finding common ground
Middle
How do you combine 3 Biomes with 3 very different experiences to collectively create a holistic experience?
This was our problem. When we began this project, we all came from a very different background with specific
exhibits relating to our specific biomes. We wanted highlight the important factors of our exhibits while still
maintaining a sense of consistency. After much brainstorming, we realized that there was a very
specific denominator in all of our biomes, something that kept everything quite relevant: Water.
01

proposal
Elements
How do you visually represent 3 different environments with different variations of light and visibility?
This was our initial thought-process when trying to understand how we can allow guests to our exhibit to
experience our biomes. Once again, the question of consistency was very important in representation. It’s fairly
simple to show water as blue, but how do you alter that when in deep sea, outdoors, or even underground?
Color Scheme Typography
Fresh Water Sea Water Clouds Underground
Objectives
• Not disturbing the environment/natural biomes of creatures
• Create a positive learning experience
• Use modes of interactive elements as learning tools
• Off-set from primary subject into various sub-categories
02

the experience
Entrance
How do you begin to understand the importance of the human impact to the water cycle?
With drama. In order to really help our demographic understand the high impact of the human condition
within the water-cycle, it was important to make a dramatic statement. To show people what our exact
impact is on water, and how we are forever changing the earth by unethical forms of discarding waste.
The Mountain
“Where do you get your water from?” Entrance Layout
This is the initial question that people will be asked before entering the exhibit. Once they have time to
penetrate the query, they will see a larger-than-life mountain made of plastic water-bottles which they
can walk through. Once inside the atrium, they will be surrounded by water-bottles all around them,
with a small gleaming water-fountain in the center of the atrium. As they walk through the mountain
and out the other side (into the actual exhibition) they will face the following statement:
“This is the water you drink every year-what happeneds to all these bottles?”
They will then be shown an image of the island made up of waste off the coast of the Pacific Ocean.
03

the experience
Layout
04

the experience
Layout
• SALTWATER ROOM | GROUND-LEVEL
Coral Reef Biome
Study Oceans and Seas including species, sodium and evaporation
• CLOUDS | SECOND FLOOR
Solar Energy
Study solar and alternative energy resources, cloud seeding and precipitation
• THE LAKES | FIRST FLOOR
Lakes & Ponds
Study Lakes and Ponds including species, water quality and condensation
• THE CATACOOMBS | BASEMENT
Underground Caves
Study Aquifers, underground caves including, mining fossil water and world thirst
05

the experience
Saltwater Room
The first part of the exhibition is aptly named “The SaltWater Room”. In here will be various exhibitions to discuss Coral Reef biomes, but more
specifically it will be aimed to educate the masses on Ocean and Seas including Pollution and its effects on biodiversity within the Biome from both
ecological, economical and equital points of view. It will also address thirst and the idea of desalination of water as a way to improve quality of life.
1 DESALINATION human impact
There will be a salt-water pond in the middle of the room where elevators desalination area
visitors can fill empty vials with water. They then add salt to the water
and begin the process for desalination. Once they visit the entire
pond
exhibition, they return to the saltwater room to see the progress.
2 COLOR & HEALTH
There will be a series of exhibits aimed to discussing the elemental entrance from
impacts of pollution to the species within the biome by understanding color & health catacoombs
color. Included will be a mirror-exhibit where kids can learn the
9-colors of the rainbow and see UV rays on their own body.
3 HUMAN IMPACT
How is the disturbance of saltwater affecting international
Take-Away
communities. Here we will discuss the plight of human thirst, as well
as Oceans as an economical stable for various communities.
4 SOUND BOOTH
Visitors will have the opportunity to visit a meditation chamber filled • Water-Desalination Kit
with silk pillows where they can just hang out and listen to deep-sea
sounds including whale calls and ocean tides.
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the experience
Clouds
Next, visitors will take fast shooting elevators up to “The Clouds”. In here will be a set of conveyer belts that the visitors will ride through the exhibit, the
purpose being to simulate cloud movement. Various exhibits will focus on the role of clouds using the water-cycle, including evaporation/condensation.
Visitors will be educated on climate change and their effect on humanity, as well as using alternative energy and the dangers of cloud-seeding.
atmosphere area
1 SEEDING
Beijing, Dubai, Paris, The US. Numerous countries around the world
practice cloud seeding as a way to promote a healthy ecosystem:
Only-is it healthy? Children will interact with a faux-sneezing exhibit conveyer belts
where they will experiment with pepper and mothballs.
2 THE ATMOSPHERE
The atomosphere is almost gone. What are the impacts of that to us seeding area stairs to lakes
as a people, as well as the species. How will it effect biodiversity and
the water-cycle? In this exhibit, visitors will get a post-apocoliptic view
on a post-atmosphere world.
3 EMISSIONS Take-Away
What are carbon-emissions? What are the effects of emissions onto
the water-cycle and humanity as a whole? Visitors will get to calculate • Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs
their emissions as well as learn the importance of how they can make
small changes including transportations, bulbs and water.
07

