HERO LBE CASE STUDY · UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE LICENSED
How 4,000 years of human curiosity became a high-capacity, multi-sensory family experience for Shanghai—and a touring platform for future venue partners.
THE CASE IN ONE MINUTE
From Magic World to Science is the University of Cambridge's first immersive touring LBE: a journey from myth and ancient philosophy to the discoveries that shaped modern science.
Opening in Shanghai on 5 July 2025, the experience combined credible collection stories, monumental scenic environments and hands-on play for families, students and science-minded audiences. It welcomed more than 40,000 visitors in its first 30 days and 100,000 visitors during its first three months.
ARTiSTORY CASE STUDY FILM · 1 MIN 22 SEC
See how ARTiSTORY's cultural research, curatorial narrative and visitor-journey thinking were translated into a live, family-facing LBE in Shanghai.
FROM MAGIC WORLD TO SCIENCE · UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE LICENSED · SHANGHAI 2025
THE CHALLENGE
Cambridge's scientific heritage spans rare books, instruments, architecture and the work of thinkers across many civilizations. The task was not simply to display that material. It was to create an accessible attraction with the pace, spectacle and participation expected by contemporary family audiences.
The experience also had to work operationally: sustain a 70–90 minute visit, support high throughput, adapt to a major public venue and retain the authority of the University of Cambridge throughout every touchpoint.
Read the official ARTiSTORY project profileTHE EXPERIENCE
Visitors move from a world explained through myth, through the exchange of knowledge between cultures, and into Cambridge's role in the development of modern science.
PRELUDEA ceremonial Cambridge-inspired portico leads to the Temple of Delphi and a nearly four-metre Zeus. Monumental scale creates an immediate emotional threshold: visitors enter a world where divine explanation is about to give way to reason.
Zeno, Thales, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato and Archimedes become active encounters rather than distant names. Paradoxes, geometry, motion, astronomy and debate are translated into physical challenges visitors can test for themselves.
The story expands beyond Europe to the translation movements and technologies that preserved and advanced knowledge. Baghdad's House of Wisdom, Chinese encyclopaedic traditions and mathematical tools reveal science as a shared human endeavour.
Newton's Apple Tree, Principia Mathematica, the Herschel Telescope and the Bridge of Sighs bring intellectual history into a series of intimate, playful and highly shareable environments.
INSIDE THE EXPERIENCE
Scroll to explore distinct moments from the live exhibition—from ancient philosophy and the movement of knowledge to modern discovery.
FROM SOURCE TO SITE
The project brought together the University of Cambridge's institutional authority with the combined creative, production and operating expertise of ARTiSTORY and Museum Box.
Licensed the experience and opened access to stories and collections from Cambridge University Library, the Whipple Museum of the History of Science and the wider collegiate university.
Teamed up to create and deliver the experience. ARTiSTORY shaped the audience proposition, curatorial narrative, visitor journey and rights pathway; Museum Box led detailed design, construction and day-to-day operation for a high-capacity live exhibition.
This joined-up model reflects ARTiSTORY's cultural experiences and activations practice: cultural research, rights, narrative and spatial creative direction aligned with Museum Box's specialist production and operating expertise.
PROVEN IN SHANGHAI · BUILT TO TRAVEL
The Shanghai premiere showed that rigorous cultural content and destination entertainment can reinforce one another—creating a format with educational credibility, broad family appeal and commercial potential.
Family learning, school engagement and science storytelling sit inside a visually rewarding visitor experience.
Regional stories and collection connections can be added while the core Cambridge narrative remains consistent.
A globally recognised academic brand helps venues build cultural prestige, tourism appeal and media interest.
Concept, rights, creative direction, fabrication coordination, marketing support and operations are aligned through one pathway.
FOR VENUE PARTNERS
From Magic World to Science is designed for major libraries, museums, science centres, cultural destinations and mixed-use venues seeking a credible, family-facing ticketed experience.
Explore ARTiSTORY's end-to-end approach and more examples from our international work.