ProjectScience Museum of VirginiaLocationRichmond, Virginia, USAInstallerAcuity AudiovisualSubmitted ByHARMAN Professional Solutions
The Science Museum of Virginia, located in the historic Broad Street Station building in Richmond and its affiliate Danville Science Center, wanted to enhance the overall audience experience at their planetariums. Known for its interactive exhibitions and the prominent five-story planetarium theater, The Dome, the museum aimed to modernize the projection, lighting, and audio systems. The goal was to offer visitors more immersive audio experiences, complementing the visual journeys through America’s national parks, ocean depths, and cosmic expeditions.
The museum collaborated with HARMAN Professional Solutions, with Jamie Gorman of Acuity Audiovisual leading the design and installation of a sophisticated audio solution using JBL Professional loudspeakers. The focus was on creating an immersive experience within the planetariums, requiring speakers capable of reaching the maximum percentage of seated patrons from each location.
Gorman chose JBL CBT loudspeakers for their wide horizontal coverage, linear frequency response, and high SPL output. For side surround locations, horizontally angled CBT columns ensured perpendicular coverage to the audience seating, surpassing traditional cinema surround speakers. Additionally, CBT1000E low-frequency extensions were integrated for the front L-C-R channels, providing enhanced vertical directivity and consistent volume from front to rear.
At the Danville Science Center, Gorman used smaller JBL CBT70J-1 and CBT70JE-1 loudspeakers tailored to the venue’s dimensions. Both facilities were equipped with AE Series subwoofers to reproduce very low frequencies and JBL SCS surround speakers strategically placed overhead to enhance the immersive effect. By routing the audio tracks directly from the audio servers’ Dante outputs to Crown DCi Series amplifiers, Gorman ensured a digital signal chain, preserving sound fidelity throughout the planetarium experiences.
“The Science Museum Planetarium projects presented a unique and exciting opportunity for our integration team,” said Jamie Gorman, Principal, Acuity Audiovisual. “While immersive planetarium audio is not our specialty, partnering with HARMAN Professional’s engineering afforded us access to expert resources for optimizing our design and delivering an awesome audio experience for Science Museum patrons.”
Gorman highlighted the importance of using JBL CBT loudspeakers for their wide coverage and consistent audio quality. “The great thing about these speakers is that they provide a wide range of colors and zoom, which allowed us to spotlight individual elements or wash the entire dome with sound,” Gorman explained. The seamless integration of the audio systems ensured that both planetariums delivered an immersive auditory environment, greatly enhancing the visitor experience.
The upgraded audio systems have been met with enthusiastic reception, with over 90,000 guests annually visiting the two planetariums. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and the new JBLloudspeaker systems ensure that each guest can fully immerse themselves in the awe-inspiring sights and sounds of the cosmos, significantly enhancing their overall experience at the Science Museum of Virginia.
