Auckland Museum chooses Sony Professional projectors for groundbreaking Sir Edmund Hillary and Moana - My Ocean Exhibits

Recently the Auckland Museum had professional projector and display requirements for two of its highest profile new exhibits, the From The Summit - Hillary’s Enduring Legacy (The Hillary Exhibit) and Moana - My Ocean. For The Hillary Exhibit the museum chose Sony VPL-SW125 short throw projectors and for Moana - My Ocean Sony VPL-FX35 and VPL-FH36 large venue installation projectors and VPL-SW535 ultra short throw projectors alongside multiple Sony Bravia screens.

 

Auckland Museum Exhibition Developer Victoria Travers explained, “The Auckland Museum is the place where the legacy of Sir Edmund Hillary is safe and we continue to develop our legacy plan for Hillary objects. We have a long relationship with the Hillary family which will be on-going and Auckland Museum will remain the home of Sir Edmund Hillary’s legacy. That said our primary objectives with the new Hillary exhibit were to help people appreciate the magnificence of Mt Sagarmāthā (Mt Everest), understand the extraordinary human feat of ascending Mount Everest, fully appreciate the good works of Sir Edmund Hillary and The Himalayan Trust and realise the significance of Hillary’s collections housed at the Auckland Museum.”

 

Hillary’s legacy and his amazing feat of ascendance is one of the most revered the world over. Interestingly the exhibit also took the Auckland Museum team into unchartered territory in terms of how best to display all the information required in the most effective way possible.

 

Travers continued, “We had never ventured in to 3D modelling, mapping and projection of this sort prior to this exhibition and we had a limited budget.The height limitations of the ceiling were a major factor and we were restricted to short throw projectors.Originally we planned to use four projectors, but because of the height restriction and the positioning of the 3D mountain model, the hardware and software used to feed the video image dictated that we use a three-unit projection setup. After researching all the options available to us we decided on the Sony VPL-SW125 short throw projectors as they produced amazing results despite our space and height restrictions.”

 

The VPL-SW125, a compact, bright, affordable and Eco-friendly short throw data projector, is an excellent choice for both education and business. The short throw distance (approximately 1 metre for 80" screens) reduces glare and the VPL-SW125 also boasts a native WXGA (1,280 x 800) resolution with 2,600 lumens, a dynamic detail enhancer, low power consumption and a BrightEra™ panel.

 

Travers added, “HD projectors could possibly have heightened the experience further but bearing in mind our limited budget and gallery restrictions, the images we achieved using the Sony VPL-SW125 projectors were excellent – so much so in fact that they consistently wowed both staff and visitors alike.”

 

Before creating the new Moana - My Ocean exhibit the Auckland Museum had engaged the public in an internationally significant research expedition to the Kermadec Islands led by Marine Curator Tom Trnski. Leveraging on the public engagement in marine research the museum decided to create a special exhibition and accompanying programme to take family and educational visitors on a journey of discovery from Auckland’s east coast to the Kermadec Islands.

 

Travers continued, “The Auckland Museum has the most comprehensive collection of Kermadec material in the world and we wanted to invite visitors to become marine explorers and embark on a remarkable journey of discovery in our marine environment. On their travels, visitors consider their relationship to the ocean and how they can play a role in reversing the damage being done to the planet.”

 

It was essential that the new exhibit help increase access to and engagement with the museum marine collections and collections research. The museum also wanted to develop outstanding new content and make the Auckland Museum Research Centre a significant part in the global conversation on preserving marine environments.

 

Travers continued, “Our goal was to ensure that visitors understand that the ocean is essential to human life and that they appreciate and understand the ocean’s biodiversity. This presented us with a few logistical challenges when deciding how to display the many components in the Moana – My Ocean exhibit, in particular The Boil Up installation which involved 270-degree projection.”

 

The Boil Up is one installation for the Moana – My Ocean project where visitors are immersed in a Hauraki Gulf Boil Up.  The experience was developed using artificial intelligence, and is a realtime living system which allows visitor to explore the behavioural patterns at play during a Hauraki Gulf Boil-Up.

 

Travers explained, “The experience is contained in a circular theatre and is made up of a 270-degree screen.  With this in mind we knew we would need four projectors to achieve our goal and to make the experience truly immersive.

 

 

Finding projectors that were extremely short-throw and that provide a great image when used in a multi-channel environment was a real challenge that thankfully was eventually met by Sony’s VPL-SW535 (ultra short throw) projectors.”

 

The short-throw was required due to the nature of the space but also to ensure that visitors didn’t interrupt the projection or cast shadows.In addition the Moana – My Ocean team were concerned about the short throw angle and how reflected light from the screen may cause hot-spotting and light scattering in the blend regions.

 

Travers concluded, “We had some real issues to overcome and it was a major problem finding a solution from many of the companies offering short throw projectors, despite looking at a number of models. When all were evaluated properly the Sony VPL-SW535 ultra short throw projectors offered the best solution and great value for money too. I’m also delighted to say that once installed, the Sony VPL-SW535 projectors truly did an excellent job.”

 

Sony’s VPL-SW535 has recently been upgraded further. Much like the VPL-SW535 the new VPL-SW536 delivers powerful presentations even in the most limited spaces and is ideal for education, training, corporate applications and many commercial uses. In addition to all the features found in the VPL-SW535 the new VPL-SW536 now also boasts a louder speaker, table mount compatibility and has wireless connectivity enabled. These new features integrate and compliment the new projector’s native WXGA (1,280x800) resolution with 3,100 lumens, ultra short throw distance (TR=0.27:1 ~ 0.29:1), USB media viewer and long-lasting lamp which provides up to 6,000 hours in low mode.

 

In addition to Sony’s highly-acclaimed VPL-SW535 ultra short throw projectors the Moana – My Ocean exhibit also makes use of multiple Sony VPL-FX35 large venue installation projectors due to their ease of installation flexibility and hassle-free maintenance, VPL-FH36 projectors that provide ultra-high quality images with WUXGA resolution and full HD compatibility and a variety of high-end Sony Bravia display panels.

 

For more information on the From The Summit - Hillary’s Enduring Legacy exhibit at the Auckland Museum go to: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/whats-on/exhibitions/from-the-summit

 

For more information on the Moana – My Ocean exhibit at the Auckland Museum go to: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/whats-on/exhibitions/moana

 

Picture credits:

Sony VPL-SW125 short throw projectors at the From The Summit - Hillary’s Enduring Legacy exhibit at the Auckland Museum

Sony VPL-SW535 ultra short throw projectors in the Moana – My Ocean exhibit at the Auckland Museum

Sony VPL-FX35 large venue installation projectors in the Moana – My Ocean exhibitat the Auckland Museum

Sony VPL-FH36 large venue installation projectors in the Moana – My Ocean exhibit at the Auckland Museum

Sony Bravia display panels in the Moana – My Ocean exhibit at the Auckland Museum