SHIPS GALLERY at MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY
We accepted the challenge to revamp and make sense of a 50-year old gallery in a long-neglected corner of the museum. Fluorescent tubes cast a ghastly glare upon a collection of delicately-made ship models, which continued to fade under years of dust and insect footprints. Harnessing an amazing in-house team, along with subject matter experts and conservators, we created a new storytelling framework, commissioned and designed new dioramas and models, new graphics, lighting and glass. We brought the technology and romance of the sea together to inspire Museum guests! John Llewellyn led this project in his staff role at MSI.
Ramming speed! This Venetian warship, called a galley, was designed to ram its enemy. Photos (c) Museum of Science and Industry/JB Spector.
To add life to an old diorama, we commissioned nautical artist Sean Murtha to create a period-accurate backdrop. This is the City of New York steamer in drydock in Newport News, VA, 1901.
New casework, LED lighting and low-iron safety glass makes the collection so much easier to enjoy.
Hands on, minds on. This exhibit features the deck of an old brig. We designed the exhibit to be kid friendly and robust, so no juveniles end up in the brig!
Researching and writing new content was one of the joys of this project. So many stories to tell...
Since MSI is 400 feet from lake Michigan, it only made sense to feature the massive ships that ply the Great Lakes!
A variety of existing model and mount styles demanded that we design a flexible, yet cohesive graphic mounting system. Label copy captures the essence of each element and strives to inspire further questions.
New glass and well-designed lighting makes it easier to appreciate the mind-blowing detail of models such as this cutaway of the liner Berengaria.
Thousands of details delight Museum guests every day, as they envision themselves in miniature scenes of nautical derring-do. Professional conservators pored over every detail of the Ships Gallery collection and scientifically cleaned every millimeter. They also performed appropriate, reversible repairs to the delicate models. There's still a place for authentically real objects in museum experiences!
Memory Bridge at the Latin School of Chicago
Big Atmosphere conceived and implemented an evocative, motion-controlled visual installation on the ceiling of a pedestrian bridge, uniting two distinct school buildings. Harnessing psychological research to positively impact students' moods and reduce stress, the space comes alive with “habitats” of color. As part of their curriculum, students curate additions to adjacent “memory/history” content screens. Now a favorite student hangout, the Bridge also honors the stories of school alumni.
Visible from the street, the Memory Bridge beckons the lure of a Latin School education to Chicago's citizens.
Part of our process is to present multiple options to enliven a space and feature your story in an engaging way. Rather than prescribing one-sided solutions, we strive to engage and include the input of everyone involved in a project team.
DREAM OF TRAINS at LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
Transforming the concept of a hospital stay, Lurie Children's Hospital strives to be a welcoming oasis for its young patients and their families. To engage and soothe hospital guests, Big Atmosphere created a kinetic sculpture on the topic of trains, which wend their way through a surrealistic proto-landscape. The repetitive movement helps people relax as they watch the trains.
Planning for such a fun exhibit was anything but casual. The requirements of the hospital guided our thinking, in order to maintain safety, cleanliness and maintainability in this high-tech clinical setting.
Young patients and their families are lulled into a timeless reverie, forgetting their worries for a few moments.
Future Energy Chicago:
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY
As part of MSI's award-winning exhibition staff, John Llewellyn developed the content experience for a suite of timely and compelling simulation games, which inspire guests to collaborate and become personally involved in shaping our energy future.
As guests step into the role of engineers, planners and designers, they envelop themselves in the possibilities for innovating a new energy system for Chicago. Photos (c) Museum of Science and Industry/JB Spector.
A series of five simulation games are driven by real energy data. By playing these games, guests can experiment with different energy choices with the goal of making a resilient, sustainable, livable infrastructure to serve tomorrow's needs.
Future Transportation allows guests to plan real-time public transit networks to reduce emissions. John Llewellyn served as a creative content developer and subject-matter researcher alongside Potion Interactive, who produced and integrated the games.
THE GREAT TRAIN STORY
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY
Scale model trains whirr around a miniature United States. Designing this exhibit was the dream of my youth! Photos (c) Museum of Science and Industry/Dirk Fletcher.
Designed by John Llewellyn in his staff role at MSI, the Great Train Story takes guests along on a transcontinental railway journey in miniature. Illustrating the four main threads of the railroad’s importance to our lives, this exhibition enthralls and captivates people from all walks of life with a spectacular presence.
Creating consensus around an epic new exhibit concept was one of the challenges of the GTS project. John's participatory-sketching-facilitation techniques helped share and shape the vision, and renderings like this were key in garnering support from Museum officials and donors alike.
3500 square feet, over 28 trains in motion from Chicago to Seattle and back...what a project!
A dawn-to-evening lighting program gives the scenes a compelling dimension. This Chicago neighborhood is a composite of vernacular local architectural styles.
Thousands of details delight visitors to the Museum every day, as they envision themselves in the miniature scenes.
At a larger level, the Great Train Story helps the Museum achieve its mission: to inspire the inventive genius in everyone.
BRICK BY BRICK
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY
"Play is the gateway to greatness..." so goes the credo of this blockbuster exhibit, which focuses on the process of experimentation, creativity and innovation. 12 epic LEGO structures provide the "attract" for the experience, than guests are surprised and challenged by a bevy of interactives focusing on structural concepts, scale and durability in the face of the elements.
The Seismic Shaker interactive is a 1-minute race to build a resilient structure that withstands a mini-earthquake. Some guests spent over 30 minutes at this one unit!
Kids get structural concepts through physical learning. This unit compares the modulus of elasticity between a flat metal plate and an I-beam. Be an Ironworker. Don't look down!
As part of his Creative Lead role on this project, John Llewellyn dove deep into LEGO lore and construction techniques to develop the content, media pieces and interactives including "Think Inside AND Outside the Box."
Wow, a 61-foot Golden Gate bridge, built by LEGO certified builder, Adam Reed Tucker. 100-percent LEGO bricks, no glue! Photos (c) Museum of Science and Industry/JB Spector.
PROCESS
All of the content sections, structures and interactives were group-brainstormed in an EXPO-marker-fueled bout of decision making at the whiteboard. It didn't look pretty, but this got us off to a great start.
Quick, initial sketches helped the team make fast decisions on a short timeline. We made, modified and trashed these fast, to make way for more detailed improvements. By rapidly protoyping and fearlessly iterating our ideas, we got to the optimal design within a compressed schedule.
Big Atmosphere always works closely with our fabrication, programming and media partners to battle-test each experiential element before prime time.
THE MARQUETTE BUILDING: A QUEST FOR HEIGHT
JOHN D. AND CATHERINE T. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
The MacArthur Foundation occupies one of the most historically significant buildings in Chicago with many people invested in the Marquette Building’s portrayal in our architectural history. We led stakeholders through a development process that carefully defined the content scope and created buy-in around a shared idea.
We produced a multifaceted exhibit design that required minimal maintenance and fostered traffic flow through a non-traditional exhibit space.
Two distinct stories intertwine in the space: the groundbreaking design of one of the world's first skyscrapers, plus the critical philanthropic work of the MacArthur foundation in its global reach.
Among the amazing details in the Marquette Building are bas-relief panels by sculptor Herman A. MacNeil. Contact us if you would like to learn more about the"Strange Lands" of exhibit design. We can help!