Museum of Life and Science
Durham, NC
Opened Fall 2003

Jeff Kennedy Associates is involved in the development and design of innovative outdoor exhibit components for two major areas of BioQuest Woods, a 60+ acre natural habitat at the Museum of Life & Science in Durham, North Carolina, a museum with which JKA has had the pleasure of working over the course of the past decade. BioQuest Woods’ components include audio and video monitoring of live animals in their natural habitats, using sensors to collect data on a variety of animal behaviors taking place in parts of the habitat not easily visible by visitors. In one area, Down to Earth, visitors explore the world of a field biologist through components featuring bears, wolves and lemurs in a shaded forest and wetland; in Catch the Wind, a 3-acre grassy knoll surrounded by woodlands, visitors examine how air moves and how plants and animals move through the air.

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The overall visitor experience of BioQuest Woods integrates nature, environmental artwork and hands-on exhibits and is planned to be as much an aesthetic experience as it is a scientific exploration.

Front end development of this project, funded by the National Science Foundation, concentrated on prototyping outdoor computer-based interactive components incorporating video microscopes and other scientific instruments. JKA worked with the museum’s consultants to develop kiosks capable of withstanding extremes of heat and cold, with glare-free monitors easily read by visitors even in bright sunshine. Partner museums in the NSF grant will be involved in testing prototypes of these components in the environmental extremes of Texas and Minnesota, as will the National Zoo and the Indianapolis Zoo.