After more than two years of design, research, planning, and construction, Our Wondrous Planet, the most expansive science and biodiversity gallery in Museums Victoria's history, has opened at Melbourne Museum, offering visitors a breathtaking multisensory journey across four distinct biomes: reef, rainforest, ice and soil.

Spanning 1,800 square metres on the museum's first floor, the gallery blends natural history, interactive learning and large-scale media into a single immersive environment. With over 800 animals from the museum's collections, hands-on experiences and projection-driven scenography, the exhibition invites audiences to explore how interconnected ecosystems sustain life on our planet.

Melbourne-based lighting design and technical production studio Additive was involved from the earliest concept stage, developing an experiential lighting layer designed to amplify the gallery's atmosphere beyond traditional display illumination. To support the brief, designer and director Paul Lim worked with Show Technology and Lightmoves to select the most suitable equipment for the installation.

To deliver consistent wall and floor washes throughout the gallery, the installation includes 129 DisplayCob FC fixtures, while 208 EclDisplay DATWhite units in 3000K, 4000K and 5000K cover interpretation areas, signage, walkways and selected objects. Where compact full-colour fixtures were required, especially in areas with tighter installation constraints, 64 EclDisplay DATFC units provide both full colour and tunable white flexibility.

For environmental effects inside the biomes, Mosaico FX100FC projectors add movement and texture, replicating flowing water in the Reef zone through animation wheels, and creating aurora-style looks within the Ice biome, reinforcing the gallery's multisensory ambition with theatrical detail and dynamic visual layers.

“They didn't want just exhibition spotlights on the animals and objects,” explained Paul Lim, designer and director at Additive. “They turned to us to bring our theatrical lighting design experience and work closely with the spatial design team, over the past two years, to create an experience that is unique to the museum.”

“The reason why we chose PROLIGHTS products over any other exhibition lighting is due to them having a colour-changing model,” added Paul. “We also wanted a single lens system. We have different white temperatures and a full-colour engine, as well as interchangeable lenses, which reduces the amount of spares the museum has to hold.”

Commenting on the Mosaico FX100FC projectors, Paul Lim said: “They give us a different water effect than the standard water gobos you see all the time,” commented Paul. “They look really great, the texture in the animation wheel is lovely and organic.”

“It's been an ambitious project for the Museum, and I think it has pushed the standard in terms of immersive spaces,” said Paul. “The support from Show Technology and Lightmoves has been great.”

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