CMNH Process Book

TEAM WALKABOUT

Victoria Adams

Lauren Beckwith

Joanne Ong

Spring 2012

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Over the course of the Spring 2012 semester,

the Carnegie Mellon School of Design Interactive

Information Spaces Senior Project worked with the

Carnegie Museum of Natural History curators and

staff to improve the public’s relationship with the

museum’s invertebrate zoology department, home

to the museum’s renowned collection of specimens.

This book outlines the process and development of

this semester long project, in which we examined

problems that currently exist within the Section of

Invertebrate Zoology, and formed proposals for ways

to enhance the visitor experience.

This project was completed under the guidance of

instructors Mark Baskinger and Stacie Rohrbach.

System Concept

The Experience

Overarching System

Design Criteria

Scenarios

Additional interactions

Extension

Production

Visual Language

Card System

Wayfinding

Card Dispenser

Business Plan

Closing Thoughts

Overview

Project brief

Strategy

Scheduling

Objectives

Research

Approach

Audience

Current Behavior

Interviews

Problem Indicators

Considerations

Re-defining the Problem

Development

Design Projections

Considerations

Framing Opportunities

Organizing Ideas

Preliminary Ideation

Mock-ups & Testing

Discoveries & Feedback

7 45

63

81

13

17

31

TABLE OF CONTENTS

project overview

9

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH)

has been a hub for some of the best and brightest

scientists in the world for more than 114 years. Today,

CMNH scientists are working to increase knowledge

of life on Earth through the study and collection of

specimen reflecting our planet’s biological, cultural,

and geological diversity. While CMNH scientists are

highly regarded and renowned in their own fields, the

Pittsburgh public is not aware of the cutting edge

research that is happening in their local community.

CMNH recognizes that they need to better

communicate their current scientific activities to

the public in order to bridge the gap between what

is happening behind the scenes at the Museum

and what the public sees and experiences when they

visit, attend a program, or go to the CMNH website.

CMNH is particularly interested in targeting college-

aged visitors, helping them understand the richness

of the Museum research programs and their

connection to our planet’s biological, cultural, and

geological diversity.

THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

10

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s

invertebrate holdings are worldwide in coverage,

especially in the Afrotropical and Neotropical regions.

The insect collection contains approximately

13 million specimens, of which over 7 million are

prepared, labelled and ready for study. These collections

augment studies by staff, but their greatest use is

for research by hundreds of specialists worldwide

where they constitute the basis for numerous scientific

publications. These collections benefit present and

future generations, and in their immensity comprise a

public trust as a unique record of the natural world.

Our group is focusing on the tours portion —

essentially establishing a schema for learning in

the museum. We are exploring how people move

through physical and informational spaces, as

well as designing a holistic interpretive system for

information, messaging and pathways.

SECTION OF INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY CLIENT BRIEF

strategy

14

January 18: Course overview, project explanation

February 1: Initial client meeting with CMNH

February 20: Presentation of initial concepts to CMNH

March 21: Second presentation of design concepts to CMNH

May 10: Final presentation of system and prototypes to CMNH

SCHEDULING

15

We intend to use layered learning in order to

engage our audience’s unique preferences and

learning styles, while progressively building an

overall deeper understanding of bugs and their

significance to humans.

OBJECTIVES

research

18

In order to determine what a system of tours could

offer CMNH, we surveyed what currently existed

at the museum. This includes how these tours are

being conducted as well as opportunities where the

implementation of tours could benefit pre-existing

material. This information was collected by observing

and interviewing the docents and scientists at the

museum on the nature and perceived effectiveness

of the tours they deliver.

To supplement these findings, we also studied our

target audience’s knowledge and interest in the

museum and its tours. In addition, we interviewed

these individuals on their preferences and how

they learn to determine how to best implement our

findings.

APPROACH

19

We focused our project scope on college-aged

students in the Pittsburgh area because CMNH

specified this group as the museum’s most highly

underrepresented demographic. This group stands

to benefit a great deal from what the museum has

to offer in academic pursuits, and already has a

highly concentrated population surrounding CMNH’s

location.

