Family on the Swiss Chocolate Adventure Ride
People inside the Swiss Chocolate Adventure elevator
17.06.2014

Swiss Chocolate Adventure opens at the Swiss Museum of Transport

How did Switzerland, a country known for its Alps, become equally famous for its chocolate? This is a question that the 'Swiss Chocolate Adventure' at the Swiss Museum of Transport seeks to answer. An attraction that's unique in Switzerland, the 'Swiss Chocolate Adventure' offers a multimedia journey providing insights into the discovery, provenance, manufacture and transport of chocolate. iart was responsible for the overall planning and realisation of the project (concept, media and lighting planning, ride planning). ATELIER BRÜCKNER provided the content, scenography and exhibition design.

Visitors, in the role of passengers, enter a lift in the form of a freight container. This takes them on a cargo ship to West Africa and one of the world's largest cocoa-growing areas. Panoramic screens in the container suggest the sea crossing and the arrival at the port. The adventure presents the entire processing and transport chain from the cultivation of the cocoa bean, its transport to Switzerland, and the manufacture and sale of the end product. Seeing, hearing, tasting: this multimedia voyage of discovery appeals to a range of senses.

From virgin forest to box of pralines

Visitors are treated to four complementary thematic displays during the 25-minute or so journey. In the virgin forest they learn about the cultivation and harvesting of the cocoa bean, while in the Swissness Diorama they are presented Switzerland's agriculture, which delivers the other raw ingredients needed for production — milk and sugar. In the world of chocolate pioneers, visitors encounter those who dreamed up Switzerland's world-famous, melt-in-the-mouth chocolate products. They include François-Louis Cailler, Philippe Suchard, Daniel Peter, Rodolphe Lindt and Rudolf Sprüngli, whose entrepreneurial and inventive flair set milestones in the industry. The journey culminates with a box of pralines, which visitors are welcome to taste.

Encounter with professionals

Alongside the thematic displays are four industry professionals explaining their roles. They all have a hand in transforming the cocoa bean into the sensory experience that is chocolate: the cocoa administrator in Ghana, the buyer in Switzerland and the quality assurance specialist checking the cocoa beans on their arrival. Lastly the Master Chocolatier reveals which is his favourite chocolate and initiates visitors into the secrets of chocolate making.

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