Saint Louis Science Center Experiences
In my advanced UX/UI class this semester, we took a field trip to the Saint Louis Science Center to look at how they set up their exhibits. We walked around to each area to observe the people interacting with kiosks and other experiences, while we walked around doing the same, documenting as we went along.
Typography
I will discuss the typography I observed being used at the Science Center.
- I noticed that the type changed for each area and maintained the same style and hierarchy.
- There were different type styles used for different exhibits but they used the same general rules of hierarchy.
- I think certain type was used to fit the theme of the area better and the people who made the exhibit want the text to be as legible and easy to follow as possible.
People
I observed people participating in the arch building exhibit/activity. The way it worked was there was a required group of participants that cooperated in stacking each piece on top of the other while others would hold the Arch steady as it got taller. Communication was a major factor in how groups would complete this activity. The difficult parts came from keeping the Arch upright as it neared completion. One wrong move and the whole thing comes crashing down. I would say that groups were satisfied when they had completed it and seemed to enjoy building it.
Wayfinding
The most effective thing about the wayfinding in the Science Center was how it was placed at the top of the staircase so that it was the first thing someone sees when they enter the floor.
Interactive Exhibits
This touch screen within the Vault portion of the Science Center provided an interactive world map for the artifacts that were on display. It was only covering a handful of the artifacts from the case while the others had a card associated within the case that had the general information on it. The touch screen worked well enough, but it was a bit odd that it did not have the entire showcase or that the placement was of to the side instead of right in from of the showcase where the artifacts would be inplain view.
Learning Experience
Revisiting the Science Center was interesting as I had not been there in over ten years at least. The new piece of information that I had learned was about the Mercury Spacecraft Model, the exhibit was the model itself with plenty of information on the subject on the plaques. I wasn’t aware that the Mercury spacecraft was built here in Saint Louis, built by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.
Overall
The field trip to the Science Center was a great revisiting for me and looking at it from the perspective of a designer gets me into the mindset of creating some experiences that people can use easily. I liked walking around and seeing the exhibits on offer, and the ones that were interactive, did their job well. As we go forward with this first project, I have another reference added to look back on how people actually interact with things in a museum/science center.
