Connected Planet Interactive Globe

While an exciting element for the exhibit, the Globe also proved to be an interesting technical challenge. Although spherical projection mapping is a common technique, displaying four 8K resolution videos across multiple Ultra HD projectors is not. Each of these videos must be perfectly in sync as they show across the Globe while also responding to an individual user’s station. To allow for this integrated approach, it was determined that the best strategy was combining the videos into a single 16K video file split into four quadrants maximized playback and synchronization needs.

Accessibility also played a large role in the design of the One World Connected Globe. Adhering to the museum’s goal of creating exhibits that allow for visitors with different types of disabilities to engage, the interactive Globe was just one of many media experiences to incorporate enhanced accessibility features. For instance, visitors who are blind or have low vision may use hardware tools such as an accessible keypad. Design and programming considerations, such as audio descriptions and specific contrast levels, are implemented so that they can explore and experience the content in a meaningful way.

The Globe was designed to be a showstopping experience to draw viewers into the exhibit space. Its scale and projection-mapped vision of a photo-realistic recreation of planet Earth sends a prominent and immediate message of the gallery’s central theme: interconnectedness. Real data, pulled from organizations like MoveBank and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, is transformed into digestible and entertaining visualizations. Each of the animated projection graphics were intentionally designed to engage and educate visitors by demonstrating the interconnected nature of our planet. While data is integrated into the software, there is also a back-end content management system that allows museum staff to update content to ensure the related stories on the kiosks stay new and relevant.

At the center of the One World Connected exhibition, bringing the entire space together, is the Connected Planet Globe, a 10-foot spherical projection surrounded by six interactive touchscreens. The exhibit interprets the thought-provoking concept of advanced technology enabling global interconnection as it relates to everyday life. The One World Connected exhibit is designed around the idea that advancements in aviation and spaceflight created a more connected planet.

When visitors approach the interactive stations, the Globe appears as a complete and picturesque view of Earth. When users begin interacting with a station, the Globe responds and opens a viewing portal that corresponds to that station and its content. The experience begins with a dynamic visualization of human populations around the world, represented on the Globe with purple dots. As visitors explore stories organized around three main themes – communicating, navigating, and animal tracking – they learn how aerospace technology connects people and deepens our understanding of the planet. Data visualizations on the Globe include an orange grid representing the growth of satellite internet coverage over time, blue lines showing commercial airline routes, and green lines showing animal movement. With each theme and related stories, visitors can explore on-screen content while the Globe changes in that section. Each interactive station also includes a smaller version of the 3D Earth that the user can control.

The One World Connected Globe is not only an exciting media element, but also serves to reinforce key exhibit concepts and helps facilitate conversations about our world. The vibrant and massive Globe intrinsically links Earth and the effects of humanity’s development, subtly eliciting the connection between one’s own actions, their global effects, and the idea that we are living on a shared planet.

Design Team

Kevin Callis (project and technical director)
Anita Forgacs (senior project manager)
Vikki De Carteret, Melissa Marsden (assistant project manager)
Alex Brooks, Scott Evans (senior graphics designer)
Hannah Hadfield (interpretative planner & content developer)
Kate Aitchison (senior interpretative planner & content developer)
Mike Dennis (technical designer)
Dave Maddocks (senior designer)
Paul Caygill (designer)
Luke Fenton (media production manager)
John Munro (executive creator director)
Jordan Foster (senior creative director)
Lisa McNab (executive producer)
Philippa Kane (senior producer)
Suzy Bradshaw (line producer)
Yulia Epifanova (project manager)
Gregory Cochrane (project coordinator)
Ben Stern (technical director)
Nicolas Dubé-Pauzé (director of technology)
Geneviève Trépanier (technical project manager)
Natan Couture-Dumais (interactive designer & integrator)
Andréanne Denis (vfx supervisor)
Damon Foster, Andrew Miller, Lee Ormerod, Santiago Ramet, Josh Vermeulen (motion graphics & animation)
Jesse Lee-Moorman (graphic designer)
Iffie Saieva, Simone Vulcano (design assistant)
Kimberly Moynahan (researcher)
Jim Cortina (media producer & creative director)
Katie O’Gorman (producer)
Paul Hannan, Frank Winston, Juliana Su (senior software developer)
Violet Leonard, Malachi Musick (software developer)
Brendan Lipton (art director)
Amanda Tuttle (graphic production manager)

Photo Credits

Cortina Productions

Open Date

October 2023