Phoebe's Field
_{Design of an Interactive Slate and Website}

Description

"Fields Everywhere is a project aimed at unlocking fields, a powerful yet mostly invisible concept of physics for middle schoolers" -phoebesfield.org

The project was a unique multi-disciplinary effort that melded Engineering, Science and Design (Industrial, Interface and Interaction) into a travelling museum concept targeted at middle school children, particularly girls.

The goal of this year long endeavor, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, was to create concepts, designs and models for interactive exhibits, artifacts and web sites which would educate and inform children about fundamental concepts in physics. A key objective was to motivate them to continue learning even after they had left the exhibit.

Outcome

This project resulted in a number of design concepts and ideas and a patent has been filed for these concepts. I was most involved in the conceptualization of an interactive 'field notebook' that the visitors could use as a guide at the exhibit and also in ideation for a website.

The field notebook was a notepad sized, location aware, touchscreen slate with a custom interactive OS that would gradually engage and educate the user. Depending on its location in the museum, the notebook could become a controller, a communication device or a multimedia gadget. The interface would automatically transform itself based on the task at hand. At the end of the visit, the child would be given an USB flash drive that contained the information created during the session. The data on this drive could then be used on the website to create a singular learning experience that built upon the activities and exhibits at the museum.