Museums

Science Centers and Museums

SGI^® Reality Center^TM facilities have spawned a whole new world of creative possibilities in science centers and museums. These institutions use a theater-style SGI Reality Center wall configuration to provide their visitors an experience they cannot find anywhere else. An SGI^® Onyx^® family system drives a sophisticated projection system. Typically, the SGI Reality Center environment is designed to accommodate up to 35 people. A wide, curved projection screen occupies one wall of the room. The screen shape is a section of a sphere, which immerses the viewers in the images displayed.

Immersive and high-resolution imagery combined with real-time interactivity creates a much richer understanding of any topic the museum chooses to showcase. David Hughes, originator of the first SGI Reality Center facility in the world, explains, "Using a typical computer screen is like pulling a folded map from one's pocket. Looking at the folded map gives no idea of how and where that particular section fits into the whole. Using a Reality Center facility is like opening up the map and seeing the detail in context with the big picture."

Uses of Reality Center facilities in science centers and museums include scientific visualizations, archaeological reconstructions, cultural heritage preservation, and virtual time travel.

Scientific Visualization

Transport your visitors outside the solar system to see the locations of 35,000 galaxies. Visualize weather patterns around the world, as they occur. Travel inside the human body to understand the interrelationship between anatomical parts. Fly into a strand of DNA to see how protein mutations can impact the growth of cancerous cells.

Researchers around the world are using powerful SGI^® visualization technology to discover new information. Now science centers can help them communicate those discoveries to the public.

"We believe the exhibit is responsible for a nearly 50% increase in traffic to the gallery where the theater is located. In all, SGI helped us prove that this sort of cutting-edge exhibit can work on every level."

Tom Waters
Senior Scientist
Smithsonian's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies

Archaeological Reconstruction

Walk through the Forum of Trajan in 113 CE, when it was the cultural center of Rome. See the Temple Mount as it appeared during the lives of King David and Jesus. Visit a mysterious city, reconstructed from a first-century fresco. Archaeologists are using SGI visualization to make new discoveries about ancient worlds. Using SGI Reality Center facilities, their discoveries are made accessible for educating the public and enabling collaboration with fellow researchers.

"I think that virtual reality modeling is really the future of where all studies of ancient architecture are going to go. It makes instantly available all the results of the immense amount of research that went into constructing it. For instance, it took me 25 years to study the Forum of Trajan. It will take any visitor to the Getty Museum about three minutes to review the results of all this research."

James E. Packer
Professor of Classics
Northwestern University

Cultural Heritage Preservation

In Egypt, the tomb of Queen Nefertari, more than 3,200 years old, is decaying because of extensive environmental and human destruction. In Japan the eighth-century Toshodai-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is closed during reconstruction, which will take a decade to complete. In Italy, the historic Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi was badly damaged in a devastating 1997 earthquake. Yet, in each of these cases, high-resolution computer models, presented in an SGI Reality Center facility, ensure that we can appreciate these stunning human achievements forever.

"The use of virtual reality technology at a national museum is a first for Japan and is outstanding even on the international level. Other computer-generated exhibits have been unable to create realistic motion. But the Silicon Graphics Onyx2 system gives us beautiful, realistic movement." Full story

Teichi Nishioka
Multimedia Product Division Head
Toppan Printing Company

Virtual Time Travel

Travel from the Mexico City of today to the Mexico City of the Aztecs. See Kyongju City in Korea transformed into the ancient Buddhist Silla Kingdom of 1,300 years ago. Visit the shops, temples, and homes of 17th century Kyoto. These ancient cultures are brought to life within SGI Reality Center facilities.

"We needed a high-performance and high-quality visual supercomputer system capable of generating high-resolution imagery in real time. That's why we chose the Silicon Graphics Onyx2 system to power the Cyber Images Hall. The audience feedback confirms that we made the right choice." Full story

Hyoung-Gon Kim
Head of Imaging Media Research Center
Korean Institute of Science and Technology

Change the Paradigm

SGI is proud to provide technology that helps science centers and museums change the paradigm of what information they present and how they present it. Technology is transforming the world. Transform your visitors. For more information and to order a free video, visit the Science Centers, Planetariums, and Museums site.

Images courtesy of Information-Technology Promotion Agency, Japan and Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.