This UK based traveling exhibition called The Science of Survival focuses on life in 2050 and how the environment and our natural resources will be less abundant in the future, compared to today. This includes drinking water, food and energy. A goal of this exhibit is to provoke thought and encourage visitors to understand the different choices that can be make today that will assist in preserving the environment. Visitors receive an RFID card (looks like a security access card)
which tracks the decisions they make throughout various “Build Your Own” type participatory activities. Visitors are asked to build their own vehicle of the future. Here visitors select the material they which to build with, the amount of passenger they want to carry, the method of travel and fuel type.
The final product is revealed to the visitor and critiqued by the various characters who provide alternative perspectives.
Tek = loves all technology solutions, Dug is willing to help as long his life is not changed, Buz is the pleaser attempting to make everyone happy and Eco is the environmentalist trying to preserve all things natural. I feel this is very effective approach for museums that are not interested in dictating a right or wrong answer yet wants their visitors to understand the consequence of their decisions.
This continues within the Building section of the exhibition which explorers the different choices available in building a home. Visitors learn about the trade offs and make decisions about the type of structure, how they power their home and are asked to consider how they want to use their unused land.
As visitors create their personalized vehicle, home and food, these creations are recorded through the RFID card to a central database. Once visitors reach the final activity, Future City, they have an opportunity to add their city block into life circa 2050.
This collective summary puts the visitor’s learnings into perspective as their decisions live side by side with all the other visitors of the exhibition.
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