UX Designer & Writer
Backstory
The NY Hall of Science wanted a kiosk activity for its exhibit on evolution. I designed a touch-screen activity that let visitors recreate Peter and Rosemary Grants’ Galapagos finch study. It demonstrates that evolution can be observed in a short stretch.
A 3-minute simulation
I worked within pre-defined constraints. It had to be:
- bilingual, with a looped attractor screen
- 3 minutes long
- an authentic simulation of the Grant study
I researched the study to understand how to break it down into a mini-simulation. I broke down the multiyear study into three virtual Galapagos visits:
- Wet season: Everyone is eating. All is well.
- Drought: Birds are dying.
- Deluge: Hey! The baby birds look just like the drought survivors.
“You see a number of medium ground finches eating small, soft seeds. They ignore the larger tough seeds. You hang a mist net to take a closer look.”
“You gently remove each bird from the net. You band its leg so you can recognize it later. Then you use a caliper to measure the size of its beak.”
Result
The photo-realistic style worked nicely to convey place and season.
What to change? The voiceover has good emphasis (necessary in a crowded museum context). But the pacing is overly formal.