The Civil War Journey – Conner Prairie

While Indiana was not a major battlefield in the Civil War, there was plenty of action that would draw brave Hoosiers into the fight. BPI designed and produced a multi-theater immersive journey based on Morgan’s Raid on Indiana. 

The production creatively combines historical narrative and vivid storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual and theatrical technologies for a truly one-of-a-kind experience.

Guests cross an outdoor covered bridge in the Civil War Journey area. In the bridge they see historic banners describing the war having come to Indiana and hear locals’ fears and bravado in short audio clips. They are guided to the General Store where through the windows, visitors see the impending cavalry of General Morgan and are asked to rally with the town to protect themselves. Projection screens hidden behind scrims come to life with dramatic character recreations. They then see Morgan’s cavalry come thundering over the covered bridge (that they just crossed) and experience the raiders plundering the store.

The story unfolds through the eyes of the narrators—young Frank and Attia Porter, as well as Albert, a freed slave. The exhibition reaches new levels of excitement in another, even more complex theater experience where a series of rotating turntables reveal life-size dioramas at key moments, the turntables turn again and reveal large vertical projection screens that display battle sequences and the storyline characters. The theater includes multiple 4D special effects, including a tree falling over the guests’ heads and a cannon firing a cannonball that shoots across the theater and explodes through the wall revealing the park outside.

The Civil War Journey is one of the most popular attractions at Conner Prairie.

 

 

 

Client: Conner Prairie Interactive Living History Park, Civil War Journey, Fishers, IN
Partners: Jonathan Bean Design, Kraemer Design & Production
Category: Military History
Services: AV Design, Immersive Theater, Film & Video, Interactive

What We Did:

  • Immersive theater
  • Character holograms
  • Interactives and Films
  • Historical Battle Reenactments
  • Original music score

I’ve been to Colonial Williamsburg, I’ve been to the South, I’ve been to a lot of places, but I’ve never seen anything like this. It was unbelievable.

Visitor Survey

Family watching an immersive theater from behind the rails. The theater contains fake trees, logs, a wagon wheel, a boy on a balcony, and a projection screen
Immersive 4D Theater
Immersive theater hologram of a man eating while sitting on a barrel
Farmhouse Hologram
Children and families using digital map interactives
Digital Map Interactives
Family entering a red covered bridge in Dupont Indiana. A banner reads Glorious News! Union Troops Successful at Gettysburg
Covered Bridge Audio Experience
Old-timey general store, with sacks, barrels, straw hats, and a holographic boy behind the counter
Holographic Boy in the General Store Immersive Theater
Wooden homes surrounded by a fence, with tents outside
Conner Prairie Interactive Living History Park