Immersive exhibition designed to inspire shark preservation

Project: Sharks
Award: Silver, Publicly Accessible Interiors, Museums & Galleries, 2024
Location: New York City, United States
Design Practice: American Museum of Natural History
Client: American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History’s Sharks exhibition immerses visitors in the fascinating underwater world of ancient and modern shark species. From the meticulous arrangement of life-sized shark models to the immersive media displays, every element in the gallery was strategically designed to captivate visitors and foster scientific curiosity.

Using the popular notion of sharks as toothy, fearsome predators to draw visitors in, the exhibit challenged these assumptions by highlighting the intelligence and complex lives of these creatures. “Sharks and their relatives are an incredibly old, diverse group of organisms that are critical to maintaining the health of the ecosystems they inhabit. We hope people walk away from this exciting exhibition with a new appreciation for sharks and understand they are magnificent creatures that should be revered, not feared,” said curator John Sparks.

As visitors enter the exhibition, they are greeted by the gaping 27 foot long jaws of a scientifically accurate model of megalodon—the biggest predatory fish of all time. Visitors are surrounded by dynamic media displays of sharks gliding alongside them, inviting them into a colourful and engaging ocean world.

Fossils from the museum’s extensive palaeoichthyology collection are showcased alongside interpretation informed by the latest research. To bring these fossils to life, the exhibit includes a spectacular “parade” of life-size ancient and modern sharks, ranging from 5 inches to 33 feet long, including the prehistoric mega-predator megalodon, the “Tyrannosaurus rex of the seas.” Many of the models were made in-house by the AMNH’s world-renowned model makers specifically for this exhibit, and roughly a third were reused from the museum’s storage to promote sustainability.

The judges said: "The Sharks exhibition is both inspiring and forward-thinking, with its use of touch-less interactive displays, cutting-edge technology, and strong focus on sustainability. It breaks away from traditional methods by prioritising visitor engagement and environmental responsibility. The exhibit captivates both adults and children, making it enjoyable for all ages. Its emphasis on conservation is particularly impactful, inspiring a new generation to appreciate and protect these incredible creatures. With reusable components and a lower carbon footprint, the designers took a smart, adaptable approach that also responded well to pandemic challenges."

Design highlights

Using a touchless interactive pattern-matching game, visitors learned how scientists use the spots on whale sharks (like fingerprints) to identify individual fish. Another touchless, interactive exhibit used motion sensors to allow visitors to “hunt like a hammerhead” using the shark’s sense of electro reception (which allows sharks to detect invisible electromagnetic fields to find food). The exhibit concluded with a third touchless interactive exhibit that invited visitors to “be a shark” by standing in front of a video display where they were transformed into various species, as if swimming with the sharks.

As a travelling exhibit, Sharks will be reused and recycled by visiting several museums and will be enjoyed by thousands of museum visitors all over the world for many years to come, which means it will have a lower carbon footprint than a one-off temporary exhibit.

Photo credit: AMNH