Oversized U-Turn Round – Roma Big Rig

Located in Queensland, Australia, the town of Roma was the first place on the continent to extract and distribute on-shore natural gas, playing a huge part in establishing the Australian oil and gas industry. The town celebrates its rich industrial stories at the Roma Big Rig, where self-guided tours, kid’s challenges, audiovisual displays and a dynamic sunset show experience help to entertain and educate visitors.

The Roma Big Rig recently added a 40m Tower and Treewalk to their attractions. To enhance the Tower and Treewalk, interpretive displays were installed at various vantage points. Xzibit, who designed and supplied the displays, selected the U-Turn Round to be deployed on the Treewalk where visitors might encounter signature local wildlife. Visitors can now acoustically identify the creatures thanks to the self-powered outdoor audio unit and accompanying signage.

Visitors need only select one of 8 available tracks via the dial, then wind the crank to generate power and hear audio files. This self-powered device built into a durable stainless steel casing provides outdoor audio interpretation available all year round. The audio tracks – or creature’s calls – are displayed on the U-Turn ‘batwings’ on the face plate, making it easy for visitors to associate sounds and animals. The ‘batwings’ also feature a lasered illustration of the Eastern Barn Owl, one of the animals visitors may hear on the walk.

Adding an interpretive audiovisual element to a setting like Roma Big Rig allows for a more involved means of educating visitors. The U-Turn is an always-popular AV unit with visitors, inviting interaction via the wind-up handle. It’s also an incredibly versatile piece of kit, allowing access to audio in places such as this Treewalk where power requirements would have been difficult to say the least.