Science Center Experience

HELLO MEDIUM I’M BACK!

I went to the Science Center this week to do a little research on a new project I am working on. In this blog post, I will be discussing the typography, the people, the signs, and the kiosks within the Science Center.

Typography

In this section, I will address the various uses of type within the exhibits throughout the Science Center.

As I walked through the Science Center, I noticed that the type used would always match the general theme ands style of the exhibit it was in.

In all of the areas where assembling an object was required, the typography was shown in a font that looked as if it was assembled itself. This was a dominant theme throughout the exhibits.

I believe it was the designer’s intention to have the type to corespond with the tasks and themes of each exhibit. It was about submersing the audience into a new world and creating an experience for them. The way to help accomplish this goal was to give the visual content intention within its design.

People

In this section, I will address the human behavior I observed throughout the exhibits.

I have observed that users typically like to try completing the task without reading the instructions. They go up to the materials and just start messing with them whether it is buttons, blocks, or levers. They go off their gut feelings of what to do.

1. People don’t like reading the information. They try to avoid reading any block of text unless it is interesting to look at or the section requires you to learn it in order to complete the task at hand.
2. They immediately start pressing buttons to figure out what things do. I saw a lot of children go up to buttons and start pressing them and then walk away because they didn’t understand what to do and lost interest.
3. They enjoy building things with their hands. Users like having the freedom to construct something based on their preferences.
4. They like being given a goal rather than just learning the information. It is more intertaining to have a challenge and to learn about the topic through the activity.
5. The users enjoyed a result or resolution to their hard work. There needs to be visuals that show the users the impact they made. This was shown through the use of lights, sounds, and icons.
6. I noticed a lot of people were drawn to the space exhibit. They liked the feeling of stepping into a new world. It is important to capture that in my design. People should have that sense of wonder.
7. I noticed a lot of people were drawn to the space exhibit. They liked the feeling of stepping into a new world. It is important to capture that in my design. People should have that sense of wonder.
8. I watched a lot of children walk up to this big space door and try to open it. Through the design of the door, they knew it had to do something. This is because they recognize a wheel when they see one. All of a sudden, they believe they have to turn the wheel to open the door. I want to give users a design that is simple and clear. This will be accomplished through building my design off of what people already understand. I wish to give them indicators that they recognize from their past experiences.

Way Finding

In this section, I will address the signs and other elements that helped visitors get around to each exhibit.

The Science Center is divided up into sections and the biggest indicators of those sections are the contrasts between the visuals. The mood changes between each section allowing the visitor to know where something starts and ends.

There is always a large sign in front of each exhibit labeling what the section is all about.

The navigation signs around the building all used simple arrows to point in the directions of the exhibits. The arrow was made up by only a sideways triangle. It is reductive yet clear enough for the viewer to understand what it is. The arrows either tilt to which floor certain exhibits are on or they point left or right.

Interactive Exhibits

In this section, I will address the interactive kioks and the pros and cons of their designs.

The Mars exhibit had a kiosk that challenged users to build a rocket that has enough power to leave the Earth’s atmosphere. The user must select different types of a rocket’s body, engine, and booster. I made a few observations while playing the game.

1. The kiosk had a large buttons that were clearly labeled and easy to tap.
2. The Navigation bar was on the side of the screen and labeled the different sections of the rocket you could examine.
3. The scale in text visually showed a great sense of hierarchy. It makes the user always start at the top and work there way down.
4. My rocket failed to leave the Earth’s atmosphere. The screen told me that I failed the mission and gave me a score of how well I flew based off of check points, flight efficiency, rocket mass, payload multiplier, and difficulty multiplier. They showed the positive and negitive points I earned with the colors red and green. I immediately thought about how if a user was red/green color blind, they would not be able to see those indicators.

I Learned that

I learned how scientists are discovering new ways to create energy for us. There was a big sign hanging on the wall that showed off all these different plants that will soon be used as fuel. I didn’t know that common things like corn, sweet potatoes, and soybeans could one day be our new gasoline.

In conclusion,

I believe my overall experience at the Science Center was a success. I had such a fun time interacting with the exhibits and learning more about space, dinosaurs, games, and energy. It is interesting getting to observe how people interact with the exhibits.