Tennessee State Museum Brings History to Life with ZeeVee
A key component of the Tennessee State Museum is its flexible and feature-rich AV system that brings to life the history and stories it shares throughout its seven permanent exhibits, as well as a rotating roster of temporary and seasonal exhibits. In addition, the museum features a 200-seat Digital Learning and Outreach Center and common areas for events, lectures, panel discussions and film screenings.
The museum’s AV system integration was headed Design & Production, Inc. (D&P), a world-renowned design, project management and technology system integration firm for the museum market. In addition, D&P’s Senior Vice President, Sue Lepp, brought in Gallagher & Associates, a museum planning and design company; Cortina Productions, a full-service creative media design and production company; and Northern Light Productions, creators of transformative experiences for brands, museums and public venues.
The Tennessee State Museum, which opened in October 2018 in Nashville, is a must-see attraction for history buffs, locals and visitors alike. With its mission of procuring, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting objects relating to the social, political, economic and cultural history of Tennessee, the museum has become an important catalyst for the educational and cultural enrichment of people of all ages.
Challenge:
The vision for the Tennessee State Museum was to deliver an entertaining, interactive and educational experience that draws repeat visitors and keeps the interest of today’s tech savvy audiences. To achieve this, D&P set about creating a multi-layered AV system with image projections, interactive touch displays, and soundscapes that would plunge visitors into an immersive experience.
“Particularly exciting is the way we tell these stories through sophisticated AV presentations,” said Ashley Howell, executive director of the Tennessee State Museum. “Each visitor learns differently—through seeing, hearing and touching—and our audio-video presentations bring all of their senses into play as they explore artifacts and images, view documentaries and films or interact with touch-screen displays.”
Additionally, the timeframe for this project – to outfit a huge new building with state-of-the-art AV-driven exhibits – was only three years from start to finish. Within that narrow timeframe, all parties pulled together to contribute value and deliver world-class exhibits for visitors to enjoy for years to come.
Solution:
To meet the necessary level of performance and sophistication for the facility’s exhibits, a ZeeVee and Juniper Networks-driven Software Defined Video over Ethernet (SDVoE) AVoIP solution was chosen to distribute the wide array of AV content throughout the facility. It offers the highest image quality and near zero latency—which is essential for the interactive exhibits – and gives the museum the ability to deliver content to additional endpoints as needed.
The QSC QSys Core 510 audio system was used to serve sound to theaters and specialized exhibit subsystems. Panasonic projectors and displays, 3M touchscreens, Dell computers and BrightSign video players were standardized across the various subsystems and a fiber backbone was implemented to distribute AV signals throughout the facility.
ZeeVee encoders and decoders extended the signals to over 20 individual exhibit locations, many with multiple sources and displays in absolute sync. The entire system was networked via Juniper EX 4550 Network Switches. The user interface and unifying control system was custom programmed by D&P using Medialon Manager.
The Tennessee State Museum’s administrators, staff and sponsors have all been impressed by the widespread positive attention the institution has generated and credit the role technology has played.
“We wanted to elevate the exhibits from passive to active experiences that highlight the eras, individuals and artists that have contributed to the development of Tennessee’s identity. Our partners on this project brought great enthusiasm along with impressive skill sets to create a dynamic AV system that enabled us to meet our goal,” said Ashley Howell, executive director of the Tennessee State Museum
We wanted to elevate the exhibits from passive to active experiences that highlight the eras, individuals and artists that have contributed to the development of Tennessee’s identity. Our partners on this project brought great enthusiasm along with impressive skill sets to create a dynamic AV system that enabled us to meet our goal."
Ashley Howell – Executive Director, Tennessee State Museum
Key Takeaways:
The Tennessee State Museum’s ZyPer4K-driven AV system enables visitors and staff to:
- Interact with exhibits through high-quality, near zero latency displays
- Become immersed with the use of projections and soundscapes
- Easily deliver content to additional sources and displays as needed
Key System Components
- 10 ZyPer4K HDMI 2.0 Fiber Encoders
- 9 ZyPer4K HDMI 2.0 & Display Port Fiber Encoders
- 19 ZyPer4K Extended HDMI 2.0 & Display Port Fiber Encoders with USB
- 9 ZyPer4K HDMI 2.0 Fiber Decoders
- 9 ZyPer4K HDMI 2.0 Fiber Decoders with USB
- Juniper Network Switches
- Brightsign Video Player w/SD Card
- Panasonic Projectors
- PQ Labs Touch Frames
- Panasonic Videowall Displays
- 3M Touchscreens
- Dell Computers
- HP Interactive Computers
- Draper Electric Roll Down Screen
- Elo Touch Tablets
- Chief Projector Hardware
- Museum Tech Microwave Motion Sensor
- QSC Pendant Speakers
- Williams Sound Assisted Listening Transmitters
- QSC Program Speakers
- Dell Soundbars w/ PS
- Innovox Speakers
- Interpretation Shop Headphones
- Rolls headphone Amplifiers
- Calrad Earbud Jacks
- ZyPer4K Management Platform for VMWare 120 Licenses
- ZeeVee ZyPer4K Extended Rack Kit
- ZeeVee ZyPer4K Power Control & Protection
- Chatsworth Cable Management
- MOXA Ethernet and I/O Interface