AUDIENCE

20

In our interviews with the museum workers,

docents and scientists, we discovered that free

docent led tours are already offered on weekends,

but are relatively unadvertised to the public.

Similarly, behind the scenes tours of the entomology

department are available for individual groups (such as

schools and boy/ girl scouts) but are also not

advertised or available to the general public. When

behind the scenes tours are given, they are delivered

by one of the scientists and have no consistent

script or outline.

Conversely, docent lead tours throughout the

museum are given a general outline that connects

all the elements of the tour and keeps the leader

on topic, although this never carries over into behind

the scenes. There is a disconnect throughout the

museum both conceptually through the delivery

of guided tours and visually through each exhibit’s

differing displays of information.

CURRENT BEHAVIOR

22

To find out why college students weren’t utilizing

the museum, we conducted a series of interviews on

our peers about their current opinions on museums

as well as what they knew specifically about CMNH.

We asked them about what they wanted to learn,

how they prefer to move through a museum, their

opinions on guided tours and their interest in a

behind the scenes tour.

“No. I’d rather experience something on my own

because I feel like it’s a little more meaningful

when you’re doing it by yourself then having stuff

thrusted at you. I feel like generally they’re too fast

or too slow and you just can’t find your own pace.”

INTERVIEWS

Do you go on museum tours?

23

"Dioramas of fake people..."

"Clean. Generally boring if it's historical."

"Stuff doesn't change that often."

"I like things that are more interactive."

“I am not.”

“I think I’ve been told that before but I don’t

really know any of the research that they do.”

“Yeah, that would be cool to see because you

always know that museums have more than

they’re showing you, so I would definitely be

interested in doing that.”

What do you think of museums?

If you don't go to museums, why?

Are you aware of research @CMNH? Would you be interested in going behind-the-scenes @CMNH?

24

Perception

College students are either unaware of what CMNH

does and what it has to offer, or have an antiquated

and mundane perception of all museums.

Wayfinding

There is little direction of tours, either for behind the

scenes or in the museum’s forefront. In a self guided

movement throughout the museum, there is little

consistency in the signage of the exhibits.

Accessibility

The constraints of the behind the scenes space

require tour groups to remain small. The schedule

of the scientists and docents entails that they would

only be able to give tours for a few hours a week.

Social

There is no promotion of either type of tours outside

of the museum and little knowledge of what exists

to entice visitors to seek it out.

PROBLEM INDICATORS

26

Layout of Exhibits

Relevant exhibits are spread out throughout the

museum and will need an effective wayfinding

system to direct visitors to them.

Preservation

Any insects that need to be added to exhibits

for the tour need to be handled in accordance with

the preservation guidelines of the museum.

Point of Entry

The tour needs to be initiated at a prominent

point in the museum, so that it is not overlooked.

The system of tours also needs to be flexible

enough to accommodate the variations in timing

and movement through a space that the various

exhibits afford.

Content

The touchpoints of the tour need to be relatively

discreet so that they do not distract from the

exhibits they are placed in, but rather highlight the

information they contain.

Technology

The affordances of technology need to be considered

with respect to how much they may contribute or

distract from the current exhibits as opposed to more

low-tech options.

CONSIDERATIONS

29

As a result of our findings, the scope of the

project shifted to design a new conception of a

tour that would suit the interests and learning

styles of this generation of college aged individuals.

In order to cater to this demographic’s sense of

individuality, personal discovery and connection

oriented sensibility, we set out to create a series

of self-guided tours that could be tailored to

each individual’s interests.

We wanted to create an explorative experience,

where visitors could engage in hands-on learning,

making a more resonant and personal tour. In

order to do this, we would utilize the pre-existing

exhibits to draw connections and move bugs from

just behind the scenes to all corners of the museum.

REDEFINING THE PROBLEM

Guided tours behind-

the-scenes

Self-guided discovery

throughout the museum

development

32

Us Bugs

Finding the relevant narrative

33

In order to bridge the gap between the visitor and

bugs, we decided to focus on the varying ways

that insects affect humans and the environment.

We broke up these points into topics of culture,

biodiversity and evolution, and researched how

different types of bugs played a role in each.

