Ideum, an experiential designer of interactive exhibits, worked with The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum on the new PBR Heroes & Legends Hall of Fame exhibition.
This focuses on the world’s top professional bull riding organisation, PBR (Professional Bull Riders), and the opening coincided with the annual PBR Heroes & Legends Celebration.
The opening of the exhibit honoured those who have significantly impacted the sport of bull riding and the broader rodeo community. Ideum has been working closely with these partners to reimagine the story of rodeo.
Founded in 1992, the PBR has rapidly expanded to include a team-based league and individual competitions. This exhibition highlights PBR history and features interactive displays with real-time data, scores, and standings.
Celebrating rodeo both as a historical tradition and an active, evolving sport helps fans and newcomers connect with Western heritage and the sport's dynamic growth.
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, also called "The Cowboy," hosts the Heroes & Legends Celebration and has kept the National Rodeo Hall of Fame for 70 years. It holds the world’s largest collection of American rodeo photographs and paper records in the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center.
Ideum also recently collaborated with the museum to develop a series of interactive touchscreen exhibits based on these collections.
Interactive exhibits
The PBR Heroes & Legends Hall of Fame tells the story of the organisation and rodeo through objects and digital interactives. Its main exhibit functions like a digital jukebox, showcasing the greatest rides in PBR history, including top riders of the season and their top ten matchups.
It also features the latest scores and standings from PBR Teams, offering a comprehensive experience.
Members of the Oklahoma Wildcatters interact with the centerpiece interactive at the PBR Heroes & Legends Hall of Fame
This exhibit is an evolution of a setup developed two years ago for The Cowboy and PBR. A smaller, portable version was introduced during PBR's visit to Madison Square Garden in 2024.
The Join the Team real-time AR experience lets visitors wear their favourite PBR team jersey and a cowboy hat. This interactive setup uses a camera and controllable lights to produce images that visitors can instantly download and share. Above the setup, an LED ticker displays the latest scores and standings from around the league.
Along with the digital interactives, artefacts from PBR and other western sports are also displayed. These include protective gear that has evolved with the sport, as well as two original PBR cups: the Bud Light Cup and the larger Jerome Robinson Cup.
The exhibition also features the 2026 PBR World Championship Buckle, the first championship buckle to go into space, and a $1,000 check from 1992, marking PBR's founding when twenty bull riders each wrote a check for that amount.
Recently at The Cowboy, the PBR Heroes & Legends Awards celebrated individuals who made notable contributions to the PBR and rodeo. Dean Oliver and Charmayne James received the Ty Murray Top Hand Award, while bull riders George Paul and Silvano Alves earned the Ring of Honor.
Elsie Frost, mother of the legendary rider Lance Frost, was honoured with the Sharon Shoulders Award. Additionally, Flint Rasmussen, who has had a long career with PBR and contributed to the exhibit, was honoured with the Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award.
Visitors can view the Heroes & Legends Awardees in the PBR Heroes & Legends Hall of Fame exhibition. Here, PBR CEO Sean Gleason is reviewing the exhibit
Ideum's collaboration with The Cowboy and PBR is ongoing, with the upcoming launch of the National Rodeo Hall of Fame exhibition in November.
The exhibit will highlight both rodeo history and modern Western sports. Plans include a large video wall and a jumbotron, as well as new digital interactive experiences centred on the World of Rodeo.
Ideum also recently introduced Solar System Tour, an immersive, self-guided exhibit.
Building on the success of the Journey to Pluto exhibit at the Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science in New Mexico, the experience is now offered as a customisable, ready-to-use solution for museums, science centres, planetariums, and educational institutions.
