Epson brings Aberdeen’s unique visitor attraction to life

Aberdeen Science Centre in Scotland is a registered charity and industry-funded science museum dedicated to making science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fun, exciting, engaging and inspiring for families, schools and communities.

After undergoing a major two-year, £6 million redevelopment project, Aberdeen Science Centre briefly opened its doors in November 2020 before delaying further till April 2021 due to nationwide lockdown restrictions. A key of the redevelopment was the brand new OPITO Theatre of Energy, a one-of-a-kind immersive and interactive experience designed to educate guests on the role and importance of energy in society today.

AV One Solutions Ltd, based in Aberdeen, were commissioned with outfitting all AV aspects in the redeveloped science centre, including three interactive displays in the Theatre of Energy, namely: The Story of Energy, an Energy Wall, and an interactive Energy Game.

The Theatre of Energy includes two user experience walls, each 8m x 3m in size, one of which is interactive and controlled by motion sensors and the other operated from three different user control panels sat within the squared 8m x 8m room. The AV installation therefore required maximising the canvas for content while minimising interference with the control panels and general footfall space.

Four Epson EB-L1505UH 3LCD laser projectors, each fitted with the unique ELPLX02 ultra-short-throw ‘periscope’ lens were ceiling-mounted into the Theatre of Energy, with two of the projectors used to display the three user-controlled images on the interactive Energy Game. The EB-L1505UH projectors each offer a reliable 12,000 lumens of colour brightness and WUXGA resolution with 4k enhancement, while the ELPLX02 lenses offer a zero-offset image whereby the projectors can be easily installed on the ceiling surface at a close distance to the wall while still displaying immersive images from the top to the bottom. An additional two Epson EB-L1495U 9,000 lumens laser projectors were also installed in the main presentation area that is used for providing customer information and for private venue hire.

Graeme McGuire, Managing Director of AV One Solutions Ltd, commented: “The clincher in choosing Epson was the periscope lens. We saw it at ISE a few years ago and recognised it as a game changer that could allow us to create maximum effect with minimal hardware. But Epson’s always been our preference for projection. We love the brand and we love the features and flexibility on their kit as well. AV One Solutions sells quality to its customers and the support that we can get from Epson means we can uphold this and avoid selling false promises.”

Bryan Snelling, CEO of Aberdeen Science Centre, said: “Our mission is to create a lifelong interest in science by creating engaging experiences and the OPITO Theatre of Energy achieves that in abundance. The superb audio-visual displays, surround sound and interactivity makes it one of our top exhibits and certainly the one that our visitors will always remember. There is nothing quite like it in the UK and that is thanks, in part, to the technologies utilised that have brought our ideas to life.”