Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center Interactives and Video

Project Description

Teaming up with an exhibit design firm, Silver Oaks developed the multimedia components for the Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center in Grand Portage, Minnesota. Combining the talents of our designers, writers, editors, audio engineers and programmers, we created three educational experiences that provide visitors with an in-depth look at the rich history of the Grand Portage community.

The most complicated of the experiences, “Art of the Trade,” poses visitors with the unique opportunity to partake in a fur trade dialogue. The computer-based interactive interfaces a 15″ touchscreen with a 73″ video monitor that is integrated into an elaborate set design of an authentic-looking Ojibwe winter lodge. The resulting effect provides visitors with the illusion of looking in on the exchange between an Ojibwe woman and a fur trader, where the selections that the visitors choose directly affect the responses and transaction that take place. From the scripting, to the in-studio video shoot, to final programming, our team worked closely with the content experts and set designers to ensure all details aligned to, in the end, complete a highly effective visitor experience.

Using authentic audio clips from local Grand Portage community members and historical images, we wove together a series of memoirs to create the computer-based touchscreen interactive “Grand Portage Stories.”

The “Great Carrying Place” video explains the importance of the late 18th-century fur trade business as a global industry and the role that Grand Portage played as a trade depot and headquarters for the North West Company. Using a mixture of images, text, voice-over narration, sound effects and music, the video is carefully keyed to a light show that showcases respective artifacts.