cincinnati union terminal space exhibit 

A group project created with Julie Billiter was to redesign existing exhibits at the Cincinnati Union Terminal Center's Museum of Natural History and Science. After studying the museum's current exhibits and how both adults and children react and interact to the most successful and least successful areas, Julie and I took on redesigning the space exhibit.

The new space exhibit is set up in the form of a journey, where each new area takes visitors farther away from earth. Here is the layout of the entire exhibit.



The entrance holds an interactive floor that is weight sensitive. When a person is on a section, it displays the sequence of layers of the Earth's atmosphere, while also providing small facts about every layer the farther they go.



The domed ceiling is a map of the night skies, showing the visible star patterns for a given time. There are many stars in the sky, so only more recognizable constellations are named to decrease confusion but increase readability.

Visitors now have a chance to control the stars themselves by using the interactive planisphere wall, which allows input of a specific time and date to control what is shown on the ceiling.



Here is a wall that holds a moveable miniature shuttle that explains the vehicles needed to go into space and back through user dragging. As the shuttle is moved into each notch, a video related to that mode of transportation will appear in the empty dome space.

People can walk through a retrospective collage of the chronology of the Apollo achievements using television, newspapers, photos, patches, and more, and can begin to understand what it was like to experience events during the actual time period that it occured.

Using a tactile dragger in the shape of a moon rock, a visitor can drag to control how the moon changes phases throughout its 29-day cycle. When the moon rock is in a position longer than 2 seconds, it will display the moon phase name.

Next to the interactive moon controller is an informative panel that explains the science behind the phases of the moon, according to the earth, the moon, and the sun's positions.



The largest part of the exhibit is the moonscape simulation, where people not only learn about the moon's surface but also learn about the Apollo landing sites. In the simulation are space tools, the prized moon rock given to the museum from NASA, along with a replica of Neil Armstrong's space suit, and NASA plaques left by astronauts on the moon.



There are also large simulated craters and large moon rocks to be used as resting and play areas.



The final exhibit contains freestanding arc panels where people can delve deeper into space by learning a little bit about the other planets of the Milky Way galaxy. Each provides information & interactation with defining characteristics to demonstrate the uniqueness of every planet.

If you would like to download the final presentation regarding our research and process, you can get it here.