Personalized sci-fi exhibitions are bringing interactive storytelling to fans through Star Wars: The Experience, opening at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on February 13, 2027. Celebrating the franchise's 50th anniversary, the exhibition uses RFID technology to tailor each visitor's journey through choices that unlock different interactions and a customized finale.
Spanning 18,000 square feet, the experience combines original film artifacts with interactive installations. Visitors can explore Queen Amidala's costume designs, examine early spacecraft concepts, and participate in a simulated carbon-freezing sequence. The exhibition also features Darth Vader's costume and more than 90 collectible action figures, including rare prototypes.
For The Franklin Institute, the attraction creates opportunities to engage film enthusiasts through hands-on entertainment. Lucasfilm and Disney Consumer Products can extend audience connections beyond traditional media, while a planned five-year North American tour introduces the experience to additional markets.
Image Credit: The Franklin Institute
What's Driving This Trend
- Rfid-powered Storytelling
- RFID-enabled pathways give cultural venues a way to transform passive exhibits into adaptive narratives that deepen visitor engagement and collect meaningful preference data.
- Personalized Fan Journeys
- Customized finales and choice-based interactions signal a shift toward entertainment experiences that make fans feel like participants inside franchise worlds.
- Touring Immersive Exhibitions
- Mobile large-scale installations create scalable opportunities for media brands and museums to monetize fandom across multiple cities over extended periods.
Who This Affects Most
- Experiential Entertainment
- Immersive environments blending artifacts, technology, and interactivity are reshaping how audiences experience branded stories outside theaters and screens.
- Museums and Cultural Institutions
- Science centers and museums can use pop-culture partnerships to attract broader demographics while modernizing educational engagement through hands-on digital experiences.
- Media and Licensing
- Franchise owners gain new revenue channels by extending intellectual property into personalized physical attractions that strengthen loyalty and merchandise demand.
