The History Gallery tells the story of Flint’s present day–and future possibility–by tying it to its remarkable past. Within this framework, the Flint River becomes a metaphor for the vibrant ecosystem of communities that continue to thrive despite past challenges–most recently the water crisis of 2014.
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 video projections and first-person perspectives 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 ever-expandable content management platform so the museum can continuously collect and bring first-person stories into the galleries in new ways.
In this gallery promoting everyday health goals for children–like good eating habits–we use play to create engaging educational experiences. Each colorful interactive is a tasty treat loaded with the right informational nutrition for healthy brains, bones, and bodies.
The entire gallery is served up as a healthy side dish of messaging kids and their caregivers might not get anywhere else. And it’s clearly aimed at the community–with people who look like these kids and their neighbors populating the interactives.
For this gallery dedicated to the physical sciences we created engaging, hands-on digital interactives that show kids just how much agency they can have on the world around them. Playful exhibits turn abstract scientific concepts kids may learn in school into accessible, fun moments that highlight why science matters to both their immediate community and the world.
The center of this exhibit–a giant periodic table that lights up when visitors select an element–puts the building blocks of our physical world in kids’ hands. Visitors use touch screens to virtually alchemize common molecules like salt, CO2, and rust. A virtual beaker reveals the end result, along with animated molecules and facts about each element involved.
The museum can continuously update the experience by adding more compounds and animations to the dynamic content management system we created for this exhibit.
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.
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.