Papalote
When I started at Cocolab, in 2015, as an interaction designer, we got the opportunity to work for the Papalote Children's Museum in Mexico City.
Weldon Exhibits hired us to implement some designs that they had made for the Museum, but there was an installation that was specially bad designed. 🙈
It was an installation for the 'Senses' hall exhibit, were the visitors could see and compare their own eyes to others, thanks to a hi-res camera.
The problem was that the camera was originally placed on top of the touch screen. (like a web cam!)
So the kids couldn't even reach to place their face close, and second, they wouldn't look to the camera. They looked to the screen, of course.
I did a prototype with a box, to change the location of the camera, making that the visitor could see the screen with one eye, and geting close enough to the camera to get good picture.
We had to include a led illumination system inside of this box as well.
We included a tactile button, because we noticed it was very hard to use the touch screen with out looking where to point.
Recently I went with my daughter to the museum, and, even though the main concept of a RFID wrist didn't work, some of the installations still work... somehow. They have a RFID card hanging there, to start the interaction.
This is how it looks when you see inside of the box:
Any way, this is what it happens when the expectations and the experience isn't aligned.
The whole experience was supposed to be unique for each kid, where, with the RFID wrist you could 'activate' this kind of interactions, and detonate a gamified experience, where participants could save information, and pictures and get points, but this, was a part of a bigger more complex system, that couldn't work due the logistics, and the way that the kids play.
Here are some of the key points for kids exhibits:
- Kids tend to play in groups even if they don’t know each other.
- They like to explore things, especially physical things(touch, smell, break, climb, play even destroy), compared to digital screen.
- They have very less patience for too many exhibits.
- Most visitors come as a family where there are usually more than two kids. A few group visitors were present as well.
- It is difficult for parents to pay attention to the exhibits because they are busy at looking after the kids.
- Parents need more support with guiding the kids