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About Us

Our team is dedicated to creating transformative digital experiences, enjoying a healthy work/life balance, and having a good time while we're at it.

Our Mission

We craft dynamic digital experiences that engage audiences.

For over twenty five years, we have combined storytelling, design, and technology to encourage learning, engagement, and participation onsite and online. We are passionate about digital experiences and are thrilled to collaborate with amazing partners and share compelling stories.

The Night Kitchen team sitting outside

Our History

It was a dark and stormy night...

Night Kitchen began back with an inspiration: the children’s book In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak. His belief that both picture and word serve vital and distinct storytelling functions is one of our guiding principles to this day.

In 1997, as Night Kitchen Media, we produced The Splendor of 18th Century Rome, The Voyage of the Amistad, and Explore Kilauea Volcano out of a loft space in Philadelphia. We grew up and out and moved to an office overlooking historic Headhouse Square.

In 2006, as Night Kitchen Interactive, we began presenting routinely at museum conferences and launched award-winning projects for the National Air and Space Museum, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and the SFMOMA. In 2015, we moved into a Victorian era brownstone, formerly a candy shop. Here we innovate with AR/VR, 3D animation, and gaming. In 2020, we refreshed our brand to reflect our growing enthusiasm for designing immersive experiences.

Our Team

We’re producers, writers, gamers, designers, developers, and more.

  • Matthew Fisher

    Matthew Fisher

    Principal

    Matthew Fisher is principal and founder of Night Kitchen Interactive, where he has produced interpretive and educational experiences for arts, cultural heritage, and science organizations since 1997. Matthew is passionate about the transformative power of interactive storytelling and participatory engagement and speaks on these topics at museum conferences and universities regularly.

    Matthew acts as producer on all Night Kitchen projects and lead editor on selected projects. In addition to writing for Night Kitchen, he recently wrote and produced In the Shadow of Giants, a graphic novel set in the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation of WWII. 

    He has authored several papers and presentations and contributed a chapter entitled Online Dialogue and Cultural Practice: A Conversation to the book Letting Go? Sharing Historical Authority in a User-Generated World published by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. See Papers, Workshops, & Presentations for a list of his work.

    Before founding Night Kitchen, Matthew studied film and drama at Vassar College and worked in radio and record label management for several years. Once upon a time Matthew taught himself how to code and, for a time, was the lead developer on several Night Kitchen projects. He continues to know enough about coding to be a danger to himself and others. Matthew now lives in Maine and Philadelphia with his wife, son, and their cat Lucha.

    Matthew Fisher
    Matthew Fisher
    Matthew Fisher
    Matthew Fisher
  • Valentina Miller

    Valentina Miller

    Production Lead

    Valentina Miller is the Production Lead at Night Kitchen Interactive with expertise in project management, animation, immersive media, videography, and interactive storytelling. She is enthusiastic about enriching spaces with playful and meaningful digital interactions. She oversees the lifecycle of digital projects from conceptualization to installation.

    Valentina's multifaceted expertise in project management, education, animation, videography, and interactive storytelling allows her to facilitate both client-facing discussions and technical problem-solving. She focuses on a human-centered approach for designing interactive experiences targeted toward a growing digital-native audience.

    Valentina is an educator at heart who enjoys sharing new techniques and contributing to conferences and research discussions. Most recently, she was featured in CONTEXT Magazine's 2021 "Designers You Should Know" article and led a panel about climate change interpretation at The Association of Science and Technology 2022 conference. She earned an M.S. in Digital Media from Drexel University in 2016 and currently teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in Drexel's Digital Media program.

    When she's not working, you can find her playing music or experimenting with a new crafting project.

    Valentina Miller
    Valentina Miller
    A photo of Valentina from Night Kitchen and an actress behind the scenes of a shoot. Valentina is wearing a face mask and holding up a phone. The actress is wearing a Freedom Seeker costume with an apron and head cloth.
    Valentina Miller
  • Dan Knapp

    Daniel Knapp

    Interactive Designer

    Dan is an Interactive Designer at Night Kitchen Interactive. He combines a talent for designing user-friendly interfaces with front-end development skills to create engaging digital experiences. With an enthusiasm for historical objects and a knowledge of art and design movements over centuries, Dan brings a unique perspective to projects.

    Dan has worked in both print and interactive design for more than fifteen years, creating everything from silkscreen concert posters to state-of-the-art React apps. He also has a background in communications and writing, having graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Communication.

    On a weekend, you might find Dan scouring flea markets for forgotten treasures, hand-planing boards at his woodworking bench, or conjuring 1960s synthesizer sounds from his computer.

    Dan Knapp
    Dan Knapp
    Dan Knapp
    Dan Knapp
    Dan Knapp
  • Lily Lauben

    Lily Lauben

    Interactive Developer

    Lily joined Night Kitchen in 2019 as part of the Drexel University co-op program and is now lead web developer on exhibitions. Her passion is designing and developing interactive experiences that can generate real positive change in the world.

    At Drexel University, she graduated from the Custom Design Major program to create her own major about Serious Game Design, combining computer science and digital media with sociology, psychology and social justice.

    For her capstone project, she stepped into the role of Executive Producer for Sungrazer Studio, which launched Resilience, a socially-conscious city-building game for PC, Mac, and Linux. Players take on the role of a manager at a refugee camp to learn about the hardships that displaced people and aid workers face. Resilience won the Games For Change Award for Best Student Game 2020.

    When she isn’t in front of her computer coding or playing a game, Lily’s other natural habitats include painting, playing Dungeons and Dragons, or playing with her two cats.

