the concept: "the living mural"
The Crocker Art Museum looked to BKWLD for a concept that would compliment and strengthen the newly added "Story Trail" museum kid's tour. The idea needed to be in line with the tour, and lead as the new key feature to the newly remodeled education area named Tot Land, which targets kids, teachers, and parents. Story Trail concludes in Tot Land, a gallery devoted entirely to families. Located in the Museum's Education Center, the gallery is designed to encourage creativity while building early-learning skills.
BKWLD proposed creating a 3-panel LED touchscreen wall using the latest in IR (infrared technology) that would allow up to 32 touch points, and coined this idea the "The Living Mural." The root of the concept stemmed from the question, "How do we reward children for being on their best behavior throughout the Story Trail tour, where they are only allowed to look at art but not touch?" Naturally, we gravitated toward a touchscreen solution that spoke to kids of all ages and aptitudes.
from start to finish
Our role in the Crocker Art Museum project did not stop by simply adding a touchscreen-based concept to the museum.
BKWLD collaborated creatively with its project vendors and guided the process of interior design, structure fabrication, and touchscreen installation from start to finish. The overall physical presentation of the Living Mural and floor planning was equally important to the success of our installation.
a "no bickering" art education & gaming experience
A majority of the team members tasked to the project are parents and understood that a successful experience is judged by how well a group of kids get along together. The idea of the experience revolves solely around a solution that caters towards a “no bickering” group experience -deterring fighting, major decision-making- all while holding shorter attention spans.
- An instructional screensaver storybook, auto-activated after 10 minutes of downtime.
- A tool wheel automatically re-spins roughly every minute, acting as a gaming element.
- Older kids can break away from the group by activating “personal drawing spaces."
- Simple audio and video instructions are queued on screen if there is minimal interaction.
over 40 creative tools
A diverse set of creative tools are at the children's disposal, ranging from the traditional (such as crayons, brushes, spray paint, and paint rollers varying in color) to simple shapes that transform into complex patterns and everyday objects. A full alphabet and number set allows kids to have fun spelling and completing simple arithmetic.
personal drawing spaces (ages 4 + up)
Being very much aware of the fact that older kids like to do their own thing, we created personal drawing spaces for kids to create masterpieces of their own.
The UI is triggered by the user holding their finger down for 2 seconds. At this point, the UI can then be dragged anywhere on the screen and tools can be selected freely.
unveiling the living mural
The Crocker Art Museum held a press event surrounding the unveiling of the Tot Land space and its interactive “Living Mural." The event involved kids of all ages and backgrounds in technology, along with equally excited parents and teachers. This was the Living Mural’s ultimate test, given the heavy influx of users.
The success of the project was simply gauged by all of the smiles, laughter, and overall fun shared with kids and their parents.