that have helped players learn both inside and beyond game worlds.
Strong National Museum of Play (7min)
In this video, Jett and Jax explore the expanded World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY. They showcase the museum’s collection celebrating iconic video games, highlighting gaming history, influential titles, and interactive exhibits that honor the cultural impact of video games.
Frankfurt History Museum (15min)
Frankfurt’s museum combines hands-on activities with immersive storytelling to create a rich visitor experience. Everyday artifacts and historical memorabilia are carefully displayed to link personal stories with broader historical events. By blending technology with genuine objects, the museum fosters a deeper connection to the city’s complex past.
Defunctland: Pretzel Dark rides (4min)
The video discusses the origins and legacy of the iconic Pretzel dark rides, a popular style of amusement park attraction known for their winding, enclosed track designs. It delves into their development, impact on theme park history, and why many of these rides have disappeared over time.
Expedition Epcot: Test Track (11min)
The video offers insights into the attraction's history, including its origins, transformations, and the collaboration between Disney and General Motors. Through interviews, archival footage, and behind-the-scenes glimpses, viewers gain a comprehensive understanding of how Test Track has become a cornerstone of Epcot's immersive experiences
Star Tour Immersive Experience (18min)
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is a multi-sensory dark ride at Disney's Galaxy's Edge, where Guests are thrust into a high-stakes mission experiencing a seamless mix of trackless vehicles, motion simulators, and drop sequences. The attraction features over 65 Audio-Animatronic figures and utilizes advanced effects like Musion holograms and persistent LED blaster beams to create lifelike encounters with its characters
Kidzania Tokyo (12min)
KidZania Tokyo is an immersive, child-sized city where children aged 3 to 15 can explore over 100 professions through hands-on role-playing experiences. Located in the Urban Dock LaLaport Toyosu shopping mall, the facility offers realistic environments and authentic equipment, allowing kids to engage in activities such as being a police officer, firefighter, pilot, or chef. Children earn "KidZos," the facility's currency, for their work, which they can spend on various activities or save for later use.
Pittsburg Brew Works (1min)
The Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh is a unique brewpub housed in a deconsecrated Roman Catholic church. Located at 3525 Liberty Avenue in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, it offers a distinctive dining experience where brewing tanks are situated in the former altar area, and patrons dine amidst the church's original architecture
How to Design a Theme Park (13min)
This video by Wendover Productions explores the strategic planning behind theme parks to maximize visitor spending and engagement. It breaks down how parks use psychology, layout design, themed storytelling, and ride placement to create immersive experiences that encourage guests to stay longer and spend more on tickets, food, merchandise, and extras. The video also highlights how attractions are carefully crafted to appeal to different audiences and optimize revenue, revealing the smart business and design decisions behind successful parks
Blade Runner Live Experience (7min)
The video takes viewers inside the immersive "Blade Runner 2049" experience at Comic-Con, where attendees step into a futuristic scene from the movie. Visitors wear VR headsets and sit in moving theater seats to become a "blade runner" chasing a suspect in a flying police car ("spinner"). After the VR ride, they enter a realistic street set with live actors interacting with each other and guests.
Interactive Art Space (5min)
Machine Hallucination by Refik Anadol Studio is a 30-minute experimental cinematic artwork that uses machine learning to transform over 100 million public photos of New York City into a vivid, synesthetic visualization of the city’s collective memories. Presented in 16K resolution, it explores urban history and imagination beyond traditional storytelling, offering a hopeful, futuristic vision of the evolving relationship between humans and machines.
Pittsburg Mattress Factory (23min)
The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, PA, is an immersive and interactive art museum showcasing mind-bending installations by artists like Yayoi Kusama and Greer Lankton. Visitors experience innovative, large-scale environments designed to engage the senses and challenge perceptions, making it a unique and unforgettable art journey.
Meow Wolf Denver (6min)
Meow Wolf’s biggest experience yet, Convergence Station in Denver, Colorado, is an immersive art adventure featuring 79 installations created by 300 artists. Visitors explore a vast, multi-dimensional world blending storytelling, interactive environments, and surreal visuals, offering a unique and mind-bending journey into creativity and imagination.
NUMINA: The Spirit of a Place (8min)
NUMINA: The Spirit of a Place is a 35-foot-tall immersive sculpture at Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station, depicting a sentient, multi-dimensional plant filled with hand-crafted creatures. Created over four years, it blends art, sound, and storytelling to form a living ecosystem representing countless timelines and universes, offering a dynamic, otherworldly experience.
Wonderspaces Philadelphia (4min)
Wonderspaces in Philadelphia is the city’s largest interactive art museum, spanning 24,000 square feet with 14 immersive exhibits from around the world. Featuring everything from virtual reality to walk-through installations, it encourages visitors to engage deeply with the art and offers visually stunning, Instagram-worthy experiences
Camp Fortune Louge (2 min)
The Yard Ottawa (5min)
Disney VR Arcade Chain Failure (24min)