Science Storms Exhibit at the
Museum of Science and Industry Chicago

Location
Chicago, Illinois

Owner
Museum of Science and Industry

Team
Acoustics - Threshold
Architect - Hasbrouck Peterson Zimouch Sirirattumrong
Exhibit Designers - Evidence Design, Gallagher Associates

Size
40,000 square feet

Schedule
Completed

The Science Storms exhibit helps kids and grownups explore these questions in a 60-foot high space uses sophisticated audio and video, immersive media, and large-scale simulations to present natural phenomena.

The museum underwent a significant upgrade of its exhibits and entry spaces coinciding with its 75th anniversary celebration, including the new 40,000 square foot exhibit called Science Storms. The 60-foot high space uses sophisticated audio and video, immersive media, and large-scale simulations to present natural phenomena. The exhibit includes an avalanche table, a Tesla coil which shoots lighting bolts, a heliostat and a walk-through tornado, with separate audio systems to create full sensory experiences.

Working with the exhibit designers and the architect, Threshold developed acoustic treatments for the overall exhibit space, developing strategies to control mechanical and electrical noise from the epic installations, selecting and orienting loudspeakers to minimize their influence beyond an immediate audience, and bringing a consciousness of acoustics to the shapes and materials of the exhibits themselves. The mechanical equipment for the exhibit and installations required particular attention, since the noise level in the mechanical attic alone could reach up to 100 decibels. A balance was found between evoking the full experience of the phenomena and allowing conversations between visitors.