The Neon Museum unveils significant upgrade to its North Gallery, home its popular 360-degree audiovisual show Brilliant!
The improvements within the newly reimagined North Gallery are focused on enhancing the educational experience offered in the space and include a new “Las Vegas Luminaries” mural, the next iteration of the museum’s immersive show titled Brilliant! Jackpot, new educational components, and customer feedback options.
“With the reimagination of the North Gallery, we wanted to create an experience that enhanced the museum’s popular Brilliant! show, which has been upgraded to Brilliant! Jackpot with more music and new video,” said Aaron Berger, executive director of The Neon Museum. “The North Gallery now helps raise awareness about unique individuals who have shaped Las Vegas culturally. We also added interactive educational elements that allow visitors to take a deeper dive into the history highlighted in the show as well as the science of neon signs. Ultimately, our goal is to make the North Gallery a comprehensive and unforgettable experience.”
As part of the reimagined space, The Neon Museum worked with local artists to add the “Las Vegas Luminaries” mural on the area’s south wall to pay tribute to the diverse communities and lesser-known individuals who have significantly impacted Las Vegas cultural history. As a freestanding work of public art, the mural is viewable 24/7 for free; a ticket to the show or museum is not required.
The mural serves as an iconic entryway for Brilliant!, a 360-degree immersive show that underwent its most significant update yet to its music and video presentation as part of the North Gallery’s reimagination. The new iteration of the show, entitled Brilliant! Jackpot, includes an expanded playlist and remastered historical video.
“Renamed Brilliant! Jackpot, guests hit the jackpot with its incomparable combination of technology, video, and music to create a breathtaking multisensory experience that highlights the art and history of Las Vegas,” added Berger, noting the expanded playlist will offer slightly varied experiences with different versions featuring unique visuals and music reflective of different eras of Las Vegas history.
The entry into North Gallery also includes two new educational elements. Brilliant!’s creator, Craig Winslow, virtually greets guests on a 65-inch monitor to explain how he uses technology used to create the show that brings non-operational neon signs back to life. He discusses a process he calls augmented restoration to digitally trace every sign, bulb by bulb, tube by tube, to bring them back to life. The artwork is then projected back onto the signs creating 360 degrees of light and sound transporting guests back into vintage Las Vegas.
Guests also learn about the science behind neon signs via a new docent-led demonstration of using a neon tester on a neon N sign to see if the gas tubes are fully intact. The current from the device sends a charge to the gas still trapped inside the sign to reilluminate the sign.
Upon exiting Brilliant! Jackpot, guests can provide feedback on their experience and learn more about the signs in the show via a new LED-lit wall display. The wall also provides a unique photo opportunity as people can now “see” through the wall into the North Gallery as a new 29-foot-long by 6-foot-high vinyl wrap presents a visual representation of the show.
Tickets to Brilliant! Jackpot are available online for $23 per person or $19 for local residents. The show runs 25 minutes in length every evening (show times vary).
