Trelleborg Museum recently opened a new permanent exhibition, ‘Eye to Eye’, which gives an inspiring account of ancient peoples. Interactivity and new technology permeate the exhibition where Zenton, in close and inspiring collaboration with the museum’s managers, has developed sensory solutions that subtly enhance the experience. With a common goal of harmony between design and technology, the technical solutions blend tastefully into the environments without distracting from the experience. Visitors meet a whole range of intriguing individuals along the way, with skilled artists managing to bring them to life. It’s an exciting 6,000-year exposé that also includes animals and nature for a contemporary interpretation of how our ancestors lived.

 

Greeted by the tones of an atmospheric intro sound, the initial feeling is created and, starting from oneself in the present, the visitor literally comes “face to face” with the ancestors. They are then taken on a journey back in time with 280 generations of Söderslätts residents.

 

The Trelleborgian who is written about all over the world.

The first person they meet is the first protagonist of the exhibition: the quirky Viking with his carefully filed teeth. He looks so lifelike that it’s almost scary. He turns out to be the most famous Trelleborg in the world, mentioned in books and magazines all over the globe. He emits a light rasping sound that makes the visitor jump. The sound is activated by a sensor when the visitor approaches.
This is followed by a projected film about life on the plains on a curved wall. Suddenly there is a roaring sound behind your back! It is the customs house animal, the model for the Scanian griffin that is included in several weapons, which in its 1.5 meter high rune-carved form rises up stately and roars terrifyingly.

 

Floating jewelry in 3D holograms

Holograms and interactive screens are other ingredients of the exhibition. A contemporary piece of jewelry, a so-called turning mask, is displayed in a stand. Right next to it, via a self-produced 3D hologram from Zenton, the jewelry floats and is shown from all its fascinating sides. The experience is highly appreciated by visitors and perceived as magical!

 

Walk through water and see the hunter’s grave with shadow animations

Further into the exhibition, the visitor is shown how different the coastline looked when the water level was much higher than today. A passageway visualizes water through an illuminated floor together with sounds that make the visitor feel surrounded by water. A column of images shows how the rise in water levels has affected the landscape, people and how settlements have moved as the land rises.

The next experience offers a Stone Age tomb with the skeleton of what is believed to be a hunter in his 25th year. On the wall above, a shadow animation is projected, showing, among other things a hunter drawing his bow, but also a selection of period animals such as red deer, fox, wildcat and wild boar. The animations morph between the creatures. The stag is important in this part of the exhibition and is included in the shadow animation where it moves naturally on the wall. Its horns also adorn the wall and are buried with the hunter.

 

What did ancient people look like? Touch application with skulls on interactive screen lets you decide

The exhibition offers an opportunity for personal research and exploration. Aninteractive touch screen in a 3D environment displays 3D models of real CT-scanned skulls from the Stone Age that the museum has commissioned from Lund University Hospital. Visitors are invited to press on the touch screen to visualize the skulls with soft tissue and skin to eventually become a human being in different forms. They can range from having dark hair and darker skin to being blonde with fair skin and with or without contemporary facial tattoos. The content has been developed in collaboration between Trelleborg Museum, research students from Scotland and Zenton. The application is entirely built in a 3D environment to create a better experience for the visitor. It is appreciated and seen as very fun to use and an exciting way to visualize the transformation from skull to human.

 

A poignant visit to a child’s grave

A reverent part of the exhibition consists of a child’s grave showing the skeleton of a 7-year-old child. The grave turns out to be about 7200 years old and it is not possible to assess whether the skeleton is a boy or a girl. On the other hand, you can see that the child has transverse arrows on its left femur that have been attached to arrows. It is likely that there was once a bow and arrow in the grave and one interpretation is that the child enjoyed playing hunter and perhaps dreamed of becoming one as an adult. A screen next to the grave shows a silent movie. The trees rustle lightly and children’s laughter rings out in the distance in an atmospheric and respectful way. When the visitor stands close to the screen, a sensor activates a sequence in the film where two children in period clothing walk towards the visitor in a serious but playful way. When they arrive, they look at you and then turn around and go back into the forest. This evocative film reinforces the idea that the child in the grave was once alive and could have played just like the children in the movie.

 

A quiet and powerful experience for all senses at a family grave in the forest

In the burial chamber there is another grave that is about 7000 years old. It is thought to be a family grave where a man and a woman lie close together. In the room, the visitor gets a 360 degree experience both visually and through sound, light and wind; as many senses as possible help to create the feeling that the visitor is in the forest at the edge of the beach. The tomb is immersed in the floor, covered in glass where the couple lies together. There is a respectful atmosphere in the room where you experience the nature around you. There is a beautiful landscape painting on the walls in all directions and the tomb is placed in the center. Using hidden sound technology and a four-channel surround sound system, a great experience was created: the visitor hears birds chirping in the forest, the sound of the shoreline, people shouting and dogs barking in the distance in the summer night. In the forest you hear the owl and the moonlight is bright. The visitor experiences the onset of rain and thunderstorms. You’ll also experience lightning, a chest-thumping sound and a gentle breeze from the beach. The sequence takes visitors on a 15-minute experience from late evening into the night.

 

Other solutions in the exhibition also include…

A diorama (viewing cabinet) shows the agricultural environment on the plain, with light and sound to enhance the experience. An interactive sound station, called a sound tree, allows visitors to create music by placing their hands on different points on the tree. Sensors activate different period drum sounds that synchronize with each other. In the part of the exhibition where visitors get to understand what were different contemporary dangers, we have highlighted the malaria mosquito that you hear buzzing annoyingly around you. We have created a touch station where you can answer a number of questions. As a result of the answers, you will be assigned your own totem animal that represents your personality.

 

Zenton has been the overall technical supplier for the exhibition. Our mission has been to develop, create and project manage all experiences – from interactivity to audio, content production, technical solutions and installations, and animations. Zenton has also been involved in the entire development process of the exhibition in close cooperation with Trelleborg Museum. The project has been done in collaboration with Ulf Söderberg who is a sound producer and lighting designer Jan Simon.

To learn more about Zenton or how we can help you, please contact Kristoffer Lindgren, Creative Concept Developer and Project Manager at Zenton.

 

Sound Shower Product Sheet

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