Project Summary

For this project, we partnered with The Discovery Museum in Acton to redesign an exhibit of theirs. We built an exhibit that helps kids learn about magnets through interactive play and discovery. The exhibit is a magnet game that utilizes colors to teach kids the basics of magnet polarity and how the magnets attract and repel each other. We learned to cater the elements to children with things like ergonomic design for accesability and Wow! factor so the product would align with the Discovery Museum's goals.

sadie

Falling Magnets

• Exhibit goal: teach kids about Lenz’s law
• Play type: Planned discovery
• Design: A circular base with a pole and a cylinder with tubes around it that have magnets on them which you can move up and down
• What works: interactive & repetitive
• What doesn't: Bland/not attractive and the learning goal was hard to understand for all ages not just kids. The action of moving the magnets up and down isn’t complex itself, but the learning goal and getting kids to understand it is very complex.

kaia

Learning Goal

To teach kids the basics of magnets (how they attract and repel)

Design Elements

• Wow! factor
• Hazard-free
• Approachable & Repeatable
• Interactive

Play Type

• Cooperative
• Competitive

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sadie

Precedents

Air Hockey

Pinball

Meta Quest 3 Controllers

Kaia

Initial Prototype

 Our first prototype was lower fidelity than the other ones we’ve made. The handles were made of cardboard, foam, and hot glue, which we later changed because they made marks on the acrylic. The outside edges were sealed with paper and tape which did the job but was not a clean design choice. The acrylic was held up with foam pads but they were seen from the outside and did not add to the visual design. The obstacles were different shapes cut from thin foam, which didn't make the magnets slow down at all.

Sadie

User testing at Discovery Museum

Method of testing

• Notes
• Pictures
• Timing

coffy

What we were testing

• Child and adult engagement
• Game design
• Type of play

• How much do kids engage with the exhibit?
• How do the kids use the handles and do they understand what to do with the exhibit?
• How long do kids stay?
• Do adults interact with it? How?
• What makes kids want to play with the exhibit?
• Do kids understand the magnet component?

Questions for testing

• Timing of test
• Before lunchtime
• Large school group at the start that all left at the same time

• High engagement from children and adults
• Couple groups stayed for 10+ minutes
• Hot glue on handles left a residue on the board
• Older kids figured it out and then tried looking below the table & playing from below

User testing at Discovery Museum

Outcomes

Limitations of testing

coffy

Iteration #1

Testing Prep

• Change handle design
• Higher fidelity frame to enclose the board
• Use stronger magnets
• Change obstacle shape and material

Kaia

Iterations after user testing #1:

User testing at NuVu

Method of testing

• Notes
• Interviews
• Videos
• Listening to conversation
• Pictures

Kaia

What we were testing

• Durability
• Game design
• Learning goal

Questions for testing

• How much do kids engage with the exhibit?
• How do the kids use the handles and do they understand what to do with the exhibit?
• How long do kids stay?
• Do adults interact with it? How?
• What makes kids want to play with the exhibit?
• Do kids understand the magnet component?

User testing at NuVu

• The height of the table was too tall for some kids
• 2/3 kids were too young to answer questions/give feedback
• only 3 kids were there to test

• Handles worked well
• 6 y.o. loved the game "This one's my favorite"
• NuVu students/older students were confused about the way the magnets were labeled
• noticed one handle had an unfair advantage
• Magnets stacked on top of each other and got stuck

Outcomes

Limitations of testing

Kaia

Storyboard

sadie

Final model

• Bumpers around magnets
• fixed polarity confusion
• Corner protectors to eliminate hazard
• Added a door to the board for easy

Sadie

What we changed:

Kaia

Kaia

Sadie

Coffy

Reflection

• User testing is very useful
• How kids interact with each other and play
• Refined our 3-D modeling skills using rhino
• How to make diagrams
• Project and time management
• client work

all

Things we took away from the studio:

Project Summary

Sensation of Sound is our proposed exhibit for the Discovery Museum. It is composed of a microphone and a plate that matches the volume of whatever sound is input with an equally strong vibration. This exhibit intends to demonstrate the connection between sound and vibration by using auditory and tactile feedback and letting kids explore how volume affects the strength of the vibration.

Current Exhibit (Bucket Radio) Analysis

• Discovery Museum's goals for this exhibit: Showing how sound is felt & transferred/amplified by different surfaces
• Play type (ex. open-ended, collaborative, etc): Open-ended
• Engagement methods: Auditory stimulation, tactile stimulation
• Layers of complexity: Understanding the reason for differences in sound and feeling
• Main design features: The vibrating peg and the bowls that can be placed over it
• What works: Placing the different materials on the peg does make a variety of sounds
• What doesn't: The mechanic of placing the items on the pegs wasn't intuitive, and the resulting noises were irritating to most people

Precedents

Chladni Singing

Spectrum

Bucket Radio

Precedents

Chladni Singing

Spectrum

Bucket Radio

An exhibit featuring sand on a metal plate that forms chladni patterns at the sound of your voice, located in the Exploratorium in San Francisco, Calfornia.

An interactive installation in Montréal that demonstrates the trajectories of sound using light.

The exhibit in the Discovery Museum we were tasked with re-designing; it shows how sound carries through different materials.

