40+
Curated Animatronics
13
Multimedia Interactives
10
Interpretive Areas
The Challenge
Droids
Animatronics
Education
TSJ is a nonprofit group of volunteers who use self-built droids to encourage S.T.E.A.M. learning. Pretty inspiring, right? To support the cause, we brought their message to more people at the 2024 COSI Science Festival.
They had a huge space inside the front lobby to fill. But with so many different contributors, they needed to create a unified experience—and a message that wouldn’t just get people excited about Star Wars, but would make them interested in pursuing S.T.E.A.M. education.
STRATEGIC
SPARK
“Learning is the path to magic.” We leaned in on that one central theme and designed every moment to encourage visitors to believe it.
From Spark to Reality
Making it Happen
Interpretive Planning
Environment Design
Multimedia Interactives
It started with interpretation. A full research phase provided enough data to build a robust interpretive plan that documented our shared vision, behavioral objectives, and communication plan.
With that interpretive foundation, we used TSJ’s amazing droids and animatronics to catapult learning. Each moment let guests interact on a personal level. The exhibit brought them closer so they could see that by learning science, technology, engineering, art, and math, they could become builders themselves—and make anything imaginable in this galaxy or beyond.
The Work
S.T.E.A.M. Interactives
/
Hands on interactives let guests see what it was like to build for themselves. Signage shared how to get started at home.
The Container
/
Using LiDAR mapping our team created the event to be immersive and accessible, fitting perfectly within the museum's atrium space.
Centerpiece
/
Ahhh! A tie-fighter crash landed into the science festival.
Sci-Fi Bar
/
A functional bar straight out of the cosmos let guests feel like they were partying on another planet.
Projection Mapping
/
Media throughout the experience communicated while giving the whole space a futuristic vibe.
Technology
/
Large transparent screens and holoboxes enabled guests to access information while immersing themselves in galactic content.
In Action
/
During the event, different sectors would come alive to engage guests of all ages.
Design
/
Experiences that engaged people of all ages, and took them through vibrant moments that skillfully merged technology and storytelling.
Meet the Droids
/
Sci-fi motion graphics, a talking robot, and huge signage quickly immersed people in the world.
The Dark Side
/
At night for the museum’s ‘After Dark’ program we had the opportunity to further utilize the space and to expand our projection mapping in new and thrilling ways.
The Results
Curiosity
Family Engagement
Magic
Surveys showed that guests loved it—and more importantly, they left inspired. Results suggested that kids were eager to learn more about engineering. They wanted to know how to make the bots. They were curious about how we created the projection mapping and media. Parents wanted even more content for next year, and they were excited to have more events like this one in their backyard.
For those of us working the event, seeing kids light up on site proved that adding story magic to education truly does make a difference.
