The Smithsonian's newest exhibit provides an exploration into what is to come. How do the digital interactives of tomorrow engage visitors today?
In celebration of it 175th anniversary, the Smithsonian Institution re-opened the Arts and Industries Building in September 2021 for the first time since 2009. The paramount "exploration", FUTURES, focuses on exactly what it sounds like. The museum (exhibit?) is split into four sections, Futures Past, Futures that Unite, Futures that Inspire, Futures that Work. The entire exhibition hall is filled with tons of alluring tech and objects, from a prototype of a Hyperloop to costumes from the most recent Marvel movie.
For this evaluation, I took a look at Futures that Unite. This exhibit doesn't have an especially flashy centerpiece like the other three, so I thought it might be an interesting exploration into engagement.
Immediately inside Futures that Unite, the visitor is met with a wooden structure and three chairs in front of touch screens suggesting you, "Design Your Own Neighborhood". When I walked in, the chairs were filled and they stayed filled for the next 30 minutes. Let's get started with our evaluation of this digital interactive.
"Design Your Own Neighborhood" put the user in the positions of Mayor, Ecologist, and Developer on a mission to create a 25 block neighborhood. By switching between roles, the user could chose where to place a school, community center, urban garden, city farm, apartment block, commercial building, etc. in order to create a successful development. Along the way, a form of AI, called generative design, gives suggestions of what to add and where, working to drive home the point that AI is an effecient helper in collaborating and solving overwhelming problems by working through many solutions alongside the humans.
Usability & Accessibility
I found this interactive to be fairly user-friendly. The controls themselves required the user to touch and hold, which personally took me a second to catch onto. Clear icons denote when the user is acting in which role. As a former early childhood educator, the activity could be simplified with the help of an adult for a younger person, allowing them to participate and think about what a neighborhood needs as well. The tables and chairs meant that the touch screens were fully accessible to people of all sizes and abilities. It also encourages people to stay longer. The entire experience was captioned but I did not notice an option to turn on audio.
Technology & Creativity
This digital interactive was a touch screen device. It made sense for the proejct and I didn't run into any bugs while using it. The touch screen functioned well and the screen was big enough to see detail in the different landscape options. I wonder what a physical version of this could look like - if pieces could be placed on physical map and still be analyzed digitally. This could be a great modification for people that prefer a tactile modality.
Connection to Content
It could be very easy to walk directly up to this interactive without reading the surrounding labels. This is common challenge inside exhibits. The label associated with this interactive is pictured to the right. The label states, "Often designers must solve big, complicated problems with limited time, not enough money, and collaborators with competing needs...This is what generative design can do, it is a form of artifical intelligence (AI) that generates potentail solutions." While the user of the digital interactive recieved many suggestions from the AI throughout the design process, the user doesn't walk away understanding much more about how the AI works. I walked away with a greater understandning of the different factors that go into creating a city space (which was also a super cool takeway!) but not a huge revererance or appreciation for generative design. I think this interactive did a solid job introducing visitors to the pros of generative design but left a little to be desired in taking the next step in learning.
Engagement
This activity lead the user on a fairly indepth, 2 minute or so tutorial and then launched into the real deal. It was very engaging and often kept people focused for 5 minutes or more. Around 30-40 people were milling around the gallery while I was observing and the chairs were not open for more than 30 seconds in between users. I think this digital interactive adds an important opporutnity for engagement early on in this space, allowing visitors to carry their quick introduction to AI and collaboration with them as they move through the exhibit.