Museum Activation (Spec)

Astronomical Time Travelers

High Concept

An immersive installation activating unused spaces at the Alder Planetarium in Chicago (with potential for touring/expansion) and uses them to teach guests not only about the stars but our relationship to them and how that relationship has shaped world cultures.

During their adventure, guests travel through time via integrated “portals” to diverse, non-western civilizations and experience their concepts of astronomy, philosophy, meaning, and time.

Guests ultimately learn about the majesty of the human experience and reframe who they value in the story of history.

The Adler’s Mission Statement:

“The Adler Planetarium connects people to the Universe and each other. Whether it is introducing a guest to the Ring Nebula, a neighborhood school to a community partner, a research team to a network of citizen scientists, or one staff member to another, the Adler’s focus on meaningful connections dates back nearly a century.”

Desinations:

  • Mayan Astronomers (innovation)

  • Chinese Astrologers (interpretation)

  • Indian Diwali Festival (balance of light and darkness)

  • Inuit Village under Northern Lights (majesty)

  • Algonquian Village in pre-colonial Chicago (respect for the natural world)

Features of Story and Guest Experience

Overarching Storyline: a secret society of steampunk-style astronomer-philosophers have just developed a working prototype of portals that travel through time and space, and they want you to join them as test explorers! Once you arrive at their base, they receive an urgent message that the head scientist, Dr. Andersen has disappeared, and none of the astronomer-philosophers have been able to find them at the base or in the museum. The portals can’t be left unattended, so there’s no way to search for their leader on the other side of the gates… unless??

So our guests are recruited to go out and find Dr. Andersen! To do so, they must visit at least three of the five locations, and piece together clues scattered through time. To get the clues, they must build relationships with characters (mix of live actors and digital integration) in each era: they need to listen and learn about the way each civilization says about the stars, the universe, and their place within it. Armed with their clues and expanded horizons, they arrive at one of multiple endings.

The experience is highly personalized, repeatable, and empowering; can be adjusted to balance higher THRC with museum budget by adjusting the number of guides; and is future-proofed due to the ease of adding new destinations.

Imagery: Above, museum exterior and maps; below, concept art for finale (observatory, left) and queue/briefing rooms/preshow (time traveller base, right).

Inspirations: Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom (Disney), Evermore Park, Sleep No More (Punchdrunk), House of Eternal Return (Meow Wolf), Doctor Who (BBC)

How do we make meaning of our own existence?

Location-Based Experiences

Yosemite Activation - WDI Pitchfest

SOLE PROPERTY OF WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING

Brief

There’s no shortage of reasons Walt Disney Imagineering is a singular place to work, but one of the least talked about may be their internal competition, Pitchfest. This annual activity brings Imagineers of any level in front of executives to pitch an experience based on a new prompt each year, and in 2019, the challenge was to activate a historical or natural location, creating new layers of guest immersion.

Logline

Humans need connection and a sense of meaning, which many find in our national parks — but when millions of visitors travel to Yosemite each year, it’s easy to get swept up in crowds or uncertainty and miss out on iconic locations. Disney can empower you to experience Yosemite like never before.

Groups of up to 10 will explore the park, led by expert guides trained in backcountry safety, first aid, geology, botany, and storytelling. Three hikes of varying difficulty - enhanced with augmented reality - provide access to guests of all expertise and ability levels, and six thematic tracks add repeatability and cater to a range of interests. Historical and modern players like John Muir, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Greta Thunberg, Water Protectors, and local indigenous tribes are integral to the narrative. As the day closes, our adventurers gather for the campfire of a lifetime - subtlely enhanced with projection mapping, a sweeping soundtrack, and a strong narrative arc.

A reimagined visitor center provides a fresh take on Yosemite's story and serves our guests and the public — for free. This initiative will forge partnerships between the National Park Service, Disney Conservation Fund, and Adventures by Disney, and unlock vast market potential due to the park’s proximity to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. Ideally, guests will emerge from this transformative experience with a stronger sense of self, conviction to protect the world’s wild places, and courage to seek out the unknown.

Theme Park (Spec)

Storytellers’ Journey

Background

I’ve always been extremely drawn to folklore and pre-Christian religion and culture worldwide, so as I self-studied digital painting and concept art in 2018, it was a a natural candidate for subject matter.

Shown here are highlights of lands featuring Norse, Chinese, and Polynesian tradional tales, but the full park would include at least one more land on opening day plus expansion pads.

Coincidentally, I developed a similar idea with my team during the Imagithon studio simulation two years later. Our land was part of a theme park called Deja Reveria, which would revitalize the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans site to immerse guests in local Cajun and creole mythology.

Features of Story and Guest Experience

Imagery: Preliminary concept art for viking land, dragon coaster, and to-be-developed Polynesian navigation attraction (likely a boat ride)

Inspirations: Norske Folkemuseum (Norway), Ba Na Hills SunWorld (Vietnam), Efteling (The Netherlands), Epcot (Walt Disney World), Tivoli Gardens (Denmark)