Michael ZepedaDesign Director
← All work

Exhibits / Digital Experiences / Immersive Environments

French Valley Discovery Hangar

Riverside County, California2026 · Completed

A family-focused aviation discovery center where visitors explore the history, science, and future of flight through hands-on experiments, physical exhibits, digital interactives, and media.

My contribution

I led the overall design vision, experiential strategy, and multidisciplinary team from early concept through implementation. Our team developed interpretive content, graphics, and physical experiences, with specialized media partners integrated into the visitor journey.

How can aviation history become something you can touch and test?

Explore the exhibits

Interactive 3D

A closer look at
the science of flight.

Explore the individual exhibits from the Discovery Hangar. Choose a model, turn it around, and get closer to the details.

Suspended aircraft and a flight-history display in the Discovery Hangar.
Choose an exhibit, then open the 3D view.
Drag to orbit · Scroll or pinch to zoom

Keyboard: focus the model, then use arrow keys to rotate and + / − to zoom.

Select an exhibit

Wright brothers

A closer look at the exhibit form, interpretive graphics, and aircraft model.

Design model · French Valley Discovery Hangar

From the floor plan to the exhibit

The floor plan brings the individual experiences into a connected visitor route. Selected elevations show how interpretive graphics, media, and physical exhibits come together at the scale of the room.

Exhibit floor plan showing the visitor route and individual aviation exhibits.
Exhibit floor plan: the visitor route connects the individual experiences.
Design elevation of the aviation timeline wall with graphics, displays, and overhead speakers.
Aviation timeline: graphics, interactive media, and sound within one elevation.
Design elevations of the airplane exhibit with windows, simulators, interpretive graphics, and integrated seating.
Airplane exhibit: simulators, interpretation, and seating integrated into the aircraft form.
Design elevation of the French Valley Hangar backdrop with the pedal plane in front.
Hangar backdrop: a thematic elevation frames the pedal-plane experience.

Designed around the visitor

Audience research considered age ranges, regional travel distances, and family groups. The resulting journey offers different levels of physical, digital, and interpretive engagement, giving visitors several ways into the science of flight.

A child interacting with a colorful digital display.
Digital interaction offers another entry point into discovery.

One connected experience

Architecture, exhibit design, UI/UX, graphics, content, media, fabrication, and technology were coordinated together. Historical storytelling sits alongside direct experimentation and a forward-looking view of aviation.

Visitors experimenting together at a hands-on aviation exhibit.
Learning through testing and participation.

From concept to participation

The completed spaces put the exhibits into use: visitors test principles, explore digital media, and learn together. The design strategy also considered flexibility, maintenance, and the cost of continued operation.

Visitors facing three large aviation media screens.
Historical and future-focused media within the visitor journey.
Colorful airport-code graphics incorporated into an exhibit detail.
An airport-inspired graphic language at the scale of the detail.

Opening day

The opening-day gathering marked the transition from design and fabrication to a place for the community. The Discovery Hangar welcomed visitors into an experience built around curiosity, shared discovery, and hands-on exploration of flight.

Opening-day guests gathered beneath a canopy, facing a speaker at a podium framed by balloons and flags.
Opening day at the French Valley Discovery Hangar.

Collaboration & credits

  • Practice: PBK / Ether.
  • Photography: Michael Zepeda.
Image credits
  • Completed aviation exhibit hall. — Photography: Michael Zepeda.
  • Digital interaction offers another entry point into discovery. — Photography: Michael Zepeda.
  • Learning through testing and participation. — Photography: Michael Zepeda.
  • Historical and future-focused media within the visitor journey. — Photography: Michael Zepeda.
  • An airport-inspired graphic language at the scale of the detail. — Photography: Michael Zepeda.
  • Opening day at the French Valley Discovery Hangar. — Photography: Michael Zepeda.
  • Exhibit floor plan: the visitor route connects the individual experiences. — Design drawings: PBK / Ether. Final design intent package, October 2025.
  • Aviation timeline: graphics, interactive media, and sound within one elevation. — Design drawings: PBK / Ether. Final design intent package, October 2025.
  • Airplane exhibit: simulators, interpretation, and seating integrated into the aircraft form. — Design drawings: PBK / Ether. Final design intent package, October 2025.
  • Hangar backdrop: a thematic elevation frames the pedal-plane experience. — Design drawings: PBK / Ether. Final design intent package, October 2025.

Next project

Pleasure Island