The Assignment
Take a stack of exhibit ideas dreamt up by the Education staff, and turn them into an exhibit in one year, on a tight budget. The exhibit must be movable so that the exhibit hall can be used for large rental events.
Results
Science & Main is one of the most popular exhibits at the Museum, and was achieved at a fraction of the cost of most other exhibits in the museum.
The Explora-inspired marble wall is adapted for MSC's needs: large plastic balls instead of marbles, and more durable components.
A photo of the marble wall shortly after opening. I added rubber edge-protectors and replaced the wooden pegs with plastic.
The bicycle gearing activity allowing visitors to compare the differences in gear ratios.
Instructions for the paper airplane launcher
We prototyped and tested the paper airplane launcher to determine the best layout for the paper airplane activity.
A view of the airport control tower with launchers in the background
The 'Food fight' catapult. The device is quite precise: if you determine the correct variable to hit a given target, you will hit it reliably with those variables.
Some visitor creations
More visitor creations
Details of the modular facades. They were built to be assembled and disassembled with a 2-person crew.
A view of the bike gearing activity and the bike shop facade.
Initial concept rendering
Revised concept rendering, after construction methods and components were refined, Science & Main.
Styling detail, which informed the construction methods.
Graphic standards
Logos, desiged by intern Qian Zeng
Sub-Projects
View these projects in more detail:
Drop Tower
Pipe Organ
Roles
I was hired to serve as a one-man Exhibit Design and Fabrication department. I worked closely with the Education, Facilities, and Marketing departments to get the project done. I also recruited, trained, and organized volunteers from the community, and interns from MICA.
Other Contributors/ Collaborators / Conspirators
While I coordinated and completed much of the design fabrication on this project, there were dozens of other museum staff, interns, advisors, and volunteers that were integral to the project’s success.
Interns
Cole Pritchard
Cait May
Qian Zeng
Kelsey Hunter
Sofia Maranto
Advisors
Karl Palm
David M Storey Inc Pipe Organ Builders
George Moran
CK Wong
Franklin Institute Exhibit Team
Volunteers
Karl Palm
Kevin Johnson
Mark LoPresto
Terry Nixon
Tom Riley
Location
Maryland Science Center, Baltimore MD
Completion Date
2016