Ideum, an experiential designer of interactive exhibits, is celebrating the completion of several exhibits for the new visitor centre at the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, near Albuquerque in New Mexico.
This is the first Urban Wildlife Refuge established in the Southwest and its visitor centre allows guests to be welcomed by staff and volunteers, access orientation information, and engage with interactive exhibits. The centre is expected to open to the public this spring.
Accessibilty and community input
The new exhibits were created by Ideum, with significant stakeholder input and collaboration, working with the dedicated members of the wildlife refuge team.
Across the content and exhibits, the company took on feedback from the local community, community consultants, the Pueblo of Isleta, NM Commission for the Blind, community partner organizations, individuals with a personal connection to the refuge and the Friends of Valle de Oro. Friends of the refuge also contributed their stories to the Voices of the Valley interactive, where visitors can listen to stories told in the first person.
For this project, accessibility was a key consideration for the team, and design decisions were made to ensure that the exhibits were as welcoming and accessible to as many people as possible. As such, there is no ambient audio, in consideration of those with sensory processing challenges. Instead, all audio is delivered via handsets.
In addition, all content is available in both English and Spanish. Visitors are offered an audio accessibility tour, presented through handheld guides. Each digital interactive includes an audio accessibility layer for blind and low vision guests.
The exhibits have been designed to cater to different age groups, prioritising areas and storage for activities for the youngest visitors. This means that the Community Gathering Space includes benches and furniture that can easily be rearranged, used by all ages, and can store activity boxes for younger guests.
A colourful and welcoming space
The space features artwork, including a community art installation that celebrates members’ connection to the outdoors in the Middle Rio Grande Valley.
A local artist was also commissioned to produce an artwork. This was then digitized to create an interactive, where guests can tap on different elements to reveal the story of the refuge. Plus, a custom mural created by a local artist previously has now been digitized and installed as a giant wall mural. This brings warmth and colour to the space, making it feel welcoming for visitors.
50 percent of the exhibit space is dedicated to a community gathering space, which includes comfortable and flexible furniture as well as power outlets for charging personal devices. This encourages people to stay for a while and allows them to enjoy the refuge without hiking or walking the trails. They can sit and look out through the big glass window/wall at the back to the pond of the building, where lots of animals have already taken up residence.
An important asset for the community
For Ideum, this project was an ideal opportunity to showcase and develop its skill sets in designing, developing and producing a mix of exhibits and exhibit types.
“We’ve gained more experience collaborating with large groups of stakeholders and expanded our experience in designing for accessibility,” says the company. “The refuge itself, the visitor center, and now these exhibits are all important and well-deserved assets for the South Valley community, it’s been wonderful to be a part of that. We’re excited to continue to develop compelling experiences both here in New Mexico and across the country.”
Jennifer Owen-White, refuge manager, says:
“We hope that Valle de Oro is a place that our visitors feel comfortable, not only for visiting one time, but for coming back over and over again. We want this to be sort of like a community gathering space where neighbors and community members want to come, over and over. If you have a weekend and you’re not sure what to do – let’s go to Valle de Oro!
“If you are students who are done with school for the day or who need a place to study – let’s go to Valle de Oro. And I hope that the accessibility that we’ve built into this building makes people feel comfortable and makes this a place that they want to come back to, over and over again, and that they want to bring their friends and family because they feel so comfortable and so welcome.”
Ideum says this has been such a special project for the team:
“It’s offered us the chance to do what we do best (design engaging, beautiful, and interactive exhibits utilizing technology to create meaningful social experiences) for a community resource that’s right here in our own backyard. We’re excited to bring our families and friends to the refuge to experience it!”
Last year, Ideum planned and built a range of exhibits for The Denny Sanford Wildlife Explorers Basecamp at San Diego Zoo in California.
