Interactify - Tyrannosaurus Exhibit, o9.01.2025
This project is a design for an interactive Tyrannosaurus exhibit. The exhibit is subdivided into four sections: each exploring different strategies that paleontologists and paleoartists use to determine what dinosaurs looked like.
1) Sorting - On the left, is a box that allows visitors to sort fossil tokens, based on similarity to other fossils. Each compartment opens to reveal images of all the fossils that fit a certain category (ex. teeth, vertebrae). The green handle can be pulled to reset the activity and drop all the tokens back into an open inventory.
On the right, contains a visual of fossils being arranged to form a skeleton and an explanation of how paleontologists will use previous skeletons to identify any missing pieces. This is also a good area to explain how bones can reveal other clues about a creatures's life, like stance, body posture, and even diet.
2) Scar Identification - On the left, a casted bone fossil can be rotated between two decorative fossil statuettes. A magnifying glass and diagram explain that paleontologists look for scars left behind by muscle tissue to identify where muscles were located.
On the right, a sliding visual demonstrates how this strategy can be used to add the muscles of a tyrannosaurus onto what is known about its skeleton.
3) Texture - Blocks with the engraved imprint of different textures allows visitors to both see and feel what fur, scale, feather, or skin type looks like in fossil form. A flippable visual can test the vistor's knowledge by prompting them to guess a trio of textures after studying each. The texture and impression of blood vessels allow paleontologists to discern what types of skin a creature had.
4) Color - Visitors can use a spinning disc to view different slides via a microscope. The microscope includes a screen and focus adjusting knobs. A picture diagram explains that different colors present differently under a microscope via melanosome molecules. The disc challenges them to match up colors based on their appearance. This method is one of the strategies uses by paleontologists to determine what color creatures were.