Northam Burrows Country Park – Visitor Centre

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The digital displays supplied by Blackbox AV were included as part of our visitor centre redevelopment. They have helped us to modernise the centre and provide interactive interpretation for the visitors. The touch screens have proven particularly popular and have enabled us to layer information so that we do not have to display lots of text on wall displays. They enable us to display a range of media content including videos. We have a license for the full suite of software packages and the games and quizzes are good for families. The equipment supplied has been excellent and we would not have been able to provide the same experience for visitors without it.

Michael Day, Head Ranger at Torridge District Council

Situated at the western edge of the Taw Torridge Estuary, Northam Burrows Country Park has been labelled as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) thanks to its gorgeous 253 hectares of coastal plain, grassland, sand dunes and salt marsh.

Northam Burrows Landscape

Recently the old visitor centre was dismantled and a modern replacement built with Smith & Jones Design Consultants commissioned to overhaul the facilities and design a new centre, relying on a mix of old interpretive techniques and modern technologies. This included commissioning us for three 55″ screens with a combination of button and NFC activated video content, and two 32″ All-In-One Touchscreens.

One video screen created a simple timeline interactive powered by a VideoClip-HD and 6 buttons. Built into a unique timber display masking the screen into 2 separate circular areas, the finished exhibit is visually rather pleasing and very effective at conveying the information at hand.

Two unique NFC activated control systems were also utilised which allowed visitors to touch specially created printed items to a ‘reader’ area next to a screen that then activates video content depending on what item was selected. You can see some of these NFC circular discs to the left in the above image.

Two 32″ touchscreens utilise our Lightbox 3 software in very effective ways. One using Collections to create a timeline with additional multi-media gallery, plus a fun quiz and puzzle interactive. While the other uses Hotspot to build an interactive map of the surrounding area, allowing visitors to discover North Devon and local sites of interest, again a quiz and puzzle can be accessed here as well. We worked with smith & Jones who designed the graphical elements of each while we built the finished interactive. The video below offers a look at the software in action:

Torridge District Council knew that modernising meant more than simply including the latest gadgets, but using them to engage visitors and provide experiences that weren’t possible before. The technology we’ve provided to the Northam Burrows Visitor Centre encompasses a wealth of information for the surrounding area without relying on text heavy graphic panels, while the unique activation of content via the NFC (near field communication) players offers a more memorable user experience.