As part of a larger project for Trentham Monkey Forest we built a number of unique items while completing their new Conservation Centre. One highlight is the comparison scales that let visitors see how they stack up to the average primate.

“We’re so pleased to have worked with Blackbox AV, in transforming our Conservation Centre into a wonderful interactive and immersive space.” Says Lisa Wardell, Park and Education Manager at Trentham Monkey Forest. “We had a couple of bespoke ideas which Blackbox were able to turn into a reality- and now our visitors have an amazing space where they can both see and hear all about our endangered Barbary macaques. “

Funded by the UK Government and designed in collaboration with Neath Port Talbot Council and Dramatic Heart of Wales, the Heart of Steel was developed to reflect the diverse beauty of Margam Country Park as well as the surrounding area of the valleys, steelworks and beach. Although an impressive sculpture it was missing one thing  – an actual beating heart, which is where we came in.

“For us to be able to use the heart of steel statue at the Luminate Margam Park event, Blackbox-av created a new bespoke base for the original statue. This base allowed for the statue to be transferred more efficiently than the original design. The base increased the height of the statue, included an integrated sound system, removable water base hidden inside and added a realistic stone effect which discourages people front standing on the base..”

Gareth Bowden, Neath Port Talbot Council

With much of its stone still standing after more than 800 years, Warkworth Castle has been a popular visitor attraction since opening to the public in the 18th Century. New additions to an ancient heritage monument such as this require a special approach… enter Studio Wignall & Moore, an award winning design firm that includes architects and makers.

The sculpture pictured above was inspired by a medieval padlock and evokes interpretive character William Stowe and his role in protecting Warkworth Castle. Visitors turn the key with a satisfying ‘clunk’ to activate audio – a poetic description of the tower. The lock body blends into the surroundings with polished stainless steel, while solar panels in the rear power the internals.

Dotted around the castle are a series of information panels detailing a different character’s journey which visitors can choose to follow. Each journey begins with a bespoke audio pillar, created using our Solar Audio Post electronics, these allow visitors to ‘meet’ each character and hear their words, written by award-winning author and poet Eley Williams.

RAF Bentley Priory is most famous for operating as Fighter Command in 1940 during the Battle of Britain, now a Museum Bentley Priory is dedicated to preserving and sharing this history with visitors. In the re-creation of a filter room we worked with the Museum to supply bespoke timber video units designed match the impressive mapping table where men and women would have charted the air battles unfolding over Britain’s skies during WW2.

The instructional units teach visitors how plotting would have been done at the time, offering button controls so users can move forwards and back through the videos and more easily follow the steps. Although using our modern headphone hanger, recreations of the style of headphone that would have been used at the time were sourced in order to aid visitor immersion.

Leavesden Country Park offers something fun for the whole family, whether it involves heritage, wildlife, biking, play areas or just a nice coffee. The park also provides a home to the Leavesden HIVE, a heritage and wildlife education centre built for the community.

We were commissioned by Three Rivers District Council to design and manufacture a bespoke cabinet for installation in the HIVE that would allow access to various types of multi-media. This cabinet would be comprised of many hardware and software solutions we offer at Blackbox-av, in order to meet these multimedia needs.

The seemingly quiet town of Great Malvern was once a hotspot for music thanks to the Malvern Winter Gardens which welcomed an incredible list of bands from the 60’s right through to 1990. Here as part of the Rock Around the Hills project we retrofit a genuine Jukebox to share stories from people that went to Winter Gardens gigs. Selecting which track to listen to via the tracklist and keypad.

Alongside the Bryngarw Park Rangers and the Bridgend County Borough Council we developed an exciting scheme called ‘The Keepers of Bryngarw’. The project uses art, sculpture, music, mythic storytelling and innovative technology in order to bring the story of the Park to life. Going beyond simply providing information the Keepers appeal directly to the imagination, creating a more engaging and meaningful visitor experience.

The Keepers are 7ft tall sculptures, carved from centuries old oak trees which once grew in the park. Visitors must travel the grounds to find each ‘Keeper of the Forest’ at which point they can use a unique Star Talisman device to activate various audio clips. We developed the system as a far more tactile and involving means of ‘waking the story’.