Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
We are the Executive Creative Directors and Storytellers for this groundbreaking new immersive, interactive museum.
Challenge
How do you create a living institution centered around a man who died more than a century ago? When Edward O’Keefe became Chief Executive Officer of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation (TRPLF) in 2019, he sought to build “a presidential library for the 2020s, not the 1920s.” O’Keefe innately knew that understanding the life and legacy of the beloved 26th president required more than just placing artifacts under glass. The TRPLF engaged Future of StoryTelling (FoST) as their first creative hire to act as the institution’s Executive Creative Directors and Storytellers.
Solution
FoST worked closely with the Library to formulate a bold, story-first vision to guide the institution’s development. We translated the TRPL’s mission for the new Library, as well as their three pillar principles of citizenship, leadership, and conservation, into a cohesive storytelling foundation to guide the institution’s continued development. The ultimate goal was to help each guest learn not just about TR, but from him—inspiring them to fully engage “in the arena” with their heads, hearts, and hands long after leaving the physical building.
As Executive Creative Directors and Storytellers, FoST not only crafted a strong experience concept design for this new “living library” but helped the TRPL execute it by assembling and overseeing the right partners to shape the interpretive design of exhibits and experiences, as well as the physical building itself. Working together, we were able to develop emotionally powerful, balanced, and interactive experiences, creating a modern, world-class institution fit to carry Roosevelt’s legacy forward into the future.
Writing the Story Guide
To provide a narrative blueprint for the TRPL and its associated experiences, FoST developed a comprehensive 350-page Story Guide to act as the institution’s handbook. The guide introduced the Library’s mission, voice, principles, and tenets, as well as provided those working on the Library with a deep TR story bank to draw from. This document outlined an overarching strategy to ensure a consistent vision, voice, and spirit to guide development and construction. The guide describes the TRPL as “a people’s presidential library,” instructs collaborators to “humanize, don’t lionize,” and frames each visitor as a participant rather than a passive observer.
Overseeing Immersive Design
The TRPL’s goal was never just to tell TR’s story but, rather, to help guests discover what his life might mean for their own. FoST worked closely with the TRPL’s many design partners in both design and project management roles to ensure that every exhibit and experience would not just follow the Library’s storytelling blueprint but would be specifically designed to translate Roosevelt’s values into action. Our goal is for every guest to return home inspired to become more engaged citizens, leaders, and conservationists—creating the future they want to inhabit.
To build a true “museum of the future,” we helped hire and oversee a dream team of top-tier firms to design and fabricate all of the Library’s exhibits, including graphics and more than 60 media pieces. Along the way, we served as the connective tissue between these teams and the architecture and building teams to make sure that all of these pieces came together seamlessly.
For the exhibit content, we collaborated with a team of TR historians to curate artifacts and all-around storytelling for the history-focused narrative galleries as well as the activity-focused experience galleries. We worked with the TRPL and all partners to leverage cutting-edge technology to create next-generation experiences that place each visitor at the center of the hero’s journey, with TR as a guide.
A Compass for the Journey
Trailblazer System. Visitors don a radio-frequency identification compass wristband upon entering the Library, creating a personalized profile including a photograph. The compass allows guests to engage with interactive experiences, including placing their images and values directly into digital keepsakes using AI. The compass also keeps track of each interaction, building a story that culminates at the end of the journey to affirm the principles they explored and encouraging them to take action “in the arena” once they leave the Library.
Face to Face with the 26th President
Meet the President. Guests can convene with an AI-generated avatar of TR to ask any questions they have. The 26th president’s responses are generated from a curated archive of his books, letters, speeches, diaries, and biographies.
Young TR’s Wonder, Reimagined
Roosevelt Museum of Natural History. This re-creation of TR’s childhood bedroom features a whimsical and interactive natural history exhibit where visitors can take specimens from the natural world and have them interact in a large-scale digital diorama.
Navigating the River of Doubt
The Amazon: River of Doubt. Seated in dugout canoes, guests participate in one of Roosevelt’s most formidable adventures: traversing a treacherous uncharted river deep within the Amazon rainforest. A 15-minute immersive film, which uses 14 projectors to create an engaging environment across the space, allows visitors to virtually navigate the river, overcoming key moments of challenge and conflict.
The Making of a Rough Rider
Cowboy Campfire. Visitors can take in thrilling tales of life in the Badlands, including the adventures and challenges that transformed TR from a city slicker into a resilient frontiersman, as they are projected onto approximately 180-degrees of rockwork.
Producing Cohesive Story Materials
FoST is also responsible for crafting bespoke print and digital materials befitting the Library’s stature, for use in everything from fundraising to marketing to programming to the exhibits themselves. In early 2020, we developed the TRPL’s Request for Qualifications, which guided the international competition to design the Library’s physical building and surrounding campus. We also produce books, presentations, campus maps, brochures, programs, annual reports, invitations, holiday cards, postcards, donor gifts, and a range of educational materials–among other materials–as needed.
Developing a Content Studio
The TRPL Content Studio, also developed by FoST, helps the Library share its mission and messaging outside its four walls. Long before the Library’s doors opened, the content studio conceived of several initiatives to raise awareness of the institution, as well as to bring TR’s life, legacy, and values to current conversations. With the Library’s support, we have planned, overseen, and released content studio projects like the original podcast, Good Citizen with Ted Roosevelt V, and an augmented reality game, Rangers Wanted.
We continue to work with the TRPL on expanding their content strategy and studio initiatives to build the Library’s national platform.
