Sensory Odyssey is a groundbreaking traveling exhibition designed to enhance our awareness and deepen visitors’ connection to the natural world. Combining hyper-realistic visuals, immersive scents and soundscapes, dynamic lighting, and tactile elements, the experience takes audiences on a sensory-rich journey across eight natural habitats from the equator to the arctic pole.
Created in partnership with the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris and global fragrance creation leader International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) for the original fragrances, the exhibition has captivated nearly 750,000 visitors across five iconic museums or venues in Paris, Singapore, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, and Toronto. Panasonic's 4K projection solutions have played a key role in delivering this visually seamless experience — one that inspires awe, sparks curiosity, and allows visitors to feel nature like never before.
Grounded in neuroscience research, Sensory Odyssey explores how immersive encounters with nature — even in digital form — can positively impact human wellness. A cognitive study conducted at the (MNHN) in Paris measured volunteers’ physiological responses, including heart rate and electrodermal activity, and revealed clear patterns of relaxation and increased emotional engagement during the experience. These findings support a growing body of evidence that multi-sensory exposure to nature plays a vital role in psychological well-being.
Recreating Nature’s Wonders with Unparalleled Realism
Creating an exhibition that fully immerses visitors in the sights, sounds, scents, and sensations of nature required projection technology capable of delivering stunning clarity and seamless integration. One of Sensory Odyssey’s goals was to reveal nature’s hidden details by bringing microscopic life into focus. Pollinating insects, filmed at over 1,000 frames per second, were magnified to the size of a domestic pet — exposing intricate movements imperceptible to the human eye. To display these details with absolute sharpness and precision, superior projection quality was essential.
At the same time, the exhibition’s multi-room, multi-sensory storytelling presented unique environmental challenges, requiring projectors that could adapt to varying layouts, lighting conditions, and spatial constraints while maintaining consistently high visual quality. The technology had to integrate seamlessly, ensuring visitors remained fully immersed without any technical distractions.
"We set the bar incredibly high,” said Gwenaël Allan, original creator and founder of Sensory Odyssey. "Our goal was to make visitors feel like they had super sensory abilities — to see, hear, and feel nature like never before. The projection technology we used had to be best in class to achieve that."
Precision Projection for an Unforgettable Journey
Through rigorous testing of multiple projection brands, Sensory Odyssey found that Panasonic’s projectors consistently delivered the image quality they demanded, ensuring audiences could experience hyper-realistic visuals without distortion or loss of detail. Sensory Odyssey used Panasonic’s PT-RQ13K 4K laser projectors paired with ET-D3LEU100 short-throw lenses, a combination that provided:
- Unmatched Clarity & Detail: With 5,120 x 3,200 resolution and Quad Pixel Drive technology, the PT-RQ13K rendered images so crisp that visitors could stand just a meter away from the projection surface without seeing any visible pixels.
- Seamless Image Blending: Panasonic’s 3-Chip DLP™ projectors allowed for perfect edge blending across multiple projection surfaces, ensuring a smooth, uninterrupted visual experience across rooms.
- Flexibility in Tight Spaces: The ET-D3LEU100 short-throw lenses enabled large-scale projections in rooms where space was limited, ensuring every detail remained sharp and distortion-free.
- Long-Term Reliability: With 20,000 hours of maintenance-free operation, Panasonic’s laser projection technology ensured that the exhibition could run continuously without the need for frequent servicing.
- Seamless System Integration: Panasonic’s projectors integrated effortlessly with Sensory Odyssey’s fully remote-controlled show system designed by Le Studio Dynamic (LSD), enabling precise, synchronized control across the entire multi-room experience.
"Panasonic’s projectors proved to be the ideal choice for meeting the demanding visual requirements of the Sensory Odyssey experience,” said Vincent Demarthe, Executive Producer for Sensory Odyssey. “In scenes like the Rainforest — shot in the Amazon and French Guiana — the projections had to handle countless shades of green, intricate textures, and sharp contrasts between shadow and light. Only the PT-RQ13K could deliver the color dynamics and contrast needed for such a hyper-realistic rendering.”
A Seamless, Multi-Sensory Experience That Inspires
While different venues used a mix of projection systems due to logistical constraints, Panasonic remained the preferred choice wherever the highest level of projection clarity was required.
For example, the Rainforest Room transported visitors to the towering canopy of the Amazon rainforest. Using breathtaking 360-degree projections, the experience began at the treetops — 40 meters above the ground — where visitors observed the delicate movements of wildlife. As they descended through the dense foliage, the environment shifted in real time, with changing light, sound, and scents that mimicked the transition from canopy to forest floor.
Panasonic’s 4K projection technology was essential for creating the ultra-crisp, hyper-realistic visuals that sustained this illusion. Every detail, from the texture of tree bark to the slow movement of a sloth, was projected with crisp clarity, even at extreme close-ups, ensuring that visitors felt fully immersed in the rainforest’s intricate ecosystem.
“Everything is experienced at such a macro level and is so close-up — if we didn’t have the quality projectors that we did with Panasonic, the imaging wouldn’t have been nearly as clear or sharp at that distance,” said Allan. “Visually, it simply would not have had the same impact.”
Setting a New Standard for Immersive Exhibits
Sensory Odyssey has redefined immersive storytelling, using cutting-edge technology to transport visitors into the heart of nature. By blending hyper-realistic visuals, multi-sensory engagement, and seamless projection mapping, the exhibition creates a deeply emotional and awe-inspiring experience that fosters a stronger connection to the living world.
By forging powerful sensory connections through perfectly synchronized visuals, sounds, and scents, the exhibition doesn’t just entertain—it inspires. Visitors don’t just observe nature; they feel a sense of belonging to it. Research shows that this emotional bond is critical: when people feel more connected to nature, they’re more likely to take action to protect it.
Through this deeply immersive and emotionally resonant experience, visitors gain not only a richer intellectual understanding of our planet, but also the emotional investment needed to drive meaningful environmental action.
Panasonic’s 4K projection technology was instrumental in bringing this vision to life, delivering unmatched clarity and precision to reveal nature’s hidden wonders. As Sensory Odyssey continues to expand and push the boundaries of interactive exhibitions, Panasonic remains a trusted partner in elevating the future of immersive storytelling.
To learn more about how Panasonic projectors can enhance your event, visit https://connect.na.panasonic.com/av/projectors.
For more information on Sensory Odyssey, visit https://www.sensoryodyssey.com/.
For additional information on all exhibition partners, visit:
- Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Scientific partner and co-producer)
- IFF (Scents)
- Mardi 8 (Audiovisual content production)
- Atelier Projectiles (Scenic design and architecture)
- Nicolas Becker & HAL Audio in collaboration with People are Sound (Sound)
- Chromatik (Lighting)
- Le Studio Dynamic (Show Control)
Sensory Odyssey is based on an original idea by Gwenaël Allan, in collaboration with Hervé Bouttet
