Housed in the spectacular surroundings of the award-winning, world-class Wisley Glasshouse, developed by the Royal Horticultural Society, the new Root Zone - the UK's first - is an innovative interactive area where visitors can learn about roots and the vital role they play.
Located in a cavern within the Glasshouse, the Root Zone's displays help all visitors learn about the interrelation between plants, plant health and what takes place underground.
The Root Zone's exhibit co-ordinator, Nicky Evans, the Society's first principal science education officer says, "You really do feel as if you are underground here, with technology re-creating and explaining roots and their functions. The lighting is low, and the atmospheric soundtrack makes digging and creaking noises."
A large model of a root system is built into the walls of the area with panels explaining 20 different functions that roots perform. Portholes show 'buried treasures' or products such as food, drugs and dyes that are produced by roots, conveyed by Dicoll R20T600-OFA1 20" LCD screens running looped media stored on dedicated PC-based image servers.
Interactive games and photographs give an idea of the diversity of root systems and how they operate within soils. Panels stress the dynamic nature of roots, showing how they change and morph as seasons progress and weather conditions vary, with six Dicoll R17L500-RMM1+5W-DVI interactive touch screen terminals provided to reveal a wealth of information.
The vivid demonstration of the importance of the below-ground parts of plants is reinforced by an ambient soundtrack with distributed Work Studio 20 speakers, driven by an Alcorn McBride AmpTraxx amplifier.
Sysco director Hugo Roche comments: "The brief called for a high quality, easy to use interactive AV system that would be suitable for RHS Wisley's visitors who include people of all ages and nationalities, in a unique and richly informative environment - it also had to be a low maintenance design that would perform well throughout the facility's long open season. It was an exciting and unusual project to be involved with."
(Jim Evans)
