WASHINGTON, TX— Washington on the Brazos, a 293-acre state historical site overseen by the Texas Historical Commission, recently held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand reopening of the revitalized museum, visitor center, and adjacent grounds. Attendees included Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, who was instrumental in helping the museum raise funds for the $51 million renovation that includes a three-screen exhibit and lobby video wall manufactured by SNA Displays.
Given its name for overlooking the Brazos River in Washington, Texas, the location is a major historical site for the Lone Star State. It is known for being “where Texas became Texas” because the area hosted the Convention of 1836, where delegates declared independence from Mexico and drafted the first Texas Constitution. The multi-screen museum display in the John L. Nau, III visitor center engages guests with a three-and-a-half-minute video that provides key highlights in the story of Texas’ fight for independence. This story is told using an oil painting style video with vivid colors and subtle motion.
Museum exhibit creators Design & Production, Inc. oversaw the renovations and expansions to the visitor center. G&A, a creative firm that specializes in transformative experience design and who also worked with SNA Displays on the World Heritage Center in San Antonio, oversaw creative conceptualization and art direction, along with film creative development, visual design concept, and script writing. Design studio Cycymymy provided media design development and production services along with final animation for the creative content. Barnone Systems and Integration performed installation and integration services.
The museum piece consists of three 1.9 mm BRILLIANT™ Interior displays with integrated “invisible” speakers. The main screen is approximately 25 feet tall with a pointed top and 13’9” wide (3,978 x 2,184 pixels). It comes to an apex that, much like the other iconography in the museum, calls to mind the prairie style building of Independence Hall. Each of the two displays on either side of the main screen measures 15’6” tall x 13’ wide (2,457 x 2,080).
SNA Displays also manufactured a 1.2 mm BRILLIANT™ Interior video wall for the visitor center’s lobby. The 2’3” tall x 9’10” wide (540 x 2,400) display advertises special events and other attractions on the property. The four displays process more than 20 million pixels across approximately 750 square feet of digital canvas.
“These beautifully designed exhibits brilliantly use dynamic video to capture the imagination and tell a powerful story that is deeply meaningful to many Texans,” said Richard Hill, SNA Displays’ director of sales for museums and themed entertainment. “With incredible content and a rich experience design, guests are immersed in a multi-sensory experience that connects them to a pivotal time in history. Washington on the Brazos’ new state-of-the-art facility is going to be a must-see historical site for many years to come.”
The site’s visitor center features interactive exhibits that present a timeline of the Texas Revolution and the park’s attractions, a gift shop, a conference center, and an education center. Nearby attractions and historical landmarks include Texas Independence Hall, Barrington Plantation State Historic Site and Living History Farm, and the Star of the Republic Museum.
Visit SNA Displays’ Washington on the Brazos case study for more.
About SNA Displays
SNA Displays is a leading LED video display manufacturer across several market sectors including sports and live-event venues, out-of-home (OOH), commercial real estate, retail environments, museums and commissioned digital art, workplaces, new construction, and many others. With a focus on quality, technological and construction expertise, and dependable service, SNA Displays has worked alongside technology partners to design and build some of the largest and most recognizable LED video installations in the world. Discover how SNA Displays builds big at snadisplays.com.
About D&P
D&P provides museum-quality exhibit services for clients throughout the United States and around the world. Our services include project management, production, and technology systems installation. We work with museums, educational organizations, and science and nature centers. Our clients also include visitor and information centers as well as corporate centers. Areas of expertise include prefabrication consulting, project management, exhibit engineering/detailing, prototyping, installation, commissioning, and media and lighting systems. Learn more at d-and-p.com.
About G&A
Internationally recognized as a design leader, G&A is on a pioneering mission to synthesize the physical and digital worlds in a way no other firm can. As interdisciplinary practitioners, we thrive in the unscripted dynamics of our work to provide unparalleled strategic and creative services. We are the vanguard; a unified collective of thinkers, tirelessly imaginative, and shamelessly inquisitive. There’s no ‘ordinary’ in our world. We measure success through the connections we ignite; creating engaging museum experiences that move people and affect profound impact. For every visitor, every time. For more, visit gallagherdesign.com.
About Cycymymy
We design for impact. Creating wow moments that resonate, with the fidelity and craft to make them unforgettable. We design moments of meaning—visually-stunning, interactive, and experiential. Our work connects stories to senses and audiences to ideas, translating complexity into clarity and spectacle into story. Learn more at cycymymy.com.