Encounters, World War One

Every individual has a unique experience of war. How will each story impact your life? Step forward, to encounter the humans of the First World War…

WW1 nurse on screen, with a man looking on, in an Encounters alcove, National WWI Museum and Memorial
A soldier, munitions worker, farmer and priest appear on screens in Encounters, National WWI Museum
Visitor watches a uniformed Skih soldier standindg under a tree, in an autumnal-lit alcove at Encounters, National WWI Museum
Airman James McConnell, played by Riley Neldam, before the Somme battlefields, Encounters, National WWI Museum
U-boat commander Adolf von Spiegel, played by Hugo Salter, in a teal submarine scene at Encounters, WWI Museum
Louise Olivereau speaks at a wooden lectern on screen beside a text outlining her defence in court, at Encounters, National WWI Museum
Visitor in a dark gallery with illuminated character screens at Encounters, National WWI Museum
Soldier character beside a US flag and screens in a dark gallery at Encounters, National WWI Museum
Child character silhouetted against an orange sunset sky on a screen at Encounters, National WWI Museum
Visitors beside screens showing characters and a US flag at Encounters, National WWI Museum and Memorial
Yellow-lit floor and munitions factory "Canary Girl" worker on screens in a dark Encounters gallery, National WWI Museum and Memorial
Ethel Mary Bilborough holds a book in an autumn garden scene at Encounters, National WWI Museum
Airman Stanley Gould Lee sits looking over a snowy countryside scene on screen in a dark alcove at Encounters, National WWI Museum and Memorial
A man dressed in wartime chaplain clothing stands in a bombed out church in a scene with framed exhibits at Encounters, National WWI Museum
Character on a tall dark screen with wintery light in an Encounters alcove, National WWI Museum
Female character screen in a dark alcove at Encounters, National WWI Museum and Memorial
Four characters on screens either side of an image of a trench on a large central screen
Sikh soldier gesticulates in a savaged field, a life-size character and framed items at Encounters, National WWI Museum
Entrance wall text at Encounters: Their words. The Great War cast its shadow, National WWI Museum
Liberty Memorial tower above lawns under a blue sky at the National WWI Museum and Memorial, Kansas City

About this experience

Our team developed the initial concept design and produced all content for this groundbreaking immersive experience.

Telling the stories of 16 people from World War One, we took primary sources and created digital stage sets to carry the narrative of their war, in their words.

Encounters invites you to hear and see real, first-hand narratives of not just the soldier, but the nurse, child, and others who were impacted by global conflict.

The sheer number of people touched by the war casts a shadow over any one life, so we designed the gallery to let individuals step out of the mass. Visitors enter a darkened space, with silhouettes appearing as ghost-like souls on via LED strips around the perimeter of the room.

A central audio theme offers a sense of time and place, whilst Holoplot arrays in each of the four alcoves match the characterless scenes on the on-screen attractor media to encourage people to move toward an area that appeals.

Each alcove shows four cinemagraphs, as people from The Great War patiently wait to tell their stories. As visitors move toward each alcove, content is triggered to playback.

A life-size figure appears from the dark in a digital stage set built from their memories, and speaks to them directly, with sound beamed to that spot alone. First-person narration, a sense of privacy and human-scaled screens keep the technology out of the way of the story.

Sixteen people, sixteen stories, in their own words.

An ambulance driver who decided that wasn’t enough and learned to fly sees Verdun as “stillness and havoc”. A German U-boat commander talks tenderly to his submarine as a destroyer bears down. A Russian woman crawls out into No Man’s Land to carry the wounded home. An Indian cavalry officer writes his farewell before a charge he doesn’t expect to survive, and a nurse hurts a young Canadian and is told, “It’s quite all right, sister. Carry on.” A bandsman marches into a liberated French town and can’t tell whether the cheering is joy or caution, but is proud to be Black, American and 15th New York.

Others are quieter. A munitions worker describes TNT turning everything yellow, faces, chairs and tables, however much you washed. A schoolboy writes to his father about a Zeppelin falling in the field opposite, describing the horror of the scene he witnessed. A French village mayor, squeezed between farmers and the army, is four years in and done: “It is a thankless task.” A chaplain argues with God, a soldier explains he can never pass a dead man without wondering who he was, and a returning soldier speaks of the deep wounds experienced in war.

Where to see this exhibition:

Visit the National WWI Museum and Memorial website for more information, or check out this exhibition in person.

National WW1 Museum and Memorial, 2 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, MO 64108 USA

Exhibition opened:

May 2025

Project details:

Developed for Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Electrosonic created the technical environment, which features Holoplot and Nanolumens hardware. Lighting design by Technical Artistry, electrical installation by Pro Electric and fabrication by JE Dunn Construction.

Recognition:


Blooloop Innovation Awards 2025: Storytelling – Culture, winner.‍ ‍Read the announcement


Digital Signage Awards 2026: Immersive & Experimental Environment of the Year. Read the announcement

Commercial Integrator Awards 2026: Best Museum Project. Read the announcement

AVNation's Readers' Choice Awards 2025: Best Project of the Year. Read the announcement

Museums + Heritage Awards 2026: Finalist, Best Use of Digital - International. Read the announcement

Inavation Awards 2026: Finalist, Museums & Heritage. Read the announcement

AVNation's Readers' Choice Awards 2025: Best Project of the Year. Read the announcement

Media credits: © 2025 Dot Crew Digital Ltd.

Experience design: How we created this immersive experience.

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