Tryon Palace

 

Tryon Palace—a collection of historic homes and gardens in New Bern, North Carolina—wanted to create a 21st-century visitor experience to better engage all ages, especially families and children. ESI’s solution was to offer a variety of dynamic activities, experiences and programs suited to diverse audience types, interests and learning styles. The experience is divided into three core components:

At the Pepsi Family Center, kids and their families experience what it was like to live in a 19th-century coastal community. Participants adopt historical roles and work in groups to participate in fun, technology-enabled physical activities like sailing a ship, making turpentine for naval stores, creating a virtual quilt or shopping for items in a general store.

The Regional History Museum tells the story of North Carolina’s transformation over time through the lens of environmental history with a blend of historical artifacts, interpretive graphics and interactive kiosks. Voices of the past are brought to life, including accounts about Native Americans and early settlers as well as first-person accounts from 19th-century North Carolinians, including free and enslaved African Americans.

The History Navigator Tour is a personal handheld device that provides visitors with a way to explore the buildings, grounds and gardens of Tryon Palace. It offers contextual video, audio and layered information from a particular perspective – such as a free or enslaved African American, a woman, a child or professionals such as gardeners and architectural historians. Visit www.tryonpalace.org/mobile to experience the tours.

Design Partners
A number of design partners came together to make the North Carolina History Center a reality, working over the span of eleven years. BJAC served as the project architect for the North Carolina History Center and provided project management for all project initiatives. Quinn Evans Architects served as the design architect and led the effort to develop a master plan for Tryon Palace. AECOM developed the detailed site design and worked with Quinn Evans and ESI to integrate the building and exhibits.

Watch a video of the Tryon Palace experience here

Visit the Tryon Palace website at www.tryonpalace.org