Moment Factory Builds Nighttime Projection Show at National Geographic Museum
2026-10-22 · via invidis
Moment Factory has installed a permanent nighttime projection and display experience at the National Geographic Museum of Exploration in Washington, D.C., giving operators of large-scale experiential venues another reference point for combining architectural projection with LED and interactive surfaces at building scale.
The 17-minute show, called Wonders of Our World: Ocean, runs in the museum's courtyard and uses footage shot by National Geographic Explorers alongside custom visual effects to recreate underwater environments. It opened in June alongside the museum itself, part of a larger redevelopment of the National Geographic Society's Washington headquarters.
Smart glass as the centerpiece
The technical core of the installation is the museum pavilion's smart-glass facade, which doubles as a projection surface. Moment Factory worked with the project's architects to build the technology into the building rather than add it after construction, layering the glass with interior LED screens and exterior projection mapping. The combination is meant to create effects involving transparency, depth and three-dimensional illusion rather than a flat building-mapped image.
The National Geographic Society describes the installation as the largest use of smart glass for this kind of projection experience in the world, though the announcement does not provide figures to support that claim or specify screen resolution, projector count, brightness or the brands of hardware involved.
The show also includes interactive floor projections and ambient lighting that greet visitors before the main presentation, and that respond to movement afterward with effects meant to evoke bioluminescent marine life. Spatial audio runs alongside the visuals throughout.
Part of a three-installation contract
Ocean is one of three experiences Moment Factory built for the museum. The studio also produced Geoverse, an interactive educational environment on geography and natural landscapes, and contributed to Photo Ark: Animals of Earth, an exhibition of wildlife photography by Joel Sartore. The museum opened June 26 with more than 100,000 square feet of public space, including a renovated theater.
For the digital signage and experiential AV trade, this is less about new product than about integration approach: smart glass as a structural projection surface, tied to interior LED and exterior mapping, built into the architecture from the start rather than retrofitted. That is a different brief than typical retail or corporate signage work, but the underlying systems, projection mapping, LED, interactive floor sensors, spatial audio, are the same building blocks used in retail activations and branded experiences at smaller scale. The announcement does not disclose project cost, hardware suppliers, or whether the installation will be adapted for other venues.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from invidis for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
A 17-minute nighttime experience in Washington, D.C., combines projection mapping, smart glass, LED displays and interactive floor projections to immerse visitors in the underwater world.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.