Avatar: The Exhibition

Avatar: The Exhibition, also known as Avatar: Discover Pandora, Avatar: Explore Pandora and Avatar: The Experience is a traveling exhibition focusing on the world seen in the Avatar franchise.
==Background==
The exhibition was preceded by a North American exclusive simply entitled Avatar - The Exhibition, which toured across the US and Canada in 2011–14, a venture by EMP. The global successor is unrelated to the EMP-led precursor, and is instead the product of a 2015 deal between Twentieth Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment and Global Experience Specialists. GES usually cater for more stately affairs such as corporate events, but in the past they have also covered entertainment-oriented shows such as the tenth-anniversary exhibition for the Halo franchise.http://www.ges.com/us/portfolio#/featured/halo-fest-store Avatar - The Global Exhibition was unveiled on April 23, 2015, in an article on PR Newswire.http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-experience-specialists-and-twentieth-century-fox-consumer-products-announce-the-james-camerons-avatar-global-exhibition-300071057.html
left|thumb|250px|Behind the scenes video of Avatar: Discover Pandora featuring conceptualization and set design work
The exhibition was later retitled Avatar: Discover Pandora, and announced the first stop in Taipei, Taiwan on September 19, 2016.http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.com/avatar-discover-pandora-launches-worldwide-tour/ It opened in Taipei on December 7th, 2016.http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.com/avatar-discover-pandora-opens-today-taipei-taiwan/ Avatar: Discover Pandora's Taipei run went from December 7th, 2016 to March 14th, 2017.http://www.skm.com.tw/zh-TW/Store/EventDetail/4d6c8b25-f31a-4d83-b016-d97973648188?EventID=31d6157f-9d6e-4386-96b6-b287084369f8 GES worked in partnership with Taiwanese toy manufacturer and distributor Beast Kingdom Co., Ltd. to bring the exhibit to its Taipei venue, the Xinyi Theatre on the sixth floor of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi's Xinyi Place A11 store.http://www.ges.com/us/newsroom/newsroom-posts/2016/12/08/avatar-discover-pandora-the-new-interactive-exhibition-inspired-by-james-cameron-s-film-avatar-opens-today-in-taipei-taiwan
On June 5, 2017, the second stop was announced, with the exhibition coming to The Mall Shopping Center Bankapi in Bangkok, Thailand. The Thailand run went from July 1st, 2017 to September 3rd, 2017 for a two-month engagement. The exhibition was supported locally by Mactus Live and Pixelone Event & Festival. The Thailand run of the exhibition was the first to be supported by FoxNext Destinations, a subdivision of FoxNext, 20th Century Fox's location-based entertainment, video game, and virtual reality division.http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.com/avatar-discover-pandora-set-for-southeast-asia-debut-in-bangkok/ On December 22, 2017, the first stop in 2018 was announced in Shenzhen, China at the Great China International Exchange square from January 28-April 12, 2018. The Shenzen stop was intended to be the first of several in mainland China,http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.com/avatar-discover-pandora-exhibition-inspired-james-camerons-film-franchise-set-open-shenzhen-china/ but ended up being the only showing of the exhibition in 2018.
The start of an intended European run in Budapest, Hungary was announced on January 8, 2019. The exhibition started at Andrássy Élményközpont on February 2, 2019, and ran until May 31. The exhibition was supported locally by TulipánTündér Produktion, who operate the Andrássy Élményközpont.http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.com/avatar-discover-pandora-exhibition-inspired-james-camerons-film-launches-european-tour-february-2-budapest/https://www.andrassyelmenykozpont.hu/avatar/ No additional dates were announced in Europe, making it the only showing of the exhibition in 2019.
On July 1, 2020, Singaporean events company Cityneon announced that their subsidiary Victory Hill Exhibitions acquired multi-year licensing rights for the exhibition, in partnership with Lightstorm and Disney Location-Based Experiences. Cityneon has worked on similar movie exhibitions, including The Hunger Games, Jurassic World, Transformers, and The Avengers. The exhibition was planned to return in 2021, as part of promotion for Avatar: The Way of Water.https://www.cityneongroup.com/cityneon-announces-acquisition-of-global-touring-exhibition-based-on-james-camerons-blockbuster-film-avatar/ https://www.cityneongroup.com/our-business/cityneon-verticals/
On April 7, 2021, Sichuan Spring Garden Wonderland Investment Co., Ltd and Cityneon Holdings announced that the exhibition would come to Chengdu on May 1st, 2021.https://cityneongroup.com/cityneon-and-spring-garden-wonderland-introduce-the-debut-of-avatar-the-exhibition/ This announcement also featured a congratulations video from James Cameron.https://www.facebook.com/cityneonholdings/videos/755359355174100/ On April 30, 2021, Cityneon Holdings and Spring Garden Wonderland announced that the exhibition would be at Spring Garden Wonderland from May 1st, 2021 until the end of the year.https://www.cityneongroup.com/avatar-explore-pandora-welcomes-guests-in-chengdu/ The exhibition from 2021 onwards is referred to as AVATAR: THE EXHIBITION and AVATAR: EXPLORE PANDORA, but is the same in exhibition content.
