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Extraordinary Internet and multimedia project for the large visitors center in Antwerp, Belgium. High-level animation, illustrated mentor, interactive games, unique learning experience, and more – all were implemented both on the web and in information kiosks at the center itself.
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Introduction
Aquatopia is a marine visitors'' center in Antwerp, Belgium, that offers a unique educational experience of the marine habitat. The park features giant aquariums that illustrate varied natural environments on the face of the earth.
In the framework of the physical renovation of the website, it was also decided to embark on a strategic journey in the multimedia world that comprised two main work paths:
- Transfer of the physical experience to the Internet by building a new concept website
- Enrich the physical visit with multimedia solutions
The Challenge
The main challenge in the project was its concept: How does one take a relatively old visitors center and turn it into an innovative, multimedia-rich center where the physical visit is an integral part of the virtual visit?
The project involved several other challenges:
- Creating an educational interactive experience that adds another layer to the visit, augmenting the experience in each one of the exhibits but without diverting the visitor’s attention.
- Creating a nontextual user experience so that it is also suitable for children.
- Locating technological and interactive solutions that enrich the experience and provide young visitors with learning and entertainment tools that cannot be presented physically.
- Designing an exceptional and innovative multimedia experience.
- Launching an experiential website that would be used as a tool prior to the visit to the center and also as a post visit experience
The Solution
The solution for Aquatopia included several rich multimedia systems, all of which were implemented with dynamic Flash prepared with leading European animators. This was a full turnkey solution, from concept, through user experience, to software development and deployment oftouch screens at the center itself.
The user experience we created is loaded with content and provides a function-rich interface. The various systems are followed by Fibo, an illustrated character we invented, that accompanies the users everywhere they go. The Internet website was designed to illustrate the physical center itself and features the same content areas and activities. At the end of the project, cdtech provided Aquatopia with:
- An integrated multimedia setup for the entire visitors’ center based on touch screens that add layers of information about the flora and fauna in the aquarium.
- Multimedia support setup for tour guides on site, which they use to direct visitors.
- Construction of a multimedia content portal in four languages, which supplements the visiting experience on site; the portal also features sophisticated personalization capabilities and navigation tools like Personal Navigator, which enable users to save preferences and points of interest, quick navigation, and more.
- Development of a world of interactive games for children, which are available both at the physical site and online, where they can continue to enjoy their exciting visit.
The Results
The Aquatopia content portal and project were extremely successful and became one of the most talked about multimedia and Internet projects at the time. In addition to the marketing and image impact of the project, it also contributed to the educational aspects, which represent an important layer of the enterprise in that it enriches the training and learning experience of the visitors’ center.
Aquatopia’s content portal and multimedia center was one of the most fascinating projects cdtech was involved in, as we were instrumental in turning a physical, relatively antiquated place into one of the most attractive sites in cyberspace today.
View Aquatopia Project
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