Case Study

Discovery Centre: Award-Winning Interactive Museum AV in Halifax

Summary

The Discovery Centre is the largest science centre in Atlantic Canada, in a 40,000 sq ft Halifax waterfront building (a former power station).
Backman Vidcom delivered the audiovisual integration and served as show producer for the atrium experience.
Signature features: colour-changing suspended spheres, and a musical staircase where each step triggers a note, choreographed with a large interactive video wall.
Core systems: Planar Clarity Matrix video wall, Crestron automation, QSC audio DSP, Apple content management.
Delivered on an aggressive timeline (install began December 2016, open February 2017) and won a Commercial Integrator Integration Award in the museum category.

The Challenge

The Discovery Centre is the largest science centre in Atlantic Canada. When it set out to build a new 40,000 square foot home on the Halifax waterfront, inside a historic former electrical power station, the goal was ambitious: not a building full of screens, but an immersive environment where technology all but disappears into the experience.

That vision raised a hard technical bar. Across five marquee galleries, water, health, flight, energy, and Creative Kids, plus an atrium, a travelling-exhibits gallery, an innovation lab, and an immersive dome theatre, the audiovisual systems had to do two things at once: perform flawlessly for hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, and stay invisible, never competing with the exhibits they were built to serve.

The Centre also made clear that this was a project to be earned. Backman Vidcom met with the president, the architect, the fabrication contractor, and the digital media contractor across a two-year process before being awarded the AV integration contract in September 2016, with an opening set for February 2017. The turnaround was demanding: installation began in early December 2016, with programming, commissioning, training, and turnover all completed by early February.

The Solution

Backman Vidcom took on the AV integration across the museum and served as show producer for the atrium feature experience, working closely with the exhibit fabrication contractor and, in consultation with the design authority, directing the final installation and programming of sequenced lighting, moving objects, and projection where the AV had to integrate with the physical exhibits.

The atrium sets the tone the moment a visitor walks in. Giant spheres suspended from the ceiling shift colour continuously overhead. A large interactive multimedia video wall uses projection integration coordinated with four flights of stairs, and each step activates a musical note. Together they create a light-and-music show that becomes part of the visit itself rather than a display to look at.

The heart of the work was less about individual screens than about weaving the technology into the museum environment so its impact felt subtle but meaningful, bridging the physical fabrication with the digital media content into one cohesive experience.

Core systems included:

Planar Clarity Matrix video wall and displays
Crestron automation and control
QSC audio DSP
Apple content management

Every element was documented and commissioned to a standard the client and project partners noted exceeded expectations.

The Results

The Discovery Centre opened on schedule in February 2017 and remains the largest science centre in Atlantic Canada, welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors and shaping young minds through hands-on science. The atrium experience, colour-shifting spheres, a musical staircase, an interactive video wall, has become one of its signature moments.

“On a complex build of this nature, it was important to have a partner with specialized technical knowledge. They could see things that the others couldn’t.” – Dov Bercovici, President, Discovery Centre

The project earned Backman Vidcom a Commercial Integrator Integration Award in the museum category, national recognition for an installation delivered on an aggressive timeline without compromise. Backman continues to provide ongoing support for the Centre, keeping a mission-critical public attraction running with a local team that can respond at a moment’s notice.

“As the integration expert, the firm successfully managed the AV equipment installation from start to finish. This was no simple task, as critical expertise was necessary to bridge together the physical fabrication pieces with the digital media content. They could not have done a better job.”

– Dov Bercovici, President, Discovery Centre

FAQ

What did Backman Vidcom do at the Discovery Centre?

Backman Vidcom delivered the audiovisual integration across the museum and acted as show producer for the atrium feature experience, including the colour-changing spheres and the interactive musical staircase and video wall. The team handled system design, installation, programming, commissioning, and ongoing support.

What is the Discovery Centre?

The Discovery Centre is the largest science centre in Atlantic Canada, a 40,000 square foot interactive science museum on the Halifax waterfront, housed in a former electrical power station and opened in February 2017.

Did the project win any awards?

Yes. The installation earned Backman Vidcom a Commercial Integrator Integration Award in the museum category.

What AV systems were used?

Core systems included a Planar Clarity Matrix video wall, Crestron automation and control, QSC audio DSP, and Apple content management.