Exterior
From the exterior of the museum, I could tell that design decisions were made to have the museum take on characteristics of the surrounding landscape. Formally, the museum looked like a very simplified geometric mountain ridge. The roof and siding of the building mimic the irregularity of brush and rock on the mountain. The individual sheets are made of different type of metal which age differently overtime.
Form follows Concept
As I entered the museum I was searching for an overall concept at work. At first I noticed that the signage and iconography in the museum were like relief sculptures subtly coming out of the wall with a triangular polygonal faces.
Levels
CanyonThe main lobby and entrance of the Natural History Museum is called the "Canyon". The entrance to the museum also serves as the first geological level that guests visit.
Sky
After making the trek to the top level of the museum, I noticed that the top level is called "Sky" and on this sky level the subject matter of the exhibit pieces ranged from astronomy to meteorology. In the middle of the room was a very approachable spherical table with a projection of the Sun on it.
The land area of the museum was full of amazing exhibits that got the audience members involved in actively learning about complex subject like dna, water cycle and pollination.
When a designers can get the audience actively involved in solving a simple puzzle they are giving individuals a more memorable experience. Through solving the simple dna and pollination puzzles viewer gains ownership over small piece of that interaction. This interaction tool is something that we can take advantage of in graphic design in order to keep our audience engaged and make sure that they are storing the information into their long term memory.
