Video description: Visitors in a gallery space discuss an interactive touch display showing five illustrated portraits, watch projected animations, and then rotate imagery of a historical rifle by swiping with one finger on a touchscreen.
Museum of the American Revolution
The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia highlights the history of the American Revolution through immersive exhibits and interactive displays, bringing to life the struggle for independence. Bluecadet partnered with the museum from its inception, designing the logo, website, fundraising materials, and an award-winning educational app, culminating in a suite of permanent exhibits.
Posters of Protest
Historic ephemera through a modern lens
"Posters of Protest: 1765-1774" deciphers the historic handbills and broadsides that inspired colonists to become revolutionaries. The interface combines a large multi-user timeline with a document explorer. Visitors can click, scroll, zoom, and explore annotated documents, learning firsthand how these handbills and broadsides both foretold and created the impetus for revolution.
Mapping the Revolution
Tracing the rise of a movement
This experience allows visitors to explore the viewpoints of would-be revolutionaries before the first conflict. Using custom illustrations, the interactive presents historical characters on a map of colonial America. Visitors can then scroll through a timeline to see how the revolution spread and how everyday citizens became important revolutionaries.
African American Stories
Illustrating rich, untold histories
The African American experience during the Revolutionary War is often misunderstood, simplified, or disregarded. With limited visual documentation, we collaborated with leading scholars to create "African American Stories," vividly illustrated, branching, animated tales of five real African Americans who lived through the War.
Through interactive narratives, visitors come face to face with the ill-documented decisions, perils, and complexities that African Americans faced during the war for independence.
The Weapons Explorer
Zooming in on the details
From muskets to intricately-etched powder kegs, the weapons of the American Revolution are rich in detail and story. Unfortunately, much of what makes these artifacts fascinating is hard to convey when presented en masse on a gallery wall. We designed the Weapons Explorer to let visitors explore these details.
In collaboration with the museum’s curator, we created a custom rig setup for the camera, which enabled us to shoot every angle with precision and in high-resolution. Our process balanced a commitment to capturing and presenting the visual subtleties of each artifact, while strictly maintaining the security of every collection item.
Animating the Revolution
Immersion sets the stage
Ambient projections and animations fill the museum’s galleries with immersive context. "Musket Blasts" uses projection mapping to bring a seminal battle to life. Other animations add quotes, context, energy, and texture to the visitor journey.
Awards & Press
SEGD Design Awards
2018 Finalist
Comm Arts
2017 Interactive Annual Featured Project
The New York Times
Project opening featured in piece, “A New Museum of the American Revolution, Warts and All”
Philadelphia Inquirer
Coverage of project opening highlighted strength of the exhibit experience
Creative Partners
Electrosonic
Donna Lawrence Productions
Kubik Maltbie
Healy Kohler
Wood Ronsaville Harlin
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Video description: Visitors activate selections on a touchtable, choose words from a tray to create their own message, and touch a button to begin an animated projection.