the experience
Lakes
Visitors will then take stairs to an outdoor garden named ‘The Lakes’ through a water-fall simulating condensation and rainfall. Visitors will walk through
a rain show to get onto the lake, the rain will be walling into a pond. Guests will have the option to either go to the left or the right. On the left side will be
a disasterous lake where species have died and water quality is bad, and on the right will be a faux ‘eden’ with a single tree in the middle.
“ACID RAIN” “EDEN”
1 WATER QUALITY TESTING stairs
Visitors will have an on-site access to equiptment to test the quality of tree
the pond. They can test the quality of both the negative and positive
side of the pond, and compare the two together. lake
2 DISSECTION ROOM
There will be a dissection room on location with theater style seating in
stairs dissection room
a viewing chamber. Here, visitors can sit down and watch researchers
gather data on different species. Users can also get involved by
looking through microscopes at the organisms and participate if
called upon.
3 ACID RAIN VS EDEN Take-Away
The two sides of The Lakes will be divided into different sections. One
will represent a post-apocolopitic lake, with dead species, dirty water • Water-Quality Testing Kit
and will discuss the negative impact of Acid Rain. The other side will
be a utopious lake-where everything is perfect with thriving species,
organisms and animals. This will act as a physical visual where visitors
can ‘choose their future’.
08

the experience
Catacoombs
Next, visitors will take a slow elevator located inside the tree which will lead them to ‘The Catacoombs’ where they will learn about underground caves,
fossil water and aquifers. The elevator which they will take will be extremely slow, averaging a ride of about 2 minutes in order to simulate how slow the
process of water dispersement is, as well as to give a feeling of depth. Outside the glass elevator, visitors will see rocks, fossils and roots while speakers
will educate them on the process of sinking water. Once they reach the catacoombs, visitors will wind their way through a visual timeline in order to make
them understand just how long ago it was that the water first reached underground using tanks on the wall showing water-levels. As they make their
way through, the water levels in the tank will decrease while models will change from dinosaurs, to renaissance and finally to the modern world, at the
end they will visually recognize just how much water is left and how dangerous it is to use this water. They will then re-enter into the Saltwater Room.
1 GLASS ELEVATOR
The actual elevator will be a large part of this exhibition. It will simulate
travelling into the depths of the earth while a speaker will describe elevator
exactly the process of water-dispersement into underground aquifers.
2 TIMELINE TANK exit
On the wall of the underground caves will be two tanks on either side
visually showing water levels throughout history. To accompany the
tank will be models of historical events as well as photographs to
make visitors understand what the water-levels were at each historical
point. Included will be moving models of dinosaurs, biblical events, art
movements and the industrial revolution.
3 CHINA
Take-Away
There are water shortages all over the world. Many nations, including • Water-Dispersement Kit/Terrarium
China, are now using their fossil water as a primary means of
sustenance. But how will that effect the species that call underground
caves home, as well as humanity as a whole?
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