    Lily Lauben
    Lily Lauben
    Lily Lauben
    Lily Lauben
    Lily Lauben
  • Ethan Miller

    Ethan Miller

    Digital Media Designer

    Ethan Miller is a Digital Media Designer at Night Kitchen Interactive who specializes in creating evocative digital experiences. He is passionate about storytelling in the virtual world and thrives while exploring unique applications of mediums new and old. Before joining Night Kitchen, Ethan led a team of motion graphic designers to produce educational animations, designed a multi-year online learning curriculum, and worked as the VR Program Director for the Free Library of Philadelphia.

    His experiences in academic, corporate, and nonprofit sectors give Ethan a fresh perspective in tackling a range of projects. Ethan has spoken at conferences and events on Virtual Reality, the democratization of media, and uses of new media in academic institutions. As a presenter at several ACM SIGGRAPH conventions, the AASLH annual meeting and venues across the east and west coast, he has a passion for encouraging conversations about new media.

    Ethan attended Drexel University where he studied Animation and Visual Effects. When he isn't creating stories for work, he's immersed in them – his hobbies include working through his cinema backlog, reading sci fi novels, and conquering historical strategy games.

    Ethan Miller
    Ethan Miller
    Ethan Miller
    Ethan Miller
    Ethan Miller
  • Fiona Lynch

    Fiona Lynch

    Media Designer

    Fiona is a Media Designer at Night Kitchen Interactive where she utilizes her skills in 3D art, illustration, and animation to create impactful visuals.  She merges creativity with technical proficiency through her eye for detail and appreciation for efficiency.

    Since graduating from Drexel University with a degree in Animation and Visual Effects, Fiona has gathered a variety of experiences from curating art exhibitions and designing activity books, to digitally recreating historical artifacts.

    Outside of work hours, you might find Fiona visiting a natural history museum, sketching in a cafe, or climbing at the local bouldering gym.

    Fiona Lynch
    Fiona Lynch
    Fiona Lynch
    Fiona Lynch
    Fiona Lynch

Recent Awards

We’ve been on a roll.

Previous Awards


  • 2010 – 2020
    • Philadelphia Museum of Art Hackathon 2.0 Winner, People's Choice / Day Bakers’s Dreamscapes

    • Interactive Media Awards Best in Class, Music / Curtis Institute of Music’s Curtis Performs

    • Interactive Media Awards Best in Class, Government / Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Preparing for the Oath

    • Interactive Media Awards Best in Class, Education / Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Preparing for the Oath

    • AAM EdCom Award, Excellence in Resources / Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Preparing for the Oath

    • Interactive Media Awards Best in Class, Nonprofit / Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s Institution Website

    • AAM Media & Technology MUSE Honorable Mention, Online Presence / Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s How Things Fly

    • Interactive Media Awards Best in Class, Medical / The College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s History of Vaccines

    • Interactive Media Awards Best in Class, Science/Technology / The College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s History of Vaccines

    • Interactive Media Awards Best in Class, Community / Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s Monticello

    • Interactive Media Awards Best in Class, Arts & Culture / Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s PhilaPlace

    • AAM Media & Technology MUSE Silver Award, Digital Communities / Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s Monticello

    • Webby Awards Official Honoree, Science / The College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s The History of Vaccines

    • AAM Media & Technology MUSE Gold Award, Community / Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Star-Spangled Banner

    • Interactive Media Awards Outstanding Achievement Award, Education / Mount Vernon Timeline’s Discover the Real George Washington

    • AAM Media & Technology MUSE Gold Award, Interactive Kiosks / University of Michigan Museum of Art’s DialogTable

    • Webby Awards Official Honoree, Cultural Institutions / Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s The Star-Spangled Banner

    • Museums and the Web Honorable Mention, Education / The College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s The History of Vaccines

  • 2000 – 2009
    • Interactive Media Awards Outstanding Achievement Award, Kids / San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Country Dog Gentlemen

    • Museums and the Web Honorable Mention, Exhibition / Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s PhilaPlace

    • Interactive Media Awards Outstanding Achievement Award, Kids / The Delaware Art Museum’s Art of Storytelling

    • Interactive Media Awards Best in Class, Museum / Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Star-Spangled Banner

    • Interactive Media Awards Top 10 Websites of the Year, Top 10 Websites of 2008 / Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Star-Spangled Banner

    • EDSITEment Best Online Resource, Humanities Education / National Constitution Center’s Institution Website

    • EDSITEment Best Online Resource, Humanities Education / Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary’s Franklin’s Interactive Lifetime

    • AAM Media & Technology MUSE Honorable Mention, Games / The Academy of Natural Sciences’s Explore Butterflies!

    • AAM Media & Technology MUSE Honorable Mention, History and Culture / The National Constitution Center’s Abraham Lincoln’s Crossroads

    • Philly Gold, Logos/Trademarks: Arts & Non-Profit / Philadelphia Foundation’s Fund for Children

    • Philly Gold Excellence Award, Website Design - Educational or Non-Profit / The National Constitution Center’s Centuries of Citizenship

    • Philly Gold, Interactive Self-Promotion - Industry / Curtis Analytic Partners’s Institution Website

    • Philly Gold Best Of, Digital Presentation / The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s The Splendor of 18th Century Rome

    • Philly Gold Excellence Award, Website Design - Entertainment, Informational, Corporate, Institutional / Telemedia Accelerator’s Institution Website

    • Philly Gold Excellence Award, Website Design - Entertainment, Informational, Corporate, Institutional / Night Kitchen’s Media Website

    • Philly Gold Best Of, Interactive / The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s The Splendor of 18th Century Rome