Color-Ad, Inc.

05/01/2026

A Royal Look at Color-Ad’s Work 👑

Honored to see King Charles taking in the exhibits we built at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center. We’re incredibly proud to partner with organizations like the National Park Service, where our work reaches a diverse range of visitors—from first field trips to royal visits.

11/07/2025

09/26/2025

We’ve successfully completed another shop inspection for our work on the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park exhibit.

For this inspection, our team fabricated a variety of custom elements to bring the park's story to life. These included large curved graphic panels and interactive video displays that provide visitors with a deeper understanding of the park's volcanic activity and cultural history. We also presented interactive tool rails and flip book pages for hands-on engagement, a tactile exhibit map designed for visitors with visual impairments, and flip panel rails that play audio of the local wildlife.

A special highlight of this inspection was a large artifact case, one of seven N140 cases built for the project. The N140 is part of our proprietary CAISAS by Color-Ad product line, which features museum-quality showcases designed to protect and present collections at the highest standard.

The material surfaces and finished look of the exhibits were given a strong botanical theme, reflecting the natural landscapes and materials of Hawaii. The overall design is very story and event-focused, highlighting key moments in the park's history, from ancient petroglyphs and stone walls to the more recent development of historic roads and structures.

09/16/2025

Our team at Color-Ad has just completed a successful exhibit shop inspection for the Cambridge American Cemetery.

Once installed, this exhibit will take visitors through the history of the critical campaigns that contributed to the Allied offensive operations in Europe, conveying the stories of the American experience during World War II.

For our exhibit projects, the shop inspection is a critical step in the process. It allows our project team to conduct a comprehensive review of all exhibit elements while at our shop. This ensures that each content meets the design intent, as well as the needs of the client and future visitors.

We've fabricated a variety of custom elements to tell this story, including a partially-recreated B-17 cockpit, the Red Cross Club mobile, a mannequin case, reproduced ration and TNT crates, props, and tactile maps, and several graphics. Several AV elements will also be integrated into the exhibit, such as an animated map, a Welcome to Britain Video, and a Battle of the Atlantic interactive. These elements will take visitors through what life was like for American service members in Britain during the war, whether they were preparing for combat, experiencing British culture, or flying dangerous missions.

08/08/2025

06/25/2025

Here's another behind-the-scenes look at an exciting AV interactive currently in development for an exhibit at Three Lakes Nature Center in Richmond, Virginia!

This dynamic digital sand table combines a familiar recreational activity with innovative augmented reality. You'll notice projected dinosaurs roam land, sea, and sky, while the shifting sand reshapes the environment in real-time. A special custom feature we've added includes an acrylic pattern of the Three Lakes that anchors the table to its local setting, blending community and education into an immersive experience.

This hands-on element is part of a larger installation we're conducting later this summer, all designed to support the Center’s mission of serving and engaging its community through nature-based learning.

06/24/2025

Here’s a look at our production progress for Three Lakes Nature Center in Richmond, Virginia—an osteological replica of a woolly mammoth skull cast from an actual specimen discovered in Alaska.

Our mount maker met with project manager to plan the assembly and mounting of the skull. The primary focus for this installation was safety—ensuring the mount would support the replica while maintaining a visually minimal presence to preserve the impact of the display. A couple of challenges included the weight of the cast and the need for reinforcement systems. Our mount maker consulted with our woodshop and CNC experts to develop a mechanical fastening solution, which has been implemented and brings us one step closer to having the mammoth skull ready for installation.

Our mount maker is now finalizing a kit with materials, photos, and instructions for the team to use during the upcoming installation. As she continues her work, she notes that every exhibit project is one-of-a-kind and presents its own unique challenges. She also shares that Color-Ad’s diverse catalog of knowledge allows the team to support one another in finding the best solutions for our clients.

Thanks to the work of our mount maker, project manager, and installation team, this replica will soon be on display alongside other fossil models in a gallery focused on Virginia’s ancient past.

06/19/2025

Here's a look into one of our latest production pieces—a solar-powered interactive wayside… shaped like an alligator!

Developed as a prototype for our upcoming project with Everglades National Park, this unique piece blends creative design and sustainable technology. With guidance from our Project Manager Director and the expertise of our CAD, CNC, and shop teams, the build features routed aluminum, HDPE parts, MDF, and a motor—all engineered to evolve from concept to field-ready experience.

Just like real alligators rely on the sun, this prototype uses solar energy. This will occur when visitors lift a panel to expose the solar cells, which will power a 5rpm motor to animate the jaw and tail, bringing the gator to life.

06/12/2025

We’re thrilled to share that the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Cape Hatteras, NC, took home the Gold MUSE Award in the Exhibition Experience category this March! The MUSE Awards honor outstanding achievements in exhibits across a wide range of categories, and we’re proud to have played a part in this nationally recognized project.

Completed in 2024, the project was a collaboration between Color-Ad and Riggs Ward Design, with Color-Ad leading the fabrication and installation. Through exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail, our team helped transform how visitors experience the perilous history of mariners off the North Carolina coast. The exhibit at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum offers an immersive journey that honors and preserves the seafaring legacy of the Outer Banks.

04/17/2025

Congratulation to Color-Ad’s own welder and fabricator, Erika Cortez, who was featured in Prince William County Public Schools Success video. In March, PWCS interviewed Erika about her professional development following her recent graduation in 2024 from the school’s Career and Technical Education program (CTE). Color-Ad recently established a partnership with PWCS through their CTE Department with the goal to implement work-based learning opportunities for students in the program.

Erika shares her own experiences with the CTE program and showcases her fabrication expertise for a large signage project with the City of McKinney in Texas.

She is a prime example of how this partnership helped her grow within her trade and apply herself at Color-Ad, where she is able to immerse herself in complex signage and exhibition projects.