On September 17, Disney announced the opening of the exhibition (referred to as Avatar: Explore Pandora) for a six-month engagement at Shanghai Disneyland in China. This marks the first time the exhibition has been hosted in a Disney park and resort.http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2022-09/17/content_78424897.htm
==Description (Pre-2021)==
The exhibition covers a 12,000 square foot area (0.3 acres) with interactive displays that highlight Pandora. The event frames Pandora in a real-world context, as though it was a real place that could be visited and explored. Within this context, the exhibit is presented by the Pandoran Research Foundation. The artifacts and specimens featured in the exhibit were curated by scientists from the RDA's Avatar Program, who left Pandora more than six years before the start of the exhibition.http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.com/about-the-exhibition/
thumb|250px|Video from POPCORN Movies showing off some of the exhibition during its Taiwanese run. Starting at 4:45, the video features an English language interview with Eddie Newquist from GES
The 45 minute tour includes:
*Pre-recorded segments from Dr. Norm Spellman at the entry portal and elsewhere in the exhibit.
* Information on the Alpha Centauri System and the challenges of space travel to reach it from Earth.
*A Bioluminescent Theater, where visitors experience a recreation of Pandora at night and learn about its beauty, danger, and the Pandoran Neural Network.
*An Amplified Mobility Platform suit for guests to step inside, providing a simulated ride through Pandora.
*An investigation of Na'vi culture, depicted through careful reproductions, and their connections with nature.
* Displays of weapons and equipment from the Na'vi and the RDA.
*Various samples of Pandoran flora and fauna, including elements that allow visitors to feel tactile sensations like insect bites safely.
*A replica of the Tree of Souls.
* More than a dozen hands-on interactive components, intended to appeal to avid Avatar fans and newcomers. Various touch displays allow visitors to engage in a variety of activities, including navigating maps of Avatar settings, testing their Na'vi language skills by speech recognition, making an avatar version of themselves, taking a quiz to find out what Pandoran animal fits their personality, and interacting with Pandora's plant life like the helicoradian plant. Another interactive element allows visitors to fly their own mountain banshee by moving their arms and clapping. This uses motion sensor technology to replicate the connection that a Na'vi and Banshee would have via their queues. Another banshee-related interactive element lets guests design a banshee with a custom color scheme.
*Life-sized statues of Pandora's creatures including the direhorse, banshee, and viperwolf.
left|thumb|250px|Fan shot video of Avatar: Discover Pandora during its Taiwanese run, starts 15 seconds in.
Visitors receive a personalized ID card that records engagements in the exhibition and photos.http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.com/new-interactive-exhibition-inspired-james-camerons-film-avatar-opens-shenzhen-28-january/
With guidance from scientists, the exhibit also had real-world educational components, connecting the fictional Avatar concepts to real-world science. A Teacher's Guide was provided on the official website to help teachers make lesson plans for field trips and tie the experience into the class curriculum and national educational standards.http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.com/education/
The international nature of the exhibition allows for promotional tie-ins to local holidays, like Taiwan having a "lucky draw" raffle of Avatar merchandise for those who visit the exhibit during the weekend of 2017's Lunar New Year.https://www.instagram.com/p/BPwWx2SF9wk/ Venues also have their own promotion methods, such as Taiwan having a freestyle dancer in Na'vi makeup perform for mall visitors.https://www.instagram.com/p/BPiRc1RDkFK/ Na'vi cosplayers have also been incorporated in promotion for the event and for photo opportunities at the grand opening in Bangkok.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLHCdgKn5hQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXgV1z2GlU8
== Description (2021-onwards)==
===Avatar: The Experience at Gardens by the Bay===
thumb|250px|An edited walkthrough video from Walking Singapore showing Avatar: The Experience.
The "immersive walkthrough event" utilizes the pre-existing Cloud Forest greenhouse with new Avatar theming, including life-sized statues of the Na'vi and other Pandoran wildlife as well as Pandoran plants.https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/cloudforesthttps://avatartheexperience.com/faq/ The exhibit opened on October 28, 2022.https://avatartheexperience.com/plan-your-visit/ It closed by February 2024, with over 2.6 million visitors.
Avatar: The Experience is mostly different to Avatar: Discover Pandora, with its main commonalities being the banshee flight simulator and the "make yourself into an Avatar" booths. Avatar: The Experience also introduces new animatronic elements including a full-sized banshee and a baby banshee held by a keeper, similar to the Banshee Rookery at Pandora: The World of Avatar. Avatar: The Experience also features a new aquatic section focusing on Pandoran marine life, including Pandoran "fish tank" screen visuals and a statue of an ilu.
==Venues==
Exhibition Venues 	Exhibition Venues	Exhibition Venues	Exhibition Venues
Venue 	Country 	Opens 	Closes
Xinyi Theatre at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Taipei 	Taiwan 	2016-12-02 	2017-03-14
The Mall Shopping Center Bankapi, Bangkok 	Thailand 	2017-07-01 	2017-09-03
Great China International Exchange Square, Shenzhen	China 	2018-01-28 	2018-04-12
Andrássy Élményközpont, Budapest 	Hungary 	2019-02-02 	2019-05-31
Spring Garden Wonderland, Chengdu 	China 	2021-05-01 	2021-12-31
Gardens By the Bay 	Singapore 	2022-10-28 	February 2024
Shanghai Disneyland, Shanghai 	China 	2022-09-22 	2023-03
==References==
==External Links==
*Official English website: http://www.avatartheexhibition.com (previously http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.com)
*Avatar.com: http://www.avatar.com
*Official English Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/avatardiscoverpandora
* Official English Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/discoverpandora
*Official English Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/avatardiscoverpandora.us
*Official Taiwanese website: http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.tw
*Official Taiwanese Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/avatardiscoverpandora_tw
*Official Chinese website: http://www.avatardiscoverpandora.cn
*Official Chinese WeApp QR code
*Official Hungarian venue info page: https://www.andrassyelmenykozpont.hu/avatar/ (http://www.avatarkiallitas.hu redirects to the official website of Andrássy Élményközpont)
ru:Avatar: Discover Pandora
Category:Live Events