Sloan Museum of Discovery
Discovery, History, and Early Childhood Galleries
History Gallery
Capabilities
Concept/Media Development
Experience Design
Media/Content Development
Visual Design
What makes a world-class community museum? For the Sloan Museum of Discovery it’s shining a light on the stories of the people of Flint, MI and reflecting them into the world with experiences devised to expand as the community evolves and the museum grows.
StoryStones
Our StoryStones interactive winds through the exhibit space and uses community members’ stories to reclaim the Flint River as a vital symbol of Flint’s perseverance. As visitors walk along the river they trigger unexpected stories that put them in dialogue with key elements of Flint’s history, like the automotive industry and the founding experiences of the Anishinaabe peoples.
Flint’s story is one of tenacity through monumental changes. To keep the exhibit relevant as the community evolves, we built StoryStones as an expandable content management platform so the museum can continuously collect and bring stories into the galleries.
Interview Billy Durant
General Motors founder Billy Durant helped put Flint on the map as the birthplace of the automotive industry. In this augmented reality experience, visitors step into the role of a Flint Journal reporter to interview Durant for a first-person account of this transformative time.
This exhibit brings the cars and carriages in this gallery to life by connecting them to a human story. Visitors converse with a historical reenactor on a transparent OLED screen on topics from Flint’s evolution into an industrial hub to the challenges and triumphs of Durant’s career.
Inside the Hellcat
AR brings visitors to places they can’t go on their own, like inside this World War II-era M18 Hellcat tank destroyer. Manufactured in Flint by General Motors, it symbolizes the strength of a city and an industry working together to meet a pivotal moment in history.
This reimagined experience reveals what’s behind the armor with period appropriate motion graphics, detailed schematics, and archival footage. It’s fun, engaging, and just plain cool.
This is Flint: Fair Housing
Flint was one of the first US cities to outlaw restrictive housing laws. This touchscreen interactive situates visitors in neighborhoods affected by these laws and their legacy.
By focusing on specific homes, some still standing and some demolished, we connect the city’s physical landscape with a deeper story of inequality, resilience, and change. The interactive map places visitors in proximity to the stories of these neighborhoods and reveals how these laws continue to shape Flint today.
Discovery Hall
Capabilities
Concept Development
Experience Design
Software Development
UX/Visual Design
For this gallery dedicated to the physical sciences, hands-on digital interactives show kids just how much agency they can have on the world around them. Exhibits turn abstract scientific concepts into experiences that highlight why science matters to both their immediate community and the world.
Climate Climb
This Arctic-themed interactive teaches kids that a location’s climate is its weather patterns over time. Visitors enter their birthdate to see temperature variations on that same day throughout history. A playful polar bear keeps kids company while they learn.
Get in Your Element!
Addressable LEDs light up this giant periodic table when visitors select an element, displaying unique, programmable effects. Visitors use touch screens to virtually alchemize common molecules like salt, CO2, and rust while a virtual beaker reveals the end result, along with animated molecules and facts about each element involved.
Weather Station
Using a mix of virtual sliders, visitors remix weather conditions to create atmospheric outcomes from blizzards to thunderstorms. Along the way they learn how different environmental factors like humidity, air pressure, and stability affect the weather in their own community.
