WildWoods: AGLOW at the Fernbank Museum

Created in partnership with Fernbank Museum of Natural History, WildWoods: AGLOW is an all-new illuminated forest walk-through experience. Inspired by the native flora and fauna that thrive in the 10 acres of featured woodlands, this multi-sensory experience reveals the wonder of wildlife through an immersive blend of the real environment and glowing displays.

Using captivating illumination, immersive projections, interactive scenography, and an original musical composition, WildWoods: AGLOW immerses guests into a natural nighttime wonderland of biodiversity. Along the enchanted path, guests watch as roots magically spread into towering trees, witness oversized seeds emanate with interactive light, behold nocturnal animals that come alive in the night, and engage with larger-than-life singing mushrooms.

Throughout the design process, Thinkwell worked hand-in-hand with Fernbank's science team to ensure every image, color, and sound was an accurate extension of the Fernbank Forest. The experience was completely curated for the old growth forest surrounding the museum, as technology was used to bring the “hidden world” of the forest to light.

Each of the eight “zones” also offered interactive experiences. Through guests’ touch and movement, each of the zones was activated as guests co-created mushroom symphonies, played hide-and-seek with projected animals, and pollinated the surrounding forest with orbs of light.

This is an opportunity to redefine the museum experience in all its splendor. The forest here is not a screen on which to project a story, but the basic canvas from which to make visible at night what is invisible to the naked eye during the day. This forest nighttime immersive and interactive experience is the natural extension of the museum itself.

The museum's science team and Thinkwell's creative team ensured throughout the design, production, and integration process that the lights, video and audio had little to no impact on the forest's living species.

The limited-run nighttime experience opened to the public on November 17, 2022. Due to its popularity, this will not be the last season. It will continue to run during the winter months through 2026.