IXDMA Magical School Bus…ish
Last week, my class and I went to the Museum of Nature & Science in the heart of Denver’s City Park. It was my first time experiencing a trip there so obviously I was very excited. The goal of the trip was to get a behind the scenes look at how the internal design team creates the exhibits and to see where the work is made in their on-location studio. For the most part, it was night of the museum with a bunch of designers.
Arriving early, we walked through some of the exhibits ahead of time. One of the cool highlights we saw was an interactive projection of wild salmon on the floor of the Bear Hall. Amongst some of the largest predators in the world, a projection showed a stream in the middle of the room with what I believe to be wild salmon (chinook and spring I believe) from my knowledge of fishing up in the Pacific Northwest. The objective was when you saw a fish, you could step on it and it would float up and go to the side of the screen, as if you were catching it for a mid afternoon snack to feed a hungry North American grizzly. I found this be a highlight because it was a great use of a technology and had the subtle gaming ovation that I can only imagine is very popular with the younger visitors.
On top of that, there were no instructions. You wouldn’t know that you had to stomp on the fish but through the knowledge of beard and being the five year old I am, it was the first thing I did when I saw it. By connecting the dots of my surroundings, the creative team made something that was almost self explanatory and engaged users in a new way.
Once we met with the design team, it was awesome to hear from them how the projection was made and the strategy used going into designing it. I’ve always believed that museums are very important societal tools to show young generations that amazing things in our world and the wonder that seeing all these things in one location can bring. It was great to see that the museum is using technology to interactive and engage visitors in our now technology based world.
Experiences like this only heighten my desire to be a designer. Creative interactive and memorable moments for people to enjoy is what it is all about. All in all. The trip was a great success in expanding my creative thought. We also had the opportunity to dress up as idiots in the extreme mammal exhibit, surrounded by Kindegardens through second graders and took a trip down memory lane as youngsters on a field trip. Thanks Jesse.
