Being presented with the opportunity to light for life and design some of our favorite aquariums, gardens, and more gives us the chance to take our typical museum and exhibit one step further. Lighting living plants and animals is a very delicate endeavor, with a different set of considerations, most importantly: the ability for living beings to thrive, grow, and ultimately survive. Read on as we share our techniques for lighting life at the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium!

Lighting for Life 

When it comes to exhibit design, inert objects such as art or artifacts require a reduction in light levels, with no UV or IR (infrared radiation) production required. On the other hand, lighting plants and animals take a complete 180-degree turn away from this strategy, with UV and IR production as a heavy priority alongside other spectrums of light. Each of these spectrums is then adjusted according to what the living thing needs to thrive and survive.

In an art exhibit, objects will likely be illuminated for hours at a time, but this exposure needs to be watched closely to avoid possible damage. Oftentimes, we employ sensors that keep the lights low unless someone is looking at the piece, which triggers the automated lights to dim to a higher level. Or, automated schedules keep the lights on based on the museum or exhibit schedule.

One of our main focuses when lighting living things is creating a schedule that mimics that of their natural habitat. Usually, a day-to-night cycle is incorporated into the lighting when plants or animals are the subjects of the exhibit, as they both need rest and human maintenance and interaction to survive. Our job is to understand how to best meet the needs of an animal or plant while also providing an enjoyable viewing experience for the visitor.

Lifesaving Lighting at The Hanging Gardens

In the Field Museum’s Stanley Field Hall, colossal rafts of greenery hang from the ceiling, illuminating over 1,000 plants with vibrant colors. The Hanging Gardens are completely unique in their structure, 3D printed to appear like clouds. But they didn’t start out that way: their original design included a lighting system that used LEDs to supplement daylight, but unfortunately, it was discovered that this system wasn’t keeping the plants alive.

Our team was brought in to refit the lighting and create a new system to not only illuminate the plant life, but also facilitate its growth. Thanks to extensive prototyping we found the perfect solution: grow lights with specially designed color capabilities that allow control over the color spectrum. These lights help create a healthy environment for the plants, and enable color changes in the gardens for events – all while coexisting with a hydroponic watering system.

Illuminating a Life-Sized Oceanarium & Polar Play Zone 

The glow of the exhibits in the Shedd Aquarium draws the eye of their visitors to the creatures within, from aquarium habitats to partially submerged habitats. There are exhibits that need daylight, and exhibits that are used to demonstrate the darkness of the deep sea, making our work at the Shedd a test of our versatility. 

When it came to the iconic Oceanarium, our goal was to highlight the natural beauty of the aquatic life, while also providing the animals – everything from penguins to sea lions and beluga whales – with exactly what they need to live comfortably. The project presented an unusual set of challenges, first of which was getting proper lighting from head to toe (more like from the 30-foot ceiling above the water surface through to the bottom of the 30-foot deep pool!). We knew that lumens, and a lot of them, would be the solution to such a mass amount of required physical light. 

When designed, LEDs were not up to the challenge, so we turned to HID (high-intensity discharge) sources for the primary illumination, and used secondary LED sources for color, which was also an important element of the exhibit. These HID sources were able to withstand an interior saltwater environment that is sneakily corrosive, proving to be the right solution for the environment at hand. And for the grand finale, to support the exhibit’s showmanship, we installed theatrical fixtures into the space and a full catwalk system to access said above-water fixtures for easy maintenance and longevity.