Durham, NC
Opened Spring 1993

The Museum of Life and Science, nationally recognized as an innovator of interactive exhibits, has spent the past ten years evolving and developing 30,000 square feet of exhibitions within a new facility. One of our goals for the design of the new galleries was to maintain a high level of interactivity in all exhibit areas without creating a homogenized or repetitious visitor experience.

Our approach was to let the experience of the galleries evolve from the content, program and specialized resources available. For instance, in the area showcasing the museum's significant collection of NASA artifacts, the exterior of an engineering mock-up of an Apollo capsule was presented for what it is – a full-size study model – while its interior was retrofitted as a role playing space. The entire gallery was themed as an Aerospace Research and Development Lab with interactive exhibits presented as lab experiments.

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For the Small Science gallery, we created an environment for active exploration and play, scaled down to the size of younger museum visitors and made comfortable for caregivers. And, for Scientifica, a facilitated, hands-on discovery space, we developed a system of highly flexible work tables and storage that visitors find user-friendly and staff can easily re-configure as programs change over time.