With Ocean Projections: Moment Factory Transforms National Geographic Museum

Moment Factory has transformed the courtyard of the National Geographic Museum of Exploration in Washington, D.C., into an immersive nighttime attraction that takes visitors beneath the ocean’s surface through projection mapping, interactive media and spatial audio.

Called Wonders of Our World: Ocean, the 17-minute experience uses footage captured by National Geographic Explorers, combined with custom visual effects, to recreate marine environments and encounters with ocean wildlife.

Colorful architectural projections and lighting transform the museum's outdoor courtyard into an immersive nighttime environment (Image: Moment Factory) — Colorful architectural projections and lighting transform the museum’s outdoor courtyard into an immersive nighttime environment (Image: Moment Factory)

The show opened in June alongside the new museum, part of a major redevelopment of the National Geographic Society’s headquarters.

Smart glass creates a multilayered canvas

The installation combines large-scale architectural projections, high-resolution LED screens, dynamic lighting and spatialized sound to surround visitors with underwater imagery.

A central feature is the museum pavilion’s smart-glass facade, which serves as a projection surface while also creating effects involving transparency, depth and three-dimensional illusions.

Moment Factory worked with the project’s architects to integrate the technology into the building. The combination of smart glass, interior screens and exterior projections creates a multilayered visual environment that extends beyond a conventional building-mapping installation.

A whale appears across the museum's glass facade as large-scale visuals bring ocean environments to life in Washington, D.C. (Image: Moment Factory) — A whale appears across the museum’s glass facade as large-scale visuals bring ocean environments to life in Washington, D.C. (Image: Moment Factory)

The National Geographic Society describes the pavilion installation as the world’s largest use of smart glass for this type of projection experience.

Before the main presentation, visitors encounter interactive floor projections and ambient lighting in the courtyard. Following the show, the floor projections respond to visitors’ movements, creating effects inspired by bioluminescent marine life.

The production combines original music with spatial audio to accompany imagery of ocean environments, marine wildlife and underwater exploration.

Part of a larger museum project

The nighttime attraction is one of three experiences Moment Factory developed for the National Geographic Museum of Exploration.

The studio also contributed to Geoverse, an interactive educational environment exploring geography and natural landscapes, and Photo Ark: Animals of Earth, an exhibition featuring the wildlife photography of National Geographic Explorer Joel Sartore.

Moment Factory's Wonders of Our World: Ocean transforms the National Geographic Museum of Exploration's courtyard in Washington, D.C., with architectural projections, interactive floor displays and a smart-glass facade (Image: Moment Factory) — Moment Factory’s Wonders of Our World: Ocean transforms the National Geographic Museum of Exploration’s courtyard in Washington, D.C., with architectural projections, interactive floor displays and a smart-glass facade (Image: Moment Factory)

The museum, which opened June 26, encompasses more than 100,000 square feet (9,290 square meters) of public space, including immersive galleries, interactive exhibitions and a renovated theater.

Wonders of Our World: Ocean extends the museum’s programming into the evening, using the building itself as a display surface and turning its outdoor courtyard into an additional attraction.