A summer-long themed entertainment exploration through the lens of a children's museum exhibit that is:
Compliant with the Smithsonian’s Guidelines for Accessibility
Supportive of visitors’ social/emotional growth
Interactive and fun
This personal project allowed me to dive deep into accessibility in public spaces and prioritize playfulness in my design.
Objective
The pandemic had a profound effect on the social emotional development of American school-aged children. Many schools are unequipped to offer the necessary resources to get kids back on track. Children's museums can help fill in these gaps, as they are pressure-free environments for learning and interaction.
Research
In my research I found that teachers were struggling with emotionally unregulated kids, so I focused my exhibit portion on a coping skill: breath work. Providing visitors with heart rate monitors gives them tangible evidence of the efficacy of mindfulness when they watch their heart rate rise during activity and fall during a breathing exercise.
Ideating
Visitors could easily lower their heart rate seated, but I struggled to make an active station accessible. I considered a seated option with hand and foot pedals that animated a whimsical scene, which included wheelchair users but not those with muscle weakness or limb differences. The alternative was a game projected onto the wall and floor. I know that parents prefer museums be a refuge from screens, but the game’s scale encouraged collaboration, and allowed visitors with mobility aids to participate in the movement. I favored initial breathing station sketches that had efficiently stowing seats and appeared sturdy yet playful.
Moving into
3D
It’s important that the heart rate monitor stay tethered to forgetful children and include those with limb differences, so I selected a necklace, smoothing it out so it appeared comfortable and childlike. The heart rate reader and display are inspired by a compass and pinpoint on a map, respectively. The display can rotate on its cord and a cutout makes it comfortable in the hand.
I developed my station and seating in SketchUp, which was new to me. I enhanced my bulky forms with sweeping curves and accessibility features, like nesting armrests.
I selected the “Feeling Adventurous” theme for the overall exhibit because changing settings would keep kids engaged throughout. The sailing themed game concept from early ideation was straightforward and the open sea is an iconic setting for an expedition, so I leaned into that aesthetic for the station and chair. I explored adding bubbles and treasure maps to my forms in Procreate, but I was drawn to barnacles and sea stars. The chair looked like it was emerging from the ocean, so I gave the chair a blue gradient. I chose contrasting coral for the walls to make the stations easier to find for the vision-impaired.
Finishing Up
I created an outline for a more robust experience that includes further social emotional information, keeping within the theme of adventure. Maps like these support visitors with intellectual disabilities by providing them a clear path forward, and a preview of exhibit content. The final touches added to my exhibit served to make the experience multi-sensory-- meaning there are various ways to access information. Everything should be visual, audible, and tactile, so no one is missing anything.
