Immersing Atlanta in bubbles and balls at Exhibition Hub
Since Exhibition Hub opened in Doraville three years ago, it has offered a potpourri of educational, historical and artistic displays on topics including Vincent Van Gogh, the sinking of the Titanic, King Tut and massive Lego installations.
Its latest offering is pure whimsy: the Bubble Planet, a blend of interactive and artistic bubble-themed displays including a pool full of plastic “bubbles,” a room where soap bubbles shoot out and a space stuffed with oversize balls.
The immersive experience, which is expected to be presented for several months, is open daily expect Tuesdays.
“We do so much rich cultural stuff,” said John Zaller, Exhibition Hub chief creative officer, based out of Atlanta. “Let’s make something super fun. What was the most fun you had as a child? Playing with bubbles.”
Zaller said the bubble immersive, which debuted in 2022 at the Exhibition Hub in Los Angeles, has proven to be a crowd pleaser, especially for families with younger kids. But he said couples also show up, and individuals and organizations can rent out the space for parties.
“We feel this could stay in Atlanta for a long time,” he said. “We have a cafe and bar set up for evening events. It’s a show that is about play and joy and inspiration and creativity and expression. It’s like an indoor theme park.”
Here are some of the key elements:
Underwater LED room: This opening room replicates the bottom of the ocean with an interactive floor full of sea creatures.
Bubble ocean: This is an excuse to navigate oversize inflatable balls. “It’s kind of hard to resist,” Zaller said as he waded through the room.
Bubble dome: The half dome features an outer skin video display featuring a 10-minute artistic whoosh of colors and patterns. “We get a lot of content creators recording here,” he said. You can also enter the interior of the dome and plop down on beanbags to watch the video display and listen to a surround sound mélange of audio effects. “It’s a sound bath that washes over you while you sit and reflect,” Zaller said.
Selfie room: The room features spaces for people to do selfies amid heart-shaped balloons, a swing hanging from a bunch of balloons and what Zaller calls a “fan favorite”: a bathtub filled with yellow rubber duckies. There are a few simple bubble themed video games including one that enables the Mona Lisa or a self portrait of Van Gogh to blow massive bubblegum bubbles until they pop.
The pool of bubbles: Last year, an Italian company presented the Bubble Museum at Pullman Yards, featuring a massive ball pit installation with tens of thousands of little plastic balls. If you missed that, you can jump into Exhibition Hub’s similar “bubble bath” pool where you take off your shoes, then dive “under” and disappear. “If you have anything in your pockets, you better take them out,” Zaller said. “I’ve pulled a lot of earbuds out of here.”
Bubble VR: At the end of the experience, there’s a 10-minute bubble-themed virtual reality show that allows you to float through various scenarios where bubbles exist such as under the ocean, in a glass of Champagne, in a hot tub. “This is our version of the Bubbleverse,” Zaller said.
If you go
“Bubble Planet”
Open-ended run. 9:30 am-6:30 pm. $23.90 to $31.90 depending on the day. Open daily except Tuesday. Exhibition Hub, 5660 Buford Hwy NE, Doraville, 470-909-0593, bubble-planet.com/atlanta/.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
