MUSEUM EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, one of the largest Holocaust museums in the United States, required a robust on-premise emergency alert system to strengthen safety and communication throughout its 65,000-square-foot facility in Skokie, Illinois. The objective was to implement a wireless emergency alert solution designed to support security protocols and protect visitors, staff, and executive leadership during critical events such as intruder threats, active shooter incidents, or other emergencies. The system needed to deliver reliable, facility-wide coverage with the following essential capabilities:

Visiplex’s wireless emergency alert system was implemented at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center using a central wireless paging base station installed at the main entrance security desk. The system monitored multiple wall-mounted wireless panic buttons strategically placed throughout the museum for fast emergency activation.

The solution included a network of indoor wireless audio-visual PA speakers and high-powered horn speakers, installed in key areas across the 65,000-square-foot facility to ensure comprehensive voice coverage and effective emergency communication.

To enhance visibility and comply with ADA requirements, the system also featured modern, visually appealing, wireless LED message boards and multi-color beacon lights, providing clear, facility-wide visual alerts during emergencies.

All system components were equipped with built-in battery backup, guaranteeing continuous functionality during power outages and ensuring uninterrupted emergency notification capabilities.

In emergency scenarios, the system enables live voice paging with real-time instructions or automatically plays pre-recorded emergency voice messages tailored to events such as intruders, active shooter incidents, or lockdowns.

For daily operations, the system supports routine overhead announcements, while the LED message boards display synchronized time and internal alerts to enhance staff communication and visitor coordination.

Despite installation challenges within a fully operational museum environment, Visiplex technicians completed the full deployment of the wireless emergency alert system with no disruption to daily operations. Final system testing, commissioning, and on-site staff training were conducted to ensure reliable, seamless performance.

Optimized Wireless Emergency Alert System Performance – The wireless audio-visual emergency alert system was successfully implemented across the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, significantly enhancing facility-wide safety, emergency readiness, and real-time communication with staff and visitors. This fully integrated solution improved operational efficiency while delivering the following key capabilities: