Crestview Welcome + Adventure Center

CHALLENGE: How do you show travelers that the Emerald Coast adventure doesn’t stop at the beach?” Destin-Fort Walton Beach wanted its Crestview Welcome + Adventure Center to be more than a brochure rack. The goal: a destination in its own right that celebrates the region’s waters, wildlife and outdoor adventure, and sends visitors out to explore their incredible community.

SOLUTION: SDG led the redesign of the Welcome + Adventure Center, modernizing it with bold interior design, a vibrant Emerald Coast color palette and hands-on exhibits that make visitors want to stay.

• A digital reef aquarium. With Workinman Interactive, we brought a touch-table aquarium to the center. Visitors color sea creatures, scan them and watch them swim into a 3D reef built around the M/V Chepanoc, a real shipwreck that serves as an artificial reef off Okaloosa County. A lionfish game teaches kids about the invasive species threatening local reefs.
• Deep-sea fishing experience. SDG designed and built a two-station simulator where guests grab the same rods and reels anglers use in the Gulf and fight species found in local waters, from tarpon, sailfish, marlin and mako shark to largemouth bass. Big-screen video puts them on the water, the rod pulls back as the fish runs, and every catch earns a spot on a leaderboard inspired by Destin’s famous Fishing Rodeo.
• Touch Screen Little Adventure Interactive puts the Welcome + Adventure Center team’s Little Adventures programming at guests’ fingertips. Visitors search activities by interest, age, price and duration, browse options vetted by local “Scouts,” watch kid-made video reviews and book on the spot, from dolphin sails and snorkeling to paddleboarding and family fishing trips.
• SUP Boards with integrated touchscreens engage families and help them plan what to do next.

The center now works as the front door to north Okaloosa’s adventures, giving visitors a reason to stop and a reason to explore.