These groupings started to form a set of narratives

that could guide the physical and intellectual

movement through the museum. These concepts

would also provide a secondary significance to the

research being done on these bugs by scientists

behind the scenes.

DESIGN PROJECTIONS

Biodiversity

The push and pull

between insects and the

ecosystem today.

Culture

Translation of insect’s

significance into folklore

or story.

Evolution

How insects and ecosystem

affect each other over time.

34

Insects already exist in exhibits throughout the

museum, but are often overlooked. The presence

of these hidden touchpoints affords a unique

opportunity in providing the visitor with an element

of challenge while searching for relevant information.

The proliferation of insects throughout the museum’s

exhibits also draws a parallel to the ubiquitousness

of insects in human life and their relation to a number

of different areas.

Despite their differences in location and form, the

self-guided tours in the museum’s exterior must

be able to relate to the docent led tours behind the

scenes, both stylistically and conceptually. These

systems should inform each other and create a more

enriching overall experience.

CONSIDERATIONS FRAMING OPPORTUNITIES

36

In order to institute our system, we created a

method of layered learning to guide the tour process.

The visitor will first be drawn in by a visual hook

which garners initial interest while also graphically

introducing the content. Next they will be lead

through the content through a logical narrative which

helps them create connections and empathy with

insects. Finally, they will be given a takeaway that

facilitates reflective learning and the retention

of their experience.

In our organization of the themes of culture,

biodiversity and evolution, along with the role of

bugs in each, we created a matrix that demonstrates

how our content flows across these themes and

how connections could be formed. This range of

topics not only allows for enough diversity to fit

the interests of a wide array of visitors, but it also

enables the discussion of bugs to expand into

every corner of the museum.

ORGANIZING IDEAS

Visual Hook

Relevant Narrative

Takeaway

37

creation and rebirth

decomposers demonstrate bringing life from

death bringing the life cycle full circle

butterflies represent migration

and transportation

moths represent insanity,

darkness and the afterlife

reflection of ideal hierarchical human society

symbol of knowledge, wisdom and deity

decomposition and fertilization

pest control - eating the bugs that

destroy crops and harm humans

pollination

decomposition

sybiosis with plant population

decomposition and fertilization

carriers of disease

symbol of youth

demonstrate endurance and vitality

pollination

need plant diversity to maintain health

nests reflective of constraints of environment

diversity in beetles across different

biomes reflects their adaptation to needs

in specific areas

metamorphosis as a division of

ecological niches

simultaneous development with

flowering plants

camouflage and hearing as survival techniques

able to withstand extreme conditions

adapt to many different ecosystems

evolved as specific pollinating agents,

drove the rapid evolution of flowering plants

bees evolved from carniverous wasps

CULTURE BIODIVERSITY EVOLUTION

Bee

tles

Bu

tter

flie

s &

mot

hs

Bee

s, w

asps

& a

nts

Flie

s

38

We initially brainstormed a number of means

through which these tours could be conducted,

ranging from 2D, to digital to spatial. These all

focused on an element of discovery and withheld

information, whether it be in unlocking new facts

about the museum through an ipad app, moving

through a large scale gigapan image, uncovering

hidden information on a flashlight tour, or decoding

a dynamic map.

PRELIMINARY IDEATION

40

We developed two options of media that the

information could be conveyed through, one

high tech and one low tech.

The high-tech option relied on the use of ipads

to detect RFID tags located in exhibits that contain

insects to unlock relevant information. The low-tech

mode employed a series of wall decals hidden in the

exhibits that would provide information about the

insects once it was uncovered through the use of a

special set of decoder glasses.

MOCK-UPS & TESTING

42

Through our observations and discussions with

visitors at the mid-project science fair, a number of

points were brought to our attention:

Protection of iPads

The number of discovery points

to keep visitors engaged

The challenge in finding these

points while still keeping the idea

of playful discovery

Image based identification

(making everything more visual)

Making scientific terms more

accessible to visitors

How information is conveyed

over time

Through our observations and discussions with

visitors at the mid-project science fair, a number

of points were brought to our attention:

Through feedback from the museum staff

and visitors, we decided upon a low tech

system, due to the affordances and potential

distractions of the digital medium that we

witnessed through our presentation.

