Exhibition Concept for the Natural History Museum of the University of Zurich
Scentsory
An Insect Exhibition that allows to Experience the Museum through the Nose
Team
Carina Good
Client
Natural History Museum of the University of Zurich
Category
UI/UX Design
Exhibition Design
Edutainment
User Group
Families and Museum Enthusiasts
Challenge
How might the future of museums look like?
Museums are constantly confronted with the challenge to keep their audience engaged and excited for their exhibitions. The Natural History Museum of the University of Zurich wanted to contribute to the collaborative exhibition Museum of the Future in Museum für Gestaltung Zürich with an innovative exhibit about insects. My partner Carina Good and I were trusted to develop a concept and bring to life the vision of a unique, multisensory museum experience.
Potential
How can we create a novel museum experience that combies technology and sensory perception?
We worked in close collaboration with the Natural History Museum in the concept phase of this project. Our proposal to explore the potential of multisensory learning was received by the museums team with as much excited enthusiasm as it originally sparked in us. And we dove into an intense and stimulating phase of testing our ideas with various design methods including body storming, sketching, co-design and rapid prototyping.
Solution
A Playful Experience that makes insects olfactory behavior tangible through an interactive table
In our final product we invite the visitors to engage their own noses on an exciting journey to explore and learn about how different insects use their olfactory organs to navigate their life. The Experience is inspired by the common parlor game, memory. Comparing scent-infused game chips the users task is to collect life resources for their insect. The concept combines tangible elements with image recognition technology to support the UX with educational content projected onto the table.
Scentsory is a playful learning experience that takes users on an olfactory journey into the insect world. The interactive table was designed to explore the potential of embodied learning, specifically through multisensory experiences in the context of museum exhibition design. The concept of insects’ olfactory behavior is made experiential through interaction with scent-infused, tangible game elements, further enhanced by playful visual projections. This combination creates an exploratory, multisensory learning experience for the exhibition Museum of the Future.
UX, UI
User Journey
The users choose one of the insect player tokens which function as a navigation tool. A quick onboarding invites the user to explore the game mechanics and leads directly into the main functions smelling, comparing and collecting.
Process
Methods
Body-
storming
Crazy 8
Co-Design
Workshops
Wireframe
Tools
Figma
ReacTIVision Technology
3D Printing
collaboration
Co-Design
We involved a variety of experts from different fields into our process to develop the project to it’s fullest potential. We held workshops, testings, and interviews with scientific insect experts, game designers and museum curators.
Intuitive UX
User Testing
One of the most challenging aspects of the project was developing an intuitive and technically feasible user journey. Repeated iteration and user testings helped us to understand the users interactions and expectations. Invaluable insights that informed and improved the further development of the project.
User Journey
Wireframes
Additionally to user testing, wireframes played a key role in shaping the user journey, helping us identify technical challenges and solve problems early on.
Testing
Production
The physical production of the exhibition table and it’s components also went through a series of iterations and tests to determine suitable materials and fabrication methods for the use with oil based scents in a museum environemnt.
