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Rubicon Group Holding (RGH), designer and project manager for The Red Sea Astrarium (TRSA), has signed a licensing agreement with the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) for intellectual property rights to AMNH’s famed exhibition, “Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World;” it was announced today by RGH CEO Randa Ayoubi.
The new agreement grants RGH rights to use “Traveling the Silk Road” as the foundation for the design of a new interactive experience to be featured at the Astrarium, the US $1.5 billion leisure-resort now in development for Aqaba, Jordan.
“Traveling the Silk Road” explores the most celebrated trade route in human history through evocative sights, sounds and artifacts as well as intriguing interactive features, as it transports visitors to four ancient cities: Xi’an, Turfan, Samarkand and Baghdad. RGH will expand and enhance the exhibition at TRSA, adding an additional city to the mix and updating the interactive elements with 21st century technology and media. The Silk Road exhibition will be layered throughout the Hijazi Gardens at the Astrarium, a sprawling botanical garden recreating the environments found at various points along history’s most important trade route.
“Everyone knows the Silk Road as an important trade route, but it was more than just a means of moving goods from one place to another, it was a vital conduit for the transfer of knowledge and ideas,” explained Lenny Larsen, Business Development Director of Themed Entertainment for RGH. “The Astrarium’s attractions focus on inspiration, innovation, and human achievement, so exploring the Silk Road, as a means of connecting cultures and ideas, is a natural fit for this unique experience.”
The exhibition serves as the foundation for an exciting new interactive, augmented reality game in which park guests take on the roles of merchants, citizens, and explorers traveling the Silk Road. The game will send players on quests through the Hijazi Gardens to engage with the exhibit content, other guests and park staff … exploring the gardens, trading virtual goods, and learning about other cultures along the way through the use of personal mobile devices and other, in-park technology. For example, one player could take the role of an English Nobleman who needs 10 peppercorns as a dowry for the girl he wants to marry. To get the peppercorns, he needs to trade English goods for Chinese silk which will subsequently be traded for Indian Spices.
“This important blending of the entertainment world and the museum world will result in an incredible new approach to engaging our visitors with history,” said Ayoubi. “In the beginning, RGH started with a vision for making education fun and interactive. With the Silk Road adventure at the Astrarium, we’re blurring the lines between the real world, the virtual world, and history, which will serve to usher in a new way of engaging audiences with museum content.”
Situated along the Gulf of Aqaba, The Red Sea Astrium will be a massive leisure complex of 75 hectares (185 acres) where one will find 4 luxury hotels, a botanical garden and a large portfolio of attractions, entertainment, restaurants and shops. While most of the attractions will focus on historical or cultural themes, the resort will also host a Star Trek experience created in collaboration with Paramount Parks & Recreation and CBS Consumer Products.
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CORPORATE | NewsParcs - Published on January 28, 2014
Our Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week is a round-up of the latest news relative to companies supplying the theme park industry around the world. This weekly report covers topics such as corporate announcements, financial ...
The NewsParcs' Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week is a round-up of the latest news relative to companies supplying the theme park industry around the world. This weekly report covers topics such as corporate announcements, ...
Our Industry Roundup is a summary of the latest major news related to the theme park industry worldwide. We report news specifically on operators, owners, trade associations and related organizations, including trends, attendance...