Digital signage sparks fly at Calgary science center

TELUS Spark, The New Science Centre is welcoming visitors with the help of 48 Christie® MicroTiles® and an assortment of Christie® projectors. The center opened October 29, 2011 in Calgary, Alberta for people of all ages and abilities to explore and discover science, technology and art in new ways.

The two-story tall atrium houses an 8 unit wide by 6 unit high Christie MicroTiles array set between the Feature Gallery and the gift store.


Christie MicroTiles are modular digital display tiles that can be stacked and clustered like building blocks to create display walls of any shape or scale. They are also “self-aware” – meaning that the sensors built into the MicroTiles automatically complete time-consuming and costly color calibration needed to keep conventional video walls looking uniform.

“The Atrium is where we have a space for discovery leaders and hosts to deliver presentations and for informing people about what is happening at the center,” said Dennis Cheng, audio video manager, TELUS Spark. “There is a very large picture window on the south side of the atrium that lets in a lot of sunlight. In fact, it lights up the entire atrium. We needed a technology to overcome that issue and the Christie MicroTiles came in as the solution. The MicroTiles are LED-based and were the only product bright enough to overcome that large amount of ambient light.”

“Looking down from the second floor of the atrium, the MicroTiles display still looks great,” added Barry Crean, vice president, Operations. “People look down at the display from any angle and are quite impressed by what they see. The MicroTiles look terrific.”

A second wall, comprising 22 Christie MicroTiles, slated for installation this year, will act as a donor wall to recognize large-scale donations.  


Cheng explained that as a new building, TELUS Spark is poised to attract a wide variety of special events and the Atrium is the perfect place to stage these opportunities. 

“Again, because of the ambient light on the south end of the atrium, we needed a projector to overcome the light challenges.The Christie Roadie HD+35K was the best option,” said Cheng.
“The Roadie projects 100 feet away onto a 30-foot by 16-foot screen that is suspended from a movable truss over 30 feet above the atrium floor.” 

The center also has seven Christie DWU670-E 1-chip DLP® projectors with four dedicated to the Open Studio gallery. Catering to youth, the Open Studio allows participants to digitally paint with light or compose a symphony with color. The finished artwork or composition is then projected onto one of four screens.