Learning Goal

Teaching the correlation of sound and vibration

Design Element/s

Color scheme

Tactile feedback

Customization of experience

Play Type

Solitary/Open-ended

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Initial Prototype

This prototype used a layer of rubber over a speaker to create chladni patterns. There were two versions of this prototype with some slight differences; one used a roll of duct tape to create the outer structure, and one was 3D printed. The main issue with this prototype was the noise the speaker made, being aggressively loud and high-pitched.

Iteration #1

Resonant Plate

This prototype was a higher-fidelity version of the first one, with an acrylic plate as the diaphragm rather than a balloon. This prototype was a challenge to work with due to the salt making a mess and the plate not being resonant enough.

By the time we tested in the museum, we'd replaced the red acrylic with a small yellow cover and the roll of duct tape, because it created the most clear patterns.

User testing at Discovery Museum

• It was very clear that salt wasn't a sustainable path to pursue without a lot more effort into a covering system
• Kids instinctively wanted to touch the diaphragm, not the connected knob and button.

Method of testing

Outcomes

We hung back and observed kids and parents interacting with the "exhibit" from within earshot.

Limitations

The sound was grating, and parents didn't seem convinced that this object was meant as an exhibit.

Iteration #2

At this point we'd decided against using salt (or similar), and had decided to lean into the fact that kids at the Design Museum test were very interested in touching the diaphragm. In this prototype, the idea is that the subject talks into the microphone with their hand on the plate, and it vibrates at a similar intensity to their voice.

Graphic Design Development

User testing at NuVu

• They did seem to understand; the plate is to put your hand on, the microphone is for talking into.
• Parents were not reluctant this time, though also they knew this was designed for their kids, which was less clear at the museum.

Method of testing

Outcomes

Watch the children and parents, take notes, and ensure they have an intuitive sense of what the parts do and how they connect.

Limitations

The project had broken just before testing.

Use Diagram

Blueprints - 3D Model

6.36 mm

115 mm

1560 mm

20.3 mm

120°

637.3 mm

650 mm

112.3 mm

125 mm

Blueprints - Orthographic Drawings

TOP

BOTTOM

FRONT

BACK

RIGHT

LEFT

Reflections & Next Steps

If we were to continue this project, we would...

• Ensure everything is fully functional
• Use stencils and otherwise more refined methods to paint the box

Questions we have:



• How could the design be improved?
• If you were the target age (2-7), would this concept interest you?

Project Summary

During this studio, we partnered with the discovery museum to design an exhibit for an area they are hoping to develop further. To focus our efforts, we chose a theme centered around space, considering its vast potential for fostering learning opportunities and igniting the imagination. Knowing this, we set our learning goals to be independence, curiosity, and space knowledge. In order to achieve these learning goals, we thought about the implementation of scale, sensory experience, and freedom.

Learning Goals

Space,

Independence,

Curiosity,

Design Elements

Wow effect,

Multi-sensory,

Open-ended

Play Types

Pretend play,

Parallel play

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Current Exhibit Analysis

• Description
• Although the space we are hoping to place our exhibit in is currently empty, there is a kitchen themed exhibit leading into the space.
• The Museum's goals for this exhibit
• Allow children to play freely
• Interact with things that we see/use on a day to day basis
• Using imagination
• Play type
• Collaborative
• Open ended
• Engagement methods
• Lots of small pieces (plastic foods)
• Buttons and doors that open and closed

• Layers of complexity
• It is very simple as it is Intended for very young children
• Main design features 
• Wooden kitchen equipment - stoves, oven, fridge
• Play foods 
• Benches/booths for sitting and "eating"
• Cash register
• What works, what didn't work
• The kitchen was popular with all of the freedoms given
• Kids loved playing with the food because they could do lots of different things
• Kids can collaborate
• Kids did not like the train exhibit because there was not much to do 

Precedents

Beyond Spaceship Earth

(Children's Museum of Indianapolis)

Destination Space

(Mckenna Children's Museum)

Kidstown

(Orlando Science Center)

Initial Prototype

Main goals:

• Noticing engagement patterns (What are the children drawn to)
• Gauging interpretability (How well were the kids able to understand the theme and in turn learn what we intended)

User Testing at The Discovery Museum

• We documented our testing through notes, and interviews:
• We hoped to measure engagement and gauge interest on the theme of space
• Limitations of testing:
• Because the area our exhibit was in, was behind an exhibit intended for very young kids, our exhibit was mostly only exposed to very young kids
• Because of the low fidelity of the installation, visitors seemed unsure if they were allowed to explore the exhibit
• Outcomes:
• .The kids loved the keyboard
• The shiny wallpaper caught the eyes of children
• The table was to high
• etc...
• Next steps
• Make the exhibit more obviously rocket shaped, increase fidelity, and focus on immersion.

Iteration #2

Main goals:

• Evaluating the effect of an enclosed space on engagement
• Strength testing
• General feedback

User testing at NuVu

• We documented our testing through videos, pictures, notes, and interviews:
• We hoped to test our hypothesis that a more enclosed structure led to further engagement and inspiration.
• Limitations of testing:
• There were only 3 kids who were available to test
• Some pieces were not securely held in place
• Outcomes:
• The kids liked messing with the gadgets and learning through tactile sensations.
• The kids were particularly interested in being able to pick the stars and planets off the wall and ceiling
• Our hypothesis was correct, the cocoon led to further immersion
• One kid mentioned he got bored after he exhausted all of the things he could one could do with the exhibit
• Next steps
• Implement a feature which moves as a reaction children interaction as to increase intractability

Final Design:

Velcro fabric sheet

Foam stars

Thanks for listening!

Questions?