A Spacey Wonderland Fit for the Instagram Age
Houston.
Fall 2020.
A mysterious alien spaceship has inexplicably crashed into a NASA government building. Rather than mass pandemonium and top-secrets, Houstonians are encouraged to explore the crash site, interacting with extraterrestrials.
Have no fear, Houston. There is no problem, and that’s just the way Steve Kopelman, the mastermind behind Seismique planned it. His new 40,000 square foot experiential art museum lands in Space City in the fall, giving visitors a fully interactive experience throughout a space which formerly housed a since shuttered national big box store.
Aliens and all.
“It will be incredible. It’s a space age alien theme, but with our twist on it,” Kopelman tells PaperCity. “We live in an experience economy. Millennials and the younger generations are about the experience. What can I experience and post on my Instagram?”
Kopelman knows a thing or two about crafting experiences that entertain. He is the COO of Escape the Room, a company that boasts 22 Escape the Room locations across the United Staes. Seismique is his first immersive experience space. He and his team searched the Houston area for just the right building for his imagination to come to life.
“We looked at 20 locations before finding this one. It needed to be indoors, an open floor plan with plenty of power and ample parking. That’s exactly what we found,” Kopelman says of the West Houston location.
Seismique Secrets
Visitors to Seismique can expect a full range of exploratory experiences combining animation, augmented reality, textiles, gaming, projection mapping and artwork from local creators. Kopelman raves about Houston’s art scene, noting it’s a “a great art city, full of untapped talent.”
That talent will be poured into 10 to 12 of the Seismique environments. The museum features 40 different rooms, with some of the rooms changing every six months.
“It’s going to be mind-blowing, colorful and fun experience,” Kopelman promises. His inspiration for Seismique was drawn from visiting the immersive teamLab Planets TOKYO.
Visitors can enjoy Seismique in one visit, but the museum is designed for multiple trips to really maximize the surprises and discovery in each room.
“It has to be fun and span multi-generations,” Kopelman says.
There is also an educational arm with the new interactive center offering S.T.E.A.M. (Science / Technology / Engineering / Arts / Mathematics) workshops to students from local schools across Greater Houston. Seismique will also feature multiple private event spaces for meetings, events and live performances.
Kopelman and his collaborative team are focused on the upcoming opening, but his wheels are already spinning for future plans.
“This will definitely be a proof of concept,” Kopelman says. After all, there’s a universe of worlds for Kopelman and his imagination to explore.
(by Heather Staible – originally posted on Paper City)
