All Aboard! A Digital Case Study
How do you connect a historical train shed to the wonders of the deep ocean? In the case of the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, digital elements were incorporated to allow visitors to explore, create, and discover the details of the aquarium. The elements connect the aquarium to the history of Union Station and invite visitors on a journey down the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to the ocean. Let’s take a trip from design to implementation to see how digital elements were incorporated to create an emotional connection.
The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station is housed in the National Historic Landmark train shed, which originally opened in 1894 as the biggest and busiest train terminal in the nation. Justin Stichter, PGAV Project Manager and Andrew Schumacher, Project Architect, were part of the design team and explained how they used digital technology, including motion, sound, and interaction, to seamlessly tell the story of the building and the waterways that connect St. Louis to the ocean.
“When an attraction is complete, we want digital technology to be used discreetly and intentionally to create memorable moments. We want to evoke a natural response to the world around us and create emotions, from fear to a sense of wonder, of love. If we can do that, we have succeeded,” Stichter said.
PGAV’s Highly Immersive Virtual Environment (the Hive)
Designing the aquarium and choosing digital technology to complement the storyline started with ways to include the stakeholders in the process and continued through the final product. Design plans were brought to life inside PGAV’s Highly Immersive Virtual Environment, also known as “The Hive.” The Hive has three 8-foot screens that walk clients through models. For the aquarium, 3-D models and augmented-reality fish helped the client visualize what the final guest experience would be like. Audio cues accompanied a virtual walkthrough of the proposed space. This allowed changes and improvements to be made before construction. For instance, the client felt that one area in the Confluence Gallery of the aquarium was too quiet. PGAV’s team reacted and added nature sounds, allowing the client to experience what the space would feel like when complete. It made for a more responsive process, engaged the client, and provided a fuller picture of the guest experience.
At the aquarium, visitors are immersed in an underwater land, starting in the Grand Lobby, which features a curved 4-K LED screen on the ceiling that shows a video featuring marine life. “Digital technology allowed us to expand the aquarium experience. If the lobby has just a regular ceiling, the room ends there. But the giant video makes the experience feel more expansive. Music and imagery help create a magical space,” Schumacher explained. Another subtle piece of digital technology can be found in the lobby. A fish habitat within a working clock that mirrors the landmark clock tower at Union Station’s entrance further connects the aquarium to its historic location.
As visitors move through the lobby toward the aquarium exhibits, they board a replica passenger train for a virtual train ride. “The train experience shows the St. Louis connection to the river, which flows to the ocean, much like the railway connected people in the 1900s through Union Station. We were able to use digital technology to connect the stories of train travel to the aquarium,” Schumacher explained. Without digital technology, explaining the connection of the Mississippi River to the ocean would have been difficult, but digital technology effectively tells the story in about three minutes. Digital displays and seat vibrations create an illusion of train movement—without the cost and maintenance of an attraction that moves.
Digital technology allows for an extension of learning and an interactive element with animals. Otter Talk in the Changing Rivers gallery is a digital otter puppet controlled remotely by an aquarium employee, allowing guests to ask questions and get answers in real-time. Schumacher says, “The technology is human-controlled, so it gives a high level of interactivity but will remain relevant and not get outdated.”
Credit: @nmassie
Another feature of the aquarium is a sand table that features projection mapping. Schumacher says, “It works well because you’re still using physical sand that you can touch and move. The projection layer allows us to teach how the water, especially rivers, can change over time. Giving visitors the chance to move the sand and alter the landscape shows them the connection between land and water. It’s digital but still a very physical element.”
After winding down the river, marveling at sharks, and walking down a bioluminescent walkway, visitors will find themselves in the deep ocean. So deep that the atmosphere could not be replicated in an aquarium setting. Instead, digital technology is used to bring visitors face to face with the mysterious inhabitants that live thousands of feet under the ocean’s surface. A series of LED screens incorporated with rockwork inside a tank allows visitors to watch a fangtooth and dancing gulper eel weave through the display. The effect is so lifelike that many visitors believe they are real.
“Animals are living, growing creatures that can be unpredictable, leading to fun surprises and experiences for the guest. It offers something unique on every visit. But on the flip side, an animal could hide out of sight or not be very active at any given time. The digital technology interspersed throughout the aquarium provides controlled experiences to balance out the unpredictability of animal interactions,” Schumacher explains.
Digital technology is used throughout the aquarium journey to create anticipation and tie the story to the Union Station location. “Guests anticipate digital technology in museums and theme parks, but not necessarily in zoos and aquariums. Using digital technology at the St. Louis Aquarium may be unexpected but provides a great opportunity to draw people in and allow them to touch, feel, and form an emotional connection to the story and the animals,” Schumacher says.
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