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International Wolf Center Interactives

Education | Entertainment | Museum

Minnesota's International Wolf Center, dedicated to the preservation and long-term survival of wolves, commissioned the team at Balance to bring digital enhancements to their impressive, world-recognized institution. The Balance team created additions for the technology-rich educational resource addition that will engage and educate visitors and aid in the organization's unbiased approach to teach about wolves and the animals' interaction with modern society.

Den Video

The Split Rock Studios and Balance team created an immersive Den Video as a part of the Interpretive Center experience. With both wolf biology and exhibit technology changing, this visitor favorite brings a creative spark to guests’ educational adventures in the world of the wolf. Just inside the new wide-open exhibit hall, a wolf den is built into a rocky cave. Visitors can step up to the den and look inside to see video of real wolves in a real den.

Howl Room

A powerful and popular exhibition experience that engages on multiple levels, this interactive begins when guests enter a main room at the Interpretive Center. Visitors are drawn to an incredible mural and encouraged to press a button to begin the immersive experience. As the experience begins, visitors are treated to sounds of a wolf pack passing through while the northern lights dance above them.

Population Map

The touchscreen shows the wolf population not only in present day, but it highlights wolves in different times throughout history. The double-screen application features a top monitor display of the United States' current wolf population, and the bottom lets guests interact and choose different options to read more about the animals to see where wolf populations are found in either current day, or as they were at various times throughout history.

Human Stories

The super-fun interactive application helps educate and debunk myths about the interesting yet sometimes controversial predator. Visitors hear different wolf tales and try to differentiate whether the story is real or a myth. By moving an on-screen house to the left or right, guests view videos and take their best guesses about whether the story they've been told is a true or a misconception about the animals.

The interactive showcases how wolf populations interact in urban, suburban and farm/ranch scenarios and is randomized, so guests can play again and again, with different experiences to help them learn even more about the animals.

Listening Station

Leaders of the pack in creating educational experiences with both substance and sizzle, we're true partners to bring content to life in engaging, authentic ways that enhance guest experiences and help organizations best tell their stories. From hand-on simulations and tracking experiences to a deep dive into the declines and resurgences of wolf populations across the globe, the interactives within the International Wolf Center help guide visitors through learning the history and importance of wolves.

Aerial Tracking

The team used video footage, taken by a pilot documenting wolf packs as they migrated across different parts of the country, and was tasked to make it fun and engaging. This simulated experience gives users a chance to see how researchers track wolves from the air.

With four screens encircling the cockpit, visitors are given the appearance of flying a small airplane alongside a wolf biologist as she explains how radio telemetry is used to track wolves in the wild.

Hand Tracking Station

There are many complex methods to track wolves, but hand tracking has been an important tool for researchers for decades. In this hands-on experience, visitors turn the physical antenna and listen for the radio collars. As they turn towards the collars, the beep volume increases to alert them to wolves nearby.

Howl Well Do You Know Wolves?

The Howl Well Do You Know Wolves interactive lets users answer questions about what they've learned and supply feedback about the experience learning about the interesting.

Visitor feedback is saved locally to an external hard drive to prevent the computer from needing constant connection to the internet. This feedback can be used by the team to both track how much the visitors are understanding from the exhibit as well as use their feedback for future improvements.

The Idea

Help the leading-resource for wolf education update their technology-rich exhibits to better educate and entertain its many guests from around the world.

Services

Powerful collaboration that leads to amazing results, our creative team takes the time to learn about our client partners' mission and turn their creative visions into reality. Leaders of the pack in creating educational experiences with both substance and sizzle, we're true partners to bring content to life in engaging, authentic ways that enhance guest experiences and help organizations best tell their stories.

The Result

The addition of this incredible exhibit increased the center's traffic and visitors had a howling good time with the new interactives.