Tapas Exhibit
(ongoing)
An interactive exhibit for the Georgia Tech Paper Museum
Project Overview
Research Group: Georgia Tech | Tactile Media Alliance
Museum: Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking
In collaboration with Georgia Tech’s Tactile Media Alliance, Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking and blind individuals, I am helping develop an interactive museum exhibit that showcases traditional tapa-making artifacts. The exhibit features a display podium that invites visitors to physically engage with the artifacts while listening to audio descriptions explaining their purpose and role in the papermaking process.
By combining tactile exploration with auditory storytelling, the exhibit aims to create a more engaging, accessible, and multisensory learning experience.
This project is currently in development. Check back for updates as it progresses!
Current Exploration
My current focus is exploring how the artifacts will fit and be interactive in the display podium. Each artifact has a designated cutout within the podium, and I am working to refine its placement to ensure a secure, intuitive, and accessible experience for visitors.
Display with cutouts
The tapas artifacts
Opihi limpet shells
Bark limpet shells
Shark tooth knife
Process Journey
Thermoforming was initially explored as a solution for creating secure, custom-fitted inserts for the artifacts. However, testing revealed that the artifacts were hard to remove and sat to deep inside the podium. These findings led to a shift toward full 3D-printed inserts, allowing for greater control over the fit, depth, and accessibility of each artifact.
Explore excerpts from my process journal below for a closer look at the design decisions, challenges, and iterations that shaped this approach!
3D Printed Inserts
To create the inserts, I started with the Shark Tooth Knife and used the existing podium cutout as templates, ensuring each insert fit its designated opening. A raised shelf was incorporated to support the artifact, along with an opening at the back to accommodate a tether connecting the artifact to a weight inside the podium. This mechanism is intended to guide visitors in returning each artifact to its designated location after use.
Nex Steps
The next step is to make the same inserts for the rest of the artifacts and to conduct user testing to evaluate how easily visitors can grasp, remove, and return the artifacts. These findings will help refine the inserts to create a more intuitive and accessible interaction.