The Houston Museum of Natural Science, one of the most heavily attended museums in the United States, just re-opened their popular Weiss Energy Hall, currently the most contemporary, comprehensive and technologically advanced exhibition on the science and technology of energy anywhere in the world.
This hall features "Energy City," a 2,500-square-foot 3-D landscape representing Houston, the surrounding Gulf coastal waters, and the terrain of southeast and central Texas. This vibrant "white model" uses bleeding-edge projection mapping technology to bring the city to life while educating viewers on different energy systems and stories.
The animated display, created by RabCup, features over 30 minutes of continuous content, all of which includes customized music created by Fred Emory Smith, my friend and former student from the SCV drumline in the early 2000's. Fred has become a very successful and busy composer for film and television and he brought me in to assist in scoring the music for a few of the science module animations. Aside from this being a really cool project, it's an absolute thrill for me to collaborate with Fred on something like this. I'm proud and impressed with all he's done in his vibrant career!
The music for this exhibit is ambient, electronic, and layered, culminating in a light show-esque finale. Specifically, I worked on the Hydrocarbons and Hydroelectric modules which you can listen to here.
If you're in the Houston area, this new exhibit is worth checking out. Check out the video below for a peek at everything that went into it.