About this Project

After the Age of Dinosaurs: Impact Theater

The Field Museum wanted to bring visitors inside one of the most dramatic turning points in Earth’s history—the extinction of the dinosaurs. Instead of a static display, the goal was to create an immersive theater experience that would surround visitors with the sights and sounds of the asteroid impact. The design team envisioned a cohesive approach where cut-out illustration styles used in the physical exhibition would also define the animated storytelling.

Installation Video

As a Multimedia Creative, I guided the narrative and visual approach for the theater installation. I collaborated with 3D animator Rachel Oftendal to create large-scale animations using a cut-out aesthetic that echoed the exhibition’s design language. This style was intentionally chosen to soften the intensity of the asteroid impact, ensuring the story was powerful without being overwhelming or frightening for younger audiences. Together, we visualized the lush Cretaceous forests before the strike, then transitioned into the devastation that followed.

To deepen the emotional impact, I worked with composer Jesse Solomon Clark to develop an ominous, atmospheric score, and partnered with Open Sky Sound & Music on sound design to fully immerse visitors in the destruction. The animations were projected across four large-scale screens, surrounding audiences as they entered the theater and placing them directly inside the extinction event.

The Impact Theater became a centerpiece of After the Age of Dinosaurs, transforming complex scientific storytelling into a visceral, multi-sensory experience. Visitors are enveloped by sight and sound, moving from the serenity of prehistoric life to the chaos of its sudden end—an unforgettable introduction to the exhibition’s themes of survival, adaptation, and the rise of new species.