The first major renovation of the Mapparium began in 1998 and took four years to complete. Krent/Paffett Associates of Boston used the “Color Kinetics” lighting system in the exhibit, creating a way to tell stories in the globular space. Kevin Brown of Brown Innovations designed the four-speaker sound system, solving the problem presented by the Mapparium’s unique acoustics. As the first step in renovation, the entire globe was temporarily covered in plywood while heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems were upgraded. In 1935 the Mapparium had been illuminated by roughly 300 40- and 60-watt electric light bulbs placed outside the sphere. In their place 206 LED light fixtures were installed, which could be programmed to produce up to 16 million colors. This new programming produced many different effects. For example, an all-blue array caused the continents to recede into silhouette and the oceans to come forward (shifting attention from the geopolitical map to geographic forms). LED panels are environmentally friendly—even if left on 24 hours a day, they would last for years. A television monitor for multimedia presentations replaced the original window from the Publishing House Lobby. Another significant upgrade to the Mapparium’s lighting occurred in 2015. Over a period of four weeks, Focus Lighting of New York City refitted the space with 175 new LED fixtures. In addition to red, green, and blue colors, amber and white were added. The number of lumens per fixture increased from 460 to 1372, providing dramatic new brightness. A new control system was installed, and workflow was upgraded so that program content can now be designed, produced, and implemented in a fraction of the former time and at no additional cost. To clean the glass in the Mapparium, a cherry-picker is set up in the middle of the bridge. Workers go out on the machine’s arm and clean each panel with a gentle solution.