Blue Telescope, an award-winning interactive exhibit agency, has created media and interactive exhibits for the recently renovated Sloan Museum of Discovery, which reopened earlier this year. The firm’s work is present in the three main galleries of the Michigan attraction, which opened on 16 July 2022.
As part of a $30 million project, Sloan Museum of Discovery’s expansion and renovations has been delivered through donations from private foundations, corporations, and individuals.
Sloan has removed visitor fees in recent years in a bid to encourage more people to enjoy the museum. The new exhibits are primarily designed for young visitors but are enjoyable for the whole family.
Early Childhood Learning Gallery
Designed for children six and under, younger visitors can explore a miniature city street with different businesses to explore.
Blue Telescope’s exhibits focus on supporting healthy everyday living, covering topics such as nutrition and public safety. Three exhibits focusing on food encourage families to explore a wider variety of food choices and groups, with soft guidance on what makes particular items an everyday or special treat. Children can scan food or beverage at a cash register or drink station and gain useful advice from playful characters.
Discovery Hall
The Sloan Museum’s Earth science gallery showcases the forces that create our planet’s systems, from weather and climate to electricity to air and water pressures.
The Periodic Table exhibit helps guests investigate common molecules like salt, carbon dioxide, and rust. A virtual beaker showcases fun animations for gas, liquid and solid-state molecules, and explains facts about each element.
The arctic-themed Climate Climb interactive displays the impacts of climate change. Guests can input their birthday and view historical temperature data for that calendar date in the local area. This is accompanied by messaging that encourages visitors to play their part in mitigating energy usage.
Blue Telescope’s Weather Station allows guests to customise the weather with virtual sliders. With a range of effects such as blizzards and thunderstorms, visitors will learn about the factors that shape the earth’s atmosphere including stability, humidity and air pressure.
History Gallery
Flint has a varied and interesting culture that has changed over time. The Anishinabek peoples of North America first established communities in Michigan from the 13th Century onwards, settling in forest lands that later attracted European settlers and the lumber industry.
The area played a big role in the establishment of the carriage industry and the founding of the automotive industry in Michigan, which features General Motors.
“When we began working with the museum, it was clear that the stories of Flint needed to be brought to life beyond the “typical” history museum presentation of artefacts and wall text,” says Blue Telescope.
“Flint is a city that has been through a lot of challenges, and we wanted to tell those stories with respect and clarity, bringing diverse perspectives and sharing ideas that might be controversial or uncomfortable. To do that, we invited community members to sit down for discussions about some of these important issues and historical shifts.”
“We brought in award-winning film director Marilyn Agrelo (Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, Mad Hot Ballroom) to conduct these powerful interviews and used that footage to create our StoryStones exhibit.”
Reflecting the Flint River at the heart of the city, the StoryStones exhibit winds along the floor between exhibit areas.
Executive creative director Judith Zissman says: “People often speak of history as a river of time or talk about the turbulent waters of history shaping communities. We wanted to extend that metaphor and talk about the people of Flint as the stones in the river – the “flint” itself, the people who held strong in the face of that turbulence.”
Blue Telescope has also recently developed exhibits for the Kennedy Space Center, including a Robotic Space Explorers Wall and the RL10 Upper Stage Rocket Challenge.
