Ideum, an experiential designer of interactive exhibits, introduces 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.
Solar System Tour places visitors in control of a virtual spaceship. Using the touch screen, guests select their destination from the major planets and dwarf planets in our solar system.
Each choice starts an animated interplanetary voyage, and once they arrive, a dynamic dashboard presents the history, science, and unique features of that planet.
Journey to Pluto
Guiding visitors throughout is the digitally reconstructed voice of Clyde Tombaugh, the American astronomer who discovered Pluto.
This voice, derived from interviews and his autobiography, Out of the Darkness: The Planet Pluto, is brought to life with the full support of the Tombaugh family. The narration enhances the interactivity, fostering an authentic sense of discovery for each user.
The exhibit is intended for spontaneous exploration: visitors can join at any time and start engaging right away, without needing instructions or orientation.
Visitors explore the Journey to Pluto exhibit at the Las Cruces Museum of Nature and ScienceImage courtesy of Ideum
Tombaugh is renowned for discovering Pluto, but he is also highly regarded in Las Cruces, New Mexico, for helping to establish the astronomy department at New Mexico State University.
The Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science asked Ideum to develop an immersive, interactive exhibit that showcases his impact on astronomy and guides visitors through the solar system.
While Journey to Pluto is now part of the permanent collection of the Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science, the experience is now available to other operators as a ready-to-use solution under the name Solar System Tour.
A flexible solution
The Solar System Tour was designed with flexibility in mind. Its main interaction point is an Ideum Reader Rail touch screen kiosk—a sturdy 34-inch 5K UHD multitouch display suitable for long-term use in public spaces.
It can be combined with virtually any secondary display setup required by the space, such as a large monitor, an LED tile wall, a curved multi-screen array, or a projector.
An Ideum 34” Reader Rail touch kiosk acts as the controller where users can select their celestial destination.Image courtesy of Ideum
For a more seamless look, the kiosk can also be integrated with an Ideum Inline frameless touchscreen embedded into a custom table design.
Solar System Tour now features Brain Odyssey, an immersive multitouch exploration of the human brain developed with Intervoke, and EM Spectrum, a touch table exhibit that allows visitors to examine terrestrial and celestial objects across different wavelengths.
These are part of Ideum's expanding selection of ready-to-deploy interactive exhibits designed for science museums, planetariums, and educational settings. All three are engineered for adaptable hardware setups, ADA compliance, and high-traffic public environments.
For organisations with unique narratives, Ideum provides fully customised exhibit and software development services. With 25 years of experience in exhibit design, the team creates distinctive immersive experiences for museums, science centres, corporate venues, and more.
Ideum also recently marked Tangible Engine’s 10th anniversary by reflecting on how the object recognition software has developed alongside its users.
