We recently planned a day of interaction where we took part in some interactive exhibits at the Science Museum.  We clearly did not leave enough time to explore here and we're all looking forward to go back!  I took a few photos while I was there and would like to share them with my own observations and perspectives.

The first exhibit we approached was something called Psychoanalysis:  The Unconsciousness of Everday Life.  I spent several moments at something called "The Cabinet of the Everyday".  It wasn't so much an interactive experience, but the content was compelling enough for me to listen to the overhead audio loop.  As for the content, the most relevant to the work that we do was the section on the iPhone.  The phone represents our desire to keep in touch, we share what we're feeling and what we're doing.  According to the commentary though, persistent use suggest less conscious motivations, things like narcissistic gratification by constantly posting tweets or photos.  We can feel seperation anxiety, or momentary panic of being alone, an imeediate solution to desperate lonliness would be to pick up our phone to contact somebody instantly.  Personally speaking, I know I've felt these emotions with my own iPhone, so the commentary, while maybe coming through a little intense, did ring with some truth.  I think as interaction designers though, it's important not to ignore the personal emotions or connections people have with their phones or personal devices.

We spent a considerable amount of time in the Exploring Space exhibit, there's a lot to see here.  While I didn't personally photography it, the giant globe projection in the middle of the exhibit has been an object of inspiration for our own interactive project. 

The Making of the Modern World exhibit was particularly interesting.  This room represents the evolotuion of technology and design.  Things like dentistry, cars, planes, domestic appliances, boats, how they split the atom, even computers.  It was strange for me to see a copy of Windows 3.1 in a museum setting like this. 

I wish I had taken more photos in the Who Am I exhibit, I think this one was the most relevant to our senses requirement.  I took a few notes on things that I found interesting.  There was a lot of interactivity here too.  There were several bank of kiosks that allowed a user to interact with a variety of things.  I did one that showed what you might look like as an older person... using a webcam to take your picture it then changes your image on the screen.  There was several tests that measure your personality, one that I remember involves measuring your "male" or "female" brain qualities.  One interactive table was a touch interface that delivered the same series of tests to everybody at the table (about 8 spots).  The results are supposed to tell you about yourself based on a series of 10 tests.  They compile these results and add them to a large screen at the front of the exhibit room (in a very abstract way).  The tests also rate you against other individuals at the table.

Finally, we discovered another example of an interactive table in a remote part of the museum.  It was also a series of games.  We noted here that the also used a projector to display the information.  There was a wheel and button that controlled the interaction on the table.  The table itself was large and round, it allowed about about 8 participants around the  edge (or maybe less, the spots were well spaced out). 

Overall it was a great experience and I'm eager to go back soon and explore other areas of the museum.  I know there's plenty we missed on other interesting topics.