Interactive Media

Innovation is a core value at PBS Wisconsin — from reimagining how we tell stories to exploring new worlds through interactive media. Here, you’ll find bold experiments in 360 video, virtual tours, shaping the future of how we share Wisconsin stories.

Immersive Experiences

Immersive experiences put audiences at the heart of a story, creating deeper empathy and understanding. Through virtual reality and interactive design, we create powerful connections, transporting people to places they might never otherwise reach — from sunken shipwrecks to the tops of lighthouse towers.

Wisconsin Lighthouses: Illuminating Cana Island

Walk the footsteps of a Door County lighthouse keeper in this virtual window into life on Cana Island 150 years ago. Tour the grounds, listen to the sounds and read logbooks of the people who tended this iconic site.

Shipwrecks! The Immersive Experience invites you to explore the story of the SS Wisconsin – a passenger steamer that sank in Lake Michigan in 1929. Through a collection of 3D immersive tours — available both on the web and in Virtual Reality — you can dive deep into the wreckage and uncover its preserved history.

SS Wisconsin: The Sinking

Explore a recreated model of the SS Wisconsin on the night it sank, listen to survivor accounts, and discover the events that led to its sinking.

SS Wisconsin: Shipwreck

Dive into this interactive, exploratory tour of the SS Wisconsin in its current shipwrecked state. Investigate the shipwreck and discover underwater footage inside this historic site.

Virtual Tours

Virtual tours offer a 360-degree window into real-world locations, letting audiences click through and explore spaces at their own pace. These tours expand accessibility and open doors to deeper storytelling, offering new ways to experience places and stories from anywhere.

The Pottawatomie Lighthouse

Wisconsin’s first lighthouse stands sentinel on Rock Island. Step into this 3D scan of the 1836 lighthouse, walking from room to room and ascending from the keeper’s quarters up the stairs to the lantern room above.

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show

Step into the Botanical Quilts exhibit from the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show with this 360° virtual tour. Explore vibrant, plant-inspired quilts up close, and discover artist statements, detailed photos and behind-the-scenes views of each piece.

State Street Murals

Experience the State Street Murals, a virtual gallery documenting 70 works of street art created in response to the 2020 protests for racial justice. Navigate Madison’s iconic State Street in 360°, explore murals up close and learn about the artists’ powerful calls for change.

PBS Wisconsin Studios

Go behind the scenes at PBS Wisconsin with this interactive studio tour. Explore the studios, sets, control rooms, and equipment up close, and hear directly from staff about their work in lighting, graphics, audio, cameras, and more.

PBS Wisconsin Production Truck

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of PBS Wisconsin’s production truck — a mobile broadcast studio packed with specialized equipment. Explore inside, hear from staff about their work, and discover how the truck’s design celebrates the diverse stories of Wisconsin.

Games

Games are a powerful and rapidly growing storytelling platform connecting audiences across generations, cultures and communities. As this dynamic medium continues to expand, investing in games offers new opportunities to engage, educate and inspire across schools, homes and communities.

Legend of the Lost Emerald

The Legend of the Lost Emerald takes learners on a maritime quest through Great Lakes history. Players use critical thinking and inquiry skills to recover lost stories of shipwrecks in this classroom-centered adventure game, where real history and playful exploration come together.

Jo Wilder and the Capitol Case

Jo Wilder and the Capitol Case invites players to investigate mysterious artifacts and piece together real stories from Wisconsin’s past. Designed to build historical inquiry skills, this point-and-click adventure game challenges students to think like historians as they uncover hidden truths.

Civics Scribble

Developed by Nebraska Public Media, Civics Scribble is a line-drawing puzzle game that challenges players to flex their U.S. civics knowledge. Navigate 96 unique levels in a fun, retro-meets-modern game experience.

Powwow Bound

Set in and around the Menominee Reservation in northeastern Wisconsin, Powwow Bound allows players to follow the narrative of a Menominee family who is returning home to the reservation to connect with their family and community for the annual contest powwow.

360 Videos

360 videos capture real places and experiences, surrounding audiences with spatial audio and visuals. From drone flights to underwater dives, these immersive videos let viewers look in any direction and explore environments as if they are transported there.