The National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas is preparing to open a major expansion featuring new immersive storytelling environments powered by media server technology from Green Hippo, as museums increasingly look to flexible projection systems to support both visitor engagement and revenue-generating events.
The museum’s 16,000sqft expansion project includes a panoramic projection space driven by a Hippotizer Meuse MX media server, specified and integrated by Electro Acoustics & Video Inc. The environment uses nine projectors to create an immersive visual canvas capable of supporting exhibitions, donor events, presentations and private functions.
According to the museum, which preserves and celebrates the stories of women who shaped the American West, the previous projection system relied largely on looping ranch and horse-show footage and offered limited opportunities for content updates or customisation. The new platform was selected to provide greater flexibility and simplify content management for staff.
“Our goal with the new system was to create something far more fluid and adaptable,” said Hunter Atchison, associate director of operations at the museum. “We wanted a space that could transform depending on the experience we want to create. Hippotizer is giving us the ability to fully customise the room and use it however we want, depending on the event or experience.”
The project highlights a growing trend within the museum sector, where immersive technologies are being deployed not only to enhance exhibitions but also to increase the versatility of event spaces. During the day, the panoramic environment will support interpretive storytelling and visitor experiences. In the evenings, the same space can be reconfigured for weddings, donor receptions and private events using custom visual content.
The Hippotizer platform enables the museum to manage and blend content across all nine projectors while supporting rapid content changes. One recent donor event saw staff capture a group photograph at the beginning of a tour and display it across the projection walls by the time visitors reached the immersive space, creating a personalised experience with minimal preparation.
The projection environment forms part of a broader expansion programme designed to connect the museum’s original building with new galleries and attractions. Additional features include an 18-horse carousel installation and exhibition spaces hosting rotating displays.
Although the expansion has yet to open fully to the public, the new visual environment is already being used for donor tours and presentations. Museum staff say they plan to work with content creators to develop more sophisticated immersive experiences as they explore the full capabilities of the platform.
