FELT Design Unveils New Immersive Experience at The Weitzman
The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia will officially open Colors of Creation on July 21, 2026, inviting visitors to step inside a vibrant, immersive experience where light, color, music, and movement create our world.
Designed for families and children, the new 360-degree immersive experience is a joyful, multisensory playground that encourages appreciation and stewardship of the natural world. Through panoramic projections, concert-style lighting, and an original musical score that evolves in real time, every movement shapes the experience. There are no controllers, touchscreens, or prescribed paths. A wave of the hand sends clouds across the sky. A step scatters luminous fish through the water. An outstretched arm fills the heavens with stars. A jump releases a burst of butterflies.
Color as a Universal Storytelling Medium
Welcoming to visitors of all backgrounds and faith traditions, Colors of Creation uses color as a unifying storytelling medium. Drawing on research in visual perception and neuroscience, FELT created a cinematic journey that communicates through atmosphere, movement, and emotion. The result is an immersive adventure that encourages curiosity, collaboration, and reflection while remaining intentionally open to interpretation.
The approximately 30-minute experience unfolds through seven evolving environments in a single space. Each environment introduces new visual behaviors, interactions, and emotional rhythms. The technology remains intentionally invisible. Sensors, real-time responsive media, and spatial audio work together behind the scenes, allowing visitors to engage instinctively rather than learning an interface. The emphasis is on presence, play, and discovery.
The Lab Extends the Experience
Adjacent to the main installation, The Lab extends these ideas into a tactile environment for younger visitors. Peg walls, magnetic puzzles, light tables, and hands-on experiments encourage families to continue exploring color through physical making, complementing the digital immersion without competing with it.
For FELT, the project reflects their broader approach to immersive storytelling: one where technology supports emotional connection rather than becoming the attraction itself. The studio designed an environment in which every visual, sonic, and interactive element contributes to a single narrative experience.
A New Direction for The Weitzman
The project also signals an evolving direction for The Weitzman, which is increasingly embracing experiential exhibition design alongside its historical collections for deeper engagement and to connect with more audiences. As President and CEO Dan Tadmor describes it, “Colors of Creation is The Weitzman like you’ve never seen us before.”
Colors of Creation is a bold, new approach to immersive experiences – one that prioritizes embodied interaction, shared discovery, and emotional resonance, using technology not as spectacle, but as an invisible framework for moments of collective wonder.