Brand ExperiencesHistory

Museum
of Ingenuity
J. Armand Bombardier

Location

Valcourt, Canada

Client

Museum of Ingenuity J. Armand Bombardier / J. Armand Bombardier Museum Foundation

Surface area

13,239 sq ft / 1,230 m²

Completion date

2016

museum visitor explores the future of mobility exhibit

Overview

First open to the public in 1971, the J. Armand Bombardier Museum was due for a complete overhaul. With a full 360 turnkey approach, GSM Project was mandated to design and build an interactive exhibition, developing the visitor experience, the exhibition’s storyline as well as all content, design and interactive elements.

"Embodying ingenuity into a concrete visitor experience was not an easy feat.
GSM Project took on the
challenge with great creativity and professionalism."

Lyne Lavoie

Executive Director of the J. Armand Bombardier Foundation

Photo credit: Olivier Blouin

The Bombardier Story

Digging into Bombardier’s rich history, we wove their earliest inventions and greatest successes into one compelling story. The exhibition showcases decades of ingenuity and innovation "à la Bombardier," illustrating the company's evolution from a small-town garage to a multinational firm.

Source: J. Armand Bombardier Foundation

Photo credit: Olivier Blouin

Embodying Ingenuity

The focus on ingenuity led our creative team to highlight not only Bombardier’s many great successes, but also the processes that led to those accomplishments. Catering to a wide range of audiences, from megafans to young families, we created an experience that made ingenuity something visitors could see and touch.

Photo credit: Olivier Blouin

Visitors get a chance to interact with Bombardier's earliest inventions to better understand how the technology works.
Photo credit: Olivier Blouin

An Interactive Learning Experience

Visitors to the exhibit get a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process, an opportunity to meet the people behind invention, a crash course in engineering and mechanics, and a chance to try on the inventor’s cap for themselves. The museum wouldn’t be complete without the full-size models to let visitors rev a snowmobile, ride a packed streetcar, or take the controls in the cockpit of a jet.

Photo credit: Olivier Blouin

Summary

Our Challenge: To create a museum experience embodying the core value that’s guided Bombardier since its very inception, ingenuity.