Zoos and aquariums can enhance their visitors’ understanding of the animals they exhibit with interactive exhibits and graphics. This encourages visitors to transfer their appreciation of the animals they see to promoting conservation measures within their daily lives once they leave the museum.

In the fall of 2009, the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach completed a lengthy 25 million renovation which included 110,000 gallons of new aquariums, the renovation of some existing habitats, and the addition of interactive exhibits, flip books and way finding and animal identification graphics. The Aquarium remained open during the entire construction period.

USA was awarded the exhibit contract for the Virginia Aquarium in spring of 2007 and was responsible for 100% of the exhibits portion of this project. In early conversations with the designers and Client, we evaluated that many of the concepts as drawn in the bid package were not the best use of materials or technology to tell the museum’s content stories. The museum decided to undertake a Design Development phase where these ideas were discussed and prototyping from Fall 2007 through Winter 2008.

After this Design Development phase, Fabrication proceeded quickly through summer of 2008. Installation was complete 30 days before the aquarium’s public grand opening of the Restless Planet exhibits on Nov 21, 2009.