DISCOVERIES / FEEDBACK

system concept

46

The system of self guided tours eventually

manifested itself in a low-tech form as a series of

cards, located at various exhibits throughout the

museum, that would allow the visitor to direct

themselves through the tour in a way that forms

connections from one point to the next while

catering to their interests and allowing them to

create their own individually resonant tour.

Each card contains a point about one insect’s role

in either culture, biodiversity or evolution, and then

provides options for next destinations on the tour,

within those three themes. In this way, the visitor

can move fluidly between the different major themes

and insect types in a completely adaptable yet

logical progression.

THE EXPERIENCE

47

INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS

Assorted cards

Card holder

RFID key

Envelope

48

This system of tours creates a holistic experience

that moves the visitor independently through

CMNH’s exhibits along a narrative path they create

themselves. The information they encounter relates

bugs to their own world and interests through the

themes of culture, biodiversity and evolution, and

allows the visitor to make connections between

them. This tour eventually leads the visitor to a

guided tour behind the scenes of the entomology

department, where they are able to make

connections between the historical information they

just learned and the research being done in

the present. In this way, the museum’s many facets

of learning are both united and informed by

each other.

OVERARCHING SYSTEM

49

africa

polar world

na

tive am

erica

egypt

experimental gallery

dinosaur hall

bota

ny

hall

north a

mer

ica

scarabsculture

fliesculture

butterfliesculture

mothsculture

waspsculture

beetlesbiodiversity

beetlesevolution

beesculture

ladybugsculture

mothsbiodiversity

beesbiodiversity

waspsevolution

fliesevolution

waspsbiodiversity

butterfliesevolution

mothsevolution

beesevolution

fliesbiodiversity

50

Acquisition

The key and introductory card must be mentioned

and available when the visitor buys their ticket to

enter the museum.

The visitor must receive a ‘bug key’ which uses

an RFID tag to unlock the cards and track the

visitor’s journey.

The introductory card must explain how the

system of acquisition works and give options

of starting points.

The introductory card must introduce the concept of

the behind the scenes tour and provide times when

it is available.

System Connections

Each card must provide at least one but up to

three possible directions for the acquisition of the

next card, that represent the topics of culture,

biodiversity and evolution.

The options for next steps must be logically

connected to the content of the current card.

The connections must provide spatial direction

of where in the museum the next card is located.

Space

The cards must be located in a relevant exhibit

of the museum, either relating to the insect being

discussed or the culture it relates to.

Each card is housed in its own box, which has an

adjacent placard providing a brief introduction to

the topic of the card.

If a relevant exhibit space does not exist, a

temporary landing point may be created (such as

the butterfly wall).

Cards

Each card must be of the same size.

Most cards should be printed on paper, but

some cards may utilize other media for relevant

interactions.

The graphics used on the cards must inform the

textual information presented on the opposing side.

Each card must convey information relating a given

insect to the topic of either culture, biodiversity or

evolution.

DESIGN CRITERIA

51

Takeaway

The ‘bug key’ must enable the visitor to access their

card collection online once they leave the museum.

When viewing the collection, the visitor should

be able to track the order in which they acquired

their cards.

The online collection must allow the viewer to see all

the other cards available at the museum that they

have not yet gotten.

The visitor should have the option of purchasing

a case to hold all the physical cards they have

collected at the museum.

Behind the Scenes

The behind the scenes tour must be led by a docent.

The tours must only be available for a limited

timeframe each week, in accord with the scientist’s

availability.

The tour groups should be small (5-8 people at

a time).

The tour must identify the major steps in the work

scientists do behind the scenes (acquisition and

surveys, identification, research, publication and the

loan program)

At least one scientist should address the tour

group and either explain the scope of his work or

specifically what he/she is working on at that time.

Visitors should be given access to view collections

of insects that are otherwise not available to the

public.

