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Description
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Ed. note: This case study is a selection from the
2012 “Justified”
competition, in which an esteemed jury
identified submissions that demonstrate the value of design in a clear,
compelling and accessible way. It serves as an example of how to explain design
thinking to clients, students, peers and the public in general, based on
specific metrics.
Climate change arguably poses the most important challenge humans face
in the coming century. This dramatic exhibition within the Marian
Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences endeavors to
open the doors to the living laboratory that is our climate, while not
shying away from the hard science behind the changes people are
witnessing every day. The exhibit is a strategic blend of media that
investigates the evidence that will inform the decisions we make in the
future. It’s an interdisciplinary exhibit hybrid of public policy,
documentary journalism and the earth sciences. It’s a hub for scholars,
politicians and scientists, and a go-to resource for the general public to
access the core facts about climate science.
Budget
Budget details unavailable
Research
The team immersed themselves in the content of climate science. In order
to make the information accessible, we had to know how to explain the
information in everyday language.
Challenges
The challenges of the Earth Lab were obvious from the start. Climate
science and the issues surrounding climate change policy are difficult
to explain in an exhibit aimed at a target audience of laypeople and
children. The brief for the project was to use a suite of reports from
the National Research Council that looked at current scientific
conceptions of climate change, its impacts and possible strategies for
governments, and to make these findings accessible to visitors—not an
easy task. We used visual storytelling and actively engaged audiences
with interactives in order to make the information accessible and
engaging.
Strategy
“Attract, interpret, engage, advance.” We developed an exhibit narrative
following this structure that would guide the visitors as they
navigated the space. The “attract” area sets the goals of the exhibit
and establishes the perspective of the visitors. The “interpret” area of
the exhibit shows current trends, future predictions and
historical landmarks. The “engage” section draws the visitor deeper into
the exhibit and invites them to take action and contribute to the
experience. Finally, the “advance” section answers the question, “Now
what?”, and leaves the visitor with positive, proactive takeaways.
Effectiveness
The museum itself has seen great interest around the Earth Lab. The
subject of climate science, although clearly important and contentious,
is also difficult to communicate to a general audience. Our target
audience, which includes the layperson—especially children—has proven
to be incredibly receptive to the interactions in the space. Dwell times
at the Mitigation Simulators have been much longer than expected. By
turning the idea of offsets into a game and putting people in the role
of policymakers, visitors were able to understand the thorny problem
facing governments, but also that it is possible to reach sustainable
goals.
Richard Alley, a professor of geosciences at Penn State and a Koshland
board member, said, “The Earth Lab presents a visual journey through the
best science on climate change. The exhibit opens your mind to the
impacts, possibilities and decisions related to climate. We want people
to engage with the best science on the issue and think it through.
Then, it’s up to you to decide what to do about it. This game sparks
discussion among players. People discover that there are many beneficial
ways to solve this complex problem.”
Additional information
The best representation of this project is Second Story’s portfolio page, which has a photo gallery, demo videos and complete description.
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