Georgia’s Tellus Science Museum Wows Guests with Tech Makeover

The non-profit Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, shines a little brighter after working with local integration firm Owen Security Solutions. The museum invested in a wide range of webOS-based digital displays from LG Business Solutions USA and a video wall mounting system designed and manufactured by Peerless-AV. The digital signage installation includes a 15-foot-wide by 8.5-foot-tall, 2.5mm pixel pitch direct view LED video wall featured at the very center of the museum.

According to museum officials, the tech makeover enables greater flexibility to manage and schedule content while creating an environment that’s more attractive to its school-age audience.

“This technology upgrade, centered around LG display solutions and streamlined content management, has delivered a variety of benefits for our internal operations and has modernized the guest experience,” says Jason Woodside, Tellus Science Museum audio/visual manager. “Having previously relied on consumer-grade TVs purchased at big box stores, working with Owen Security Solutions to install commercial-grade LG displays was a major step up in terms of the options available and the capabilities offered.”

With the old AV infrastructure, updating a single display required Woodside to load new content onto a USB thumb drive, then physically go and update just that one unit. Using the WebOS platform, he can instantly update content on any display from his office PC, or remotely.

For museum guests, many of whom are K-12 students, the goal of the tech upgrades was to add a “wow factor” and better align with their expectations and interests.

“Along with 16 flat panel displays, the LED video wall allows us to connect with students through an exciting digital canvas we can use to present any kind of content. Now we can do things like show up-to-the-minute earthquake information as it happens on a huge, engaging screen,” Woodside adds.

The installation location proved to be challenging because the selected wall area for the large LED was slanted at an obtuse angle. Despite this hurdle, Peerless-AV successfully installed in just a day. The mount was designed with a plethora of features to ensure quick, safe installation and serviceability.

“When designing this custom LED video wall mounting structure, our engineering team took extra care knowing the large system would be forward-facing and needed to be securely mounted,” says Peerless-AV technical sales engineer, Rob Meiner. “Being onsite for the short, one-day installation to oversee the assembly of the large LED mounting frame, installation to the wall, and the hanging of the LED displays was truly a seamless experience for all involved. We’re proud to be part of this digital signage upgrade at the museum alongside LG.”

The Tellus Science Museum currently uses the LED video wall to promote upcoming events, marketing content, and custom welcome and thank you messages for visiting groups and benefactors. It has plans to develop original content soon.

“Owen Solutions helped us add some animated content to the cafe menu boards, which provides a bit of fun for children, parents, and chaperones waiting in line,” Woodside adds. “While the menu boards display real photos of the cafe’s food items, every five minutes an animated graphic briefly appears, including a rocket ship that flies in and out of view, a wooly mammoth that walks across the screen, and a similar T-rex animation. These are things we simply couldn’t do before.”