Virginia Tech® home

ACCelerate Creativity + Innovation Festival

A child and two adults interact with a hands-on science exhibit while an ICAT staff member demonstrates the installation during a public outreach event.

The ACCelerate Creativity + Innovation Festival is a celebration of creative exploration and innovative research happening at the intersection of science, engineering, arts, and design from across the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Smithsonian Institution.

ACCelerate is programmed by Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology and the Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Hosted at the National Museum of American History, the multi-day festival is free and open to the public. 

Sound Arcade

The ACCelerate Festival featured an outdoor sound arcade and projection mapping installation at the National Museum of American History entrance facing the National Mall. The interactive sound arcade contained three rectangular sculptures. During the day, participants were able to interact with the sculptures by using LED wands to experiment with a 3D sound system in real time. During the evening, the project took on visual layer of interaction. The event featured video projection onto the sculptures. Participants used LED interactive wands to illuminate the space in real time. As participants moved around the sound arcade area, data was gathered by their movements and used to create new sounds and illuminations on the projected forms.

Architectural view of ICAT's dynamic LED media façade illuminating the interior atrium during an interactive digital arts installation.