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Evolution of the Sports Museum: Exhibits off Limits No More

Evolution of the Sports Museum: Exhibits off Limits No More

CambridgeSeven has been leading the innovation of sports museums since our early days, starting with the design of the first Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. In those early years, visitors of traditional sports museums were accustomed to informative but passive experiences: collected memorabilia displayed behind glass, photography hung on gallery walls with informational placards, audio recordings that you stood and listened to. Walk. Stand. Look. Read. Walk. Stand. Look. Read. However, at the seminal Basketball Hall of Fame, CambridgeSeven put the ball in visitors’ hands creating immersive and engaging exhibits that forever changed the experience and expectations of sports heritage fans.

1982 – The Original Basketball Hall of Fame

An early example of integrating architecture and exhibits with heroic pylon mural that announces and celebrates the new Hall at a grand scale
Introduces life sized interactives with a variety of basketball shooting exhibits
Multi-level experience fully embraces large format graphics

1992 – The Sports Museum of New England

A novel multi-sport Hall of Fame that showcased the teams, players, coaches, and thrilling moments in New England sports history
Further explores and expands the concept of immersive experiences with over-scaled exhibits and graphics that capture the visitor’s imagination and puts them “In the Game”

Since then, the design of sports museums has continued to evolve markedly to become more immersive and interactive, dynamically expressing the energy of the games themselves. CambridgeSeven’s sports heritage projects don’t simply house a collection of glass-enclosed items anymore, rather, they envelop visitors within a curated world where the boundary between architecture, exhibit and sport is blurred. With ever-advancing technology, lighting and sound engineering innovations, augmented and virtual reality, and innovative environmental graphics, sports museums aren’t just rooms of objects anymore, they are truly experiences. It’s not just somewhere you go; it’s something in which you immerse yourself.

Sports content within the museums has also evolved and expanded far beyond just physical artifacts. Museum owners and curators know they need to keep today’s visitors engaged and entertained. Exhibits now integrate themes of science, math, personal histories, politics, race, and gender – topics that resonate with visitors and reveal the far-reaching effects sports have always had on defining our cultures.

We’re rather proud of the pioneering work CambridgeSeven designers have made to advance this visitor experience – taking it from static to electric. This timeline illustrates just how much sports museums have changed over the past 40 years and some of our forecasts about where they’re headed.

2007 – The Patriots Hall of Fame

Exhibits and architecture start to work symbiotically and are inspired by the kinetic energy of the game.
Soaring, dynamic environmental graphics, extensive and unusual artifact displays including an original Duck Boat, life size huddle interactive, the exploration and expansion of large format video projections

2011 – Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

One of a kind Hall of Fame embraces the challenge of representing over 56 Canadian sports.
Novel interactive games like the ski jump and race car simulators let fans immerse themselves in the moment and give a feeling of actually being an athlete.
Innovative videos projections in Grand Hall space create a unique immersive environment
Galleries are organized around a central Grand Hall where summer sports occupy one side of the Hall and winter sports the other, with the Canadian Olympics celebrated in the center.

2013 – World of Little League Museum

Gallery content uniquely organized around the six (6) innings of a Little League game
Physical, tactile, playful exhibits that encourage immersive interaction bringing elements of the game to life.
Interactive games are especially designed for kids and teenagers but appeal to adults as well.
Introductory signature film is presented in unusual cylindrical theatre with baseball bleacher seating rather than generic interior furnishings.

2014 – San Francisco 49ers Museum

Further integration of architecture and exhibits: the gallery design of the 49ers Museum is inspired by the iconic spiral throw of the football.
First time life-sized player statues are used in Sports Heritage Halls of Fame.
Artifacts and memorabilia now displayed without cases and behind glass and fully integrated with media displays.
Incorporation of a STEAM Education Center where students learn about principles of physics, math, art and technology through the lens of football.

2017 - Detroit Red Wings & Pistons

Exhibit displays of memorabilia and team history are skillfully integrated in unique locations around the venue, like concourses and in the Team Store.
Original Red Wings team bench exhibit, innovatively and uniquely displayed, is a tremendously popular fan engagement.
Large format augmented reality (AR) exhibit offers exciting selfie opportunities.

2021 – Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Advanced, and award-winning, exhibit lighting design create dramatic, holistic and powerful moments where the exhibits themselves augment illumination, drawing visitors through the Hall’s storied narrative.
Further advancement of Augmented Reality (AR) interactives are on full display such as the innovative TNT Broadcasting Experience.
Artifact displays are enlivened with custom lighting, graphics, media interactives, and unconventional placement throughout the galleries.
The thematic organization of the Hall is creatively arranged by important cultural topics instead of a traditional timeline. Each unique gallery theme serves a specific purpose which invokes engaging and emotional responses in basketball fans.

2022 – SF 49ers The Long Game Exhibit

A new and updated gallery that incorporates the timely and powerful subject matter of race, equity and social justice.
Explores the social history that goes far beyond the field to include topics such as housing discrimination, racial inequity and gender biases.
Showcases the sociological histories that surround the Bay area sport icons

2024 - Boston Bruins Heritage Hall

Dynamic, multi-media experience that fully integrates technology, team history and rare artifacts
Fully embracing the latest media display techniques. Artifacts displayed throughout the Hall are enlivened by the integration of transparent, interactive OLED screens, connecting and blending the actual story behind the memorabilia with a holographic effect
Innovative Be the Broadcaster exhibit invites fans to call their favorite plays and celebrate the historic moments of the team.
A large interactive In the Game table where fans test their competitive skills through a variety of hockey-centered challenges. On the Ice invites visitors to test their puck-shooting skills in customized simulators.

2025 and Onward

We’re seeing fantastic opportunities to leverage advancements in technology to bring fans closer to their favorite teams and engage more actively in the sport they love.
Visitors are increasingly interested exploring behind-the-scenes experiences.
Clients are very interested in creating flexibility in their museums to offer fans greater variety and a reason to return. With technology continuing to develop, that flexibility is becoming more and more a reality.

In order to tell the rich stories and creatively curate the abundant collections, CambridgeSeven totally immerses themselves in the history, the people and the stories of each team and sport. Being able to successfully capture the ethos and character of players, coaches, moments, wins, defeats, struggles and triumphs requires that we pour as much heart and soul into these designs as athletes and fans pour into their teams.