52

IN MUSEUM SCENARIO

Visitor enters the museum and heads for the ticket counter

Visitor uses the map and intro card to discover the first stop on the tour

Buys admission and is given information about the new set of tours

Receives packet containing instructions, map and key

Is introduced to the option of a behind-the-scenes tour. Ticket attendant will assist in picking a time slot if visitor is interested

53

Box reveals first set of cards and visitor takes one

Using colored keywords, the visitor can choose which card they want to find next

With use of key, card box unlocks via RFID sensors

Visitor continues discovering cards which leads them around the museum

54

BEHIND THE SCENES SCENARIO

Visitor heads to the behind-the-scenes area when it's time for their tour, with mobile notification also as an option

Takes a docent led tour through the back areas

Meets one of the scientists that does research for the museum and collects his/her "trading card"

55

Experiences insects up close and personal with Gigapan zooming

Takes a look at the insect identification process

Gets to try and and identify insects based on what they have learned

56

ADDITIONAL INTERACTIONS

We went through the museum and identified a

number of available spaces in relevant exhibits

where we could employ visuals to help navigate and

illustrate the narrative of the tours.

Many of these spaces utilized blank walls in the

cultural exhibits where we wanted to discuss the

relevance of an insect to that culture, but the exhibit

had no preexisting mention of the insect.

AMERICAN INDIANS

57

3RD FLOOR

GRAND STAIRCASEPOLAR WORLD

58

ADDITIONAL INTERACTIONS

An example utilization of one of these opportunity

spaces is the creation of a butterfly “dream wall”

in the Native American exhibit. We wanted to be

able to tell the story of how certain tribes believed

that butterflies brought dreams to us in our sleep.

However, we had no relevant landing spot in the

Native American exhibit to place this information.

To do this, we developed the concept of a “dream

wall”, where visitors write down their dreams on a

paper butterfly and attach it to one of the free walls

in the exhibit, creating a space for this story to live

in. Visitors receive the paper butterflies when they

unlock the corresponding card, thus instilling

multiple levels of interaction.

60

EXTENSION

In collaboration with the digital group, we will be

utilizing their system of ‘keys’ to unlock each card

from its designated box at each exhibit in order to

form a sense of exclusivity and additional effort in

uncovering information.

The use of this key, powered by RFID tags, will also

enable the tracking of a visitor’s journey through the

tour. Once they have left the museum, they can look

up their collection online, as well as the rest of the

museum’s collection that they have not yet attained.

This not only enables the visitor to recall their

experience later, but also entices them to return to

the the museum when they see all the cards left

to collect.

production

64

VISUAL LANGUAGE

In order to develop a continuous visual system,

we sought to select colors that stand on their own

as decals but could also work together on the cards.

The off-white serves as the base of the cards, while

the yellow, turquoise and red function as spot

colors that identify the themes (culture: yellow,

biodiversity: turquoise and evolution: red).

For the typopgraphic system, we wanted a

friendly sans serif that is fairly easy to read by

all ages. We settled on Klavika, a typeface familiar

to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History,

and kept the type hiearchy within the same font

family using the bold weight as headers and

the italic for captions and emphasis.

C: 11

M: 20

Y: 67

K: 0

C: 3

M: 3

Y: 7

K: 0

C: 54

M: 12

Y: 30

K: 0

C: 2

M: 58

Y: 52

K: 0

HEX: E3CC54

HEX: F7F7ED

HEX: 75E0B2HEX: FA6B7A

65

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV WX YZ

0123456789

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV WX YZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Klavika Bold

Klavika Regular

Klavika Italic

66

CARD SYSTEM

Depending on the amount of information

allocated to each card, we developed a flexible grid

system that varies in composition to afford for the

information length. We also took the amount of

supplemental text (directions to the next card based

on the themes) into consideration by leaving wide

margins that surround the main text.

1”

4 1/4”

6"

67

1/2”

68

CARD SYSTEM: BREAKDOWN OF CARD

In order to prototype our system of cards, we built

out the culture collection and some of the behind the

scenes cards. Each culture card employs a visual hook

by graphically illustrating the legend or story being

told on the other side. This story evokes a relevant

narrative when it is placed in succession with other

cards that connect it across the three themes.

The behind the scenes cards follow the same format,

without providing the connections to next cards

since they are supplied on a docent led tour. They do,

however, provide QR codes that allow the visitor to

access more detailed information on the scientist the

card highlights.

