Reflect and The Old State Bring Home 2014 DSA Award of Excellence for Best Interactive Cultural Digital Signage

DALLAS, March 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Reflect, the turnkey solutions provider for digital out-of-home customer experiences, today announced that they, along with The Old State, a Dallas-based interactive app and website design agency, have been awarded top honors by The Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA), winning the 2014 Award of Excellence for Best Interactive Cultural Digital Signage for their deployment at the Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden at The Dallas Arboretum.

The Dallas Arboretum is using digital engagement to educate children of all ages about nature and science.  The recently opened Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden boasts an expansive eight acres of themed learning galleries and will draw close to 1 million visitors annually.  The Children's Adventure Garden includes over 120 interactive digital displays and exhibits, running more than 600 educational games in 17 learning galleries.

The digital experience starts upon entry with an interactive Directory Kiosk. The garden features a 500-linear-foot trail, an adventure bridge, a 30 foot tree snag, a canopy walk, a 9,100 square-foot indoor Exploration Center and more. Children can play Crime Scene Investigator to solve plant mysteries and interact with displays and exhibits to learn about the interconnections between people, plants and animals.  Children can also visit the Globe Theater, an interactive digital globe that shows near real-time weather, global ecosystems, and atmospheric changes of the solar system.  While exploring the garden, animated characters appear to teach children about life in their unique habitats. Kids can catch a nature play in the puppet theater and live science demonstrations are continuously taking place throughout the 17 learning galleries in the garden.

The Arboretum wanted to steer away from using traditional plastic, static signs in the newly renovated park.  Given the huge percentage of children using mobile devices in their daily lives, advisors and senior leadership at the Arboretum felt that their young audience would have more reaction and engagement to digital screens.  One of the principal goals of the interactive screens is to tie educational content and games into specific areas of the park and make those experiences relevant to the plants, rocks, or wildlife present near the screens.  The Arboretum retained education experts who also created curriculum, lessons, and content ideas for games that went in each area.  In this way, no set of screens is showing exactly the same content but there is a consistent user experience across all the screens. 

"WOW, what a great use of technology to immerse kids in the learning experience.  Not only does this technology provide a fun way to learn, I bet most of the kids don't even realize they are learning, but it provides a simple way to change out content. " DSA Award of Excellence Judge

To achieve these results, the Arboretum implemented one reliable solution that could be used to control, manage, schedule, and update content and applications for all of the 120 interactive outdoor touch screens.

"Our teams rallied together to bring this project to life. It was definitely a challenge having to work with the many environment and technological variables involved with such a large-scale installation.  We are all excited to receive this award," said Ron Leon Guerrero, Director of Technology, The Old State.

The Old State Agency was responsible for interactive game design, outdoor hardware selection and the Content Management System (CMS) front end for the deployment.  Governor™ CMS, which The Old State created for use with their clients' websites, was modified to act as a drag-and-drop creative front end and CMS for the Arboretum creative staff.  The Old State created over 980 interactive learning games and applications that brought specific areas of the park to life for children and adults.

"We all worked tirelessly to produce this very unique and integrated Children's Garden installation. This install posed challenges on many fronts, and we are all so pleased with the results," said Travis McElroy, Managing Partner/Creative Director, The Old State. 

The Old State & Reflect Systems developed a seamless interface between the Governor CMS and the ReflectView™ digital media platform. The teams provided the ability for The Old State to display the interactive games for all of the touch screens and video walls by using the ReflectView Software Suite as the central control, distribution and management system.  The project required extensive support from both Reflect and The Old State field personnel to install, test, and enable the outdoor touchscreens and displays.

"I couldn't be more pleased to receive recognition for the truly amazing interactive experience created at The Dallas Arboretum.  Working with The Old State to use our technology in such a unique and innovative way, to teach children about science and nature, has been very rewarding and a project we are all very proud of," said Bill Warren, CEO, Reflect.

The result is an extremely satisfying blend of entertainment and education that will be enjoyed by millions of children for years to come.  Teachers bringing groups of students into the Arboretum can augment their lessons and visit with content and games that tie directly to their learning plans and scope.  Currently one of the largest interactive outdoor display deployments in the U.S., the Arboretum has experienced record crowds and the interaction between children and the interactive displays has been amazing. 

Watch the Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYbBSwzfWAI

DSA Announcement - http://www.digitalscreenmedia.org/2014-dsa-excellence-award-winners

About Reflect

Reflect provides solutions for brands to create engaging digital media experiences. End to end, Reflect supplies everything brands need including the market-leading ReflectView™ software platform, strategic consulting, content and application development, hardware procurement and solution design, project management, installation, and ongoing monitoring and field services. With a proven record of providing digital solutions to thousands of locations seamlessly, Reflect is trusted by the most reputable brands in the world.  For more information, please visit www.reflectsystems.com.

About The Old State

The Old State House of Web Design & Development is a technology, branding, and interactive web design firm based in Dallas, Texas. The recipient of national design and technology awards, The Old State House is notable for a client roster including ConocoPhillips, The Dallas Arboretum, NorthPark Center, Papercity Magazine, Texas Christian University, The Goss-Michael Foundation, Klyde Warren Park and other well known businesses and brands.  For more information, please visit www.theoldstate.com.

SOURCE Reflect