ECC lighting up Christmas Night at the Museum

ECC lighting up Christmas Night at the Museum with green & red - two of a possible 16,500,000 hues

Spectacular green and red stripes of light will line the walls of Auckland Museum's architecturally-designed atrium this Thursday and Friday as darkness falls on the first ever Christmas Night at the Museum.

The lighting, the work of New Zealand company ECC Lighting & Furniture, will help set the scene using just two hues of an incredible colour palette made possible by newly installed LED lights.

Mixing the different colour gradients made possible by the LED lights can produce more than 16,500,000 different colours from true white to deep ink blue.

"It will be exciting to see how the Museum uses the new lighting. The potential to transform the Atrium for events and displays with infinite colour possibilities, timed sequences and dimming across all the lights, or individually, will make it a unique experience each time you walk in the door," says Mike Thorburn, Managing Director of ECC.

Recently named the first museum in the world to achieve CEMARs certification, the museum staff are looking forward to the cost efficiencies delivered by LED lighting, with bulbs set to last longer and less energy loss through heat.

"There are many benefits of the new Tagada RGB LED fittings. There is an immediate cost saving in terms of reduced wattage required by the 24W LED lamps, and long term savings in maintenance over the life of the lamp which extends up to 100,000 hours. The reduced heat generated by the LED lamps ensures that they are safe to walk over, which solves an issue with the lamps they replaced," says Thorburn.

In the museum environment less heat from lighting is an important saving with best collection care demanding galleries maintain consistent, moderate temperatures.

Auckland Museum's lighting team were also impressed with ECC's ability to make use of existing fittings, providing a substantial saving to the business.

Apart from observing the lights, anyone heading along to Christmas Night at the Museum can enjoy meeting Ebenezer Scrooge, the humbug host for the evening, visiting Father Christmas in his gallery grotto for those last minute requests, playing traditional Victorian Christmas parlour games and settling back to listen to Auckland choirs with a mulled wine.

Other activities and performances at Christmas Night at the Museum include:

• A Victorian-styled Christmas mini-market for any last minute present needs
• Auckland Girls Choir and Cantemus community choir (Thursday) and the Auckland Youth Choir (Friday) singing your favourite carols.
• The Band of the Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery playing some traditional Christmas tunes.
• The Diocesan Junior Bell-ringers performing in their inimitable style.
• Creating your own New Zealand style Christmas card
• Making a Reindeer candy cane decoration to hang on your tree
• Joining in a Christmas 'beach' scavenger hunt
• Creating Christmas decorations like those made by the 21st Battalion during WWII.
• Discovering the origins of many of those Christmas traditions we hold dear to our hearts.

ENDS

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