70

CARD SYSTEM: BUTTEFLY DREAM WALL CARD

The butterfly dream wall card, found in the Native

Americans exhibit, will function as a sort of greeting

card, with a consistent front image and a varying

back image that comes from a set of cropped

patterns featured on the right. All of the card

interiors will display the same information — the

supplementary text on the left and the interactible

butterfly on the right. When visitors add their dream

to the butterfly and tear it out of the card, the

resulting imagery on the butterfly's wings will be part

of the cropped pattern featured on the back.

This card, along with other interactible cards, are

meant to encourage visitor contribution as well as

secondary learning throughout the exhibits.

FrontBack

71

Inside

72

CARD SYSTEM: BUILD A BEETLE CARD

Visitors may recieve this takeaway when they take

the behind-the-scenes tour, depending if they run

into "Beetle" Bob Davidson. This card is made of 1/8"

plywood, and visitors can build their own beetle by

putting together the pieces. Each scientist will have

their own "trading card", pictured below, as well as a

special takeaway.

73

Visitors may recieve this takeaway if they meet

Bob Androw, one of the museum's scientists who

studies invasive species. One of these species is the

bark beetle, who leaves interesting tracks as they

burrow through the wood. This card would function

similarly to the the butterfly dream wall card but will

instead have bark beetle tracks laser-etched into

the card.

CARD SYSTEM: BARK BEETLE CARD

74

We developed a logo system to help visitors identify

with the themes (culture, biodiversity and evolution)

as well as the location of the card dispenser within

the exhibit.

In accompaniment to the theme graphic, there will

be a label containing supplementary information

that is relevant to the card content and exhibit.

WAYFINDING

5”

3”

4”

4”

76

CARD DISPENSER

Boxes containing the cards will be located

throughout the museum in related exhibits.

Each box is placed with a symbol designating

if it is a culture, biodiversity or evolution

card, along with a placard that gives a brief

introduction to the topic discussed on the card.

3/4”

7”3/4”

embedded RFID

FRONT 1/2 SCALE MODELSIDE BACK

TOP

1 3/8”

1/4”

2/5”

1/8”1 3/8”4 3/4” 4 3/4”

77

3/4”

7”3/4”

embedded RFID

FRONT 1/2 SCALE MODELSIDE BACK

TOP

1 3/8”

1/4”

2/5”

1/8”1 3/8”4 3/4” 4 3/4”

78

MAPS

We have located about 18 destinations for the

tour, with a combination of culture, biodiversity

and evolution points depending on the room.

This tour would cover Dinosaur Hall and the

Experimental Gallery (1st floor); Botany, North

America and Africa (2nd floor); and Native

Americans, Polar World and Egypt (3rd floor).

While visitors may choose to visit all points in

a room rather than jump from floor to floor, we

determined that the system is flexible enough

to allow such variation; for the importance lies

more on the content of the cards rather than

the order by which they were collected.

80

PRODUCTION COSTS

PRINTING

We estimated each box to be filled with

50 cards/day, 6 days a week. With 18 card

variations, that's:

50 cards/day x 6 days a week x 4 weeks x 18

= 21,600 cards/month

We contacted a distributor and it costs roughly

$750 for 25,000 cards (4 color, matte, offset press)

BOX

Plywood costs roughly $6/sheet (4 x 8 ft) and taking

into account the cost of materials (wood, glue, stain,

hinges) and labor, each box would cost:

$6.60/box x 18 = about $120 for 18 boxes

(not including labor costs)

RFID

The RFID reader and tag cost:

$70/kit x 18 boxes = $1,260/year

81

Designing an experience was definitely challenging.

We knew we wanted to incorporate the existing

exhibits into the tour, as well as craft a guided tour

that was flexible enough for variation based on the

visitor's personal interests. The hardest part was

defining the content and making sure it was relevant

to the available exhibits.

Overall, this was a meaningful opportunity for us to

better understand how the museum functions and

to discover ways for design to play a role. We are very

excited to have been able to be a part of the new

direction the Carnegie Museum of Natural History is

headed in.

Thank you!

CLOSING THOUGHTS

CMNH Process Book

Documents

Transcript of CMNH Process Book