Swiss Chocolate Adventure

From the tropical forest to the chocolate box: The "Swiss Chocolate Adventure" at the Swiss Museum of Transport invites visitors on a multimedia journey into the world of chocolate. Combined with the relevant aspects of logistics and typical Swissness attributes such as tradition and a pioneering and innovative spirit, it communicates the origins and manufacture of the chocolate product.

The entire multimedia ride was planned and tested in advance with a real-time 3D simulation. By making it possible to experience the ride from different perspectives, the timing and control system could be precisely matched to each other, long before the physical construction had even begun. The interfaces between different technical components such as backdrop controls and automatic doors, video and sound, were also tested in the simulation.

In addition, the use of people movers enables a flexible visitor guidance system. Each vehicle has an autonomous control system, follows induction wires laid into the flooring, can change tracks and thus, is able to safely navigate intersections and culs-de-sac. The rotatable superstructure of the vehicles makes it possible to control the visitors' viewing direction - independent of the direction of motion.

The 20-minute ride in the people mover first takes the visitors into the open exhibition space, where they meet four industry professionals: the cocoa administrator in Ghana, the buyer in Switzerland, the quality assurance specialist and the Master Chocolatier in the factory. They all have a hand in transforming the cocoa bean into the sensory experience that is chocolate. Large-scale projections beside each professional illustrate his or her story.

Alternating with the projections, the visitors enter four themed cylinders. Navigated individually by each people mover, they offer immersive experiences and present fascinating facts about the cultivation and harvest of the cocoa beans, the Swiss resources milk and sugar, the history of Swiss chocolate and the Praliné as the culmination of the art of chocolate. Moving backdrops enhance the storytelling.

An intermezzo interrupts the journey. All ten people movers now glide through the exhibition space in a joint choreography. Surrounded by large-scale projections and sounds, a collective experience is created, during which the travellers themselves seem to become part of the flowing cocoa mass.

By combining entertainment and information, a guided exhibition tour and a diversely staged ride, the "Swiss Chocolate Adventure" becomes a sustainable experience.

The journey begins and ends in the elevator, a mobile freight container that takes the visitors to the exhibition level. Panoramic views suggest the voyage on a cargo ship from the port of Hamburg to West Africa - to one of the world's largest cocoa producing areas. Later, on the way back, the freight container shows the worldwide export of the chocolates.