All About Us is a permanent exhibition about the human body and brain and how they work together. At £1.5m, it’s the largest new development undertaken by At-Bristol since the science centre opened in 2000.
The press release promises an experience “to be enjoyed by all the family, allowing visitors to test human phenomena and engage in real science”. More than 50 hands-on interactives are used to explore seven core topics: DNA, reproduction, cardiovascular, brains, digestion, locomotion and the senses.
The most impressive thing is that it has been devised, designed and made in-house. At-Bristol is in the enviable position of having its own workshops for developing interactives, and there is no doubt that the team deserves praise and recognition for the effort of pulling together such an ambitious show.
However, they could have benefited from an objective outside view to help them step back from the mountain of information that is available on the subject and to tighten up the content.
The introductory panel provides a list of facts and figures relating to the making of the exhibition: 175 metres of metal wire used in the Digestive Run exhibit; 60 prototypes; 1,273 m2 of new carpet; 52 scientific advisers, 508 suppliers.
All fascinating, but off-message for the target audience. An introduction that includes interesting facts and figures about our bodies as a taster for the exhibition to come would have been more appropriate.
The interactive-heavy approach has strengths and weaknesses. There is no doubt that hands-on exhibits capture the attention of children. My visit coincided with the simultaneous arrival of about five school groups, which provided an excellent opportunity for a “time and motion” study.
Left to their own devices, it soon became apparent that kids tend to just tug at the interactives to make something happen without trying to find out why it happens. The How Long is DNA exhibit took a battering as an improvised tug-of-war machine.
Air pump adaptation
However, the topics are strong enough so that, as soon as a member of the Live Science Team (as the gallery explainers are called) arrives on the scene, kids and adults are absorbed in the subject and ask pertinent questions.
Even so, I felt there was a missing link in some of the interpretation, which meant that kids can engage without learning. Viewed as individual elements, the interactives are interesting and thoughtfully developed.
I was particularly taken by the Vocal Vowels display, which explores how we change the shape of our mouth and throat to make subtle but different sounds that make up speech.
There are three main components to the display: text and graphics; an animated fi lm showing how the mouth and throat change shape; and a mechanical interactive where air can be pumped through different-shaped chambers to produce vowel sounds.
The concept is relatively simple and the key messages are well-considered, but it might have been better if a reward for the right interaction could have been incorporated into the display. A group of schoolboys ignored the key message and adapted the air pump to make farting noises.
The Real Brain display is sensitively devised to make sure visitors realise what they are looking at and understand how important it is to have volunteers who leave their bodies to science.
It felt like a privilege to be able to inspect the brain at such close quarters. I particularly liked the corresponding interactive where visitors can handle brain-models to consider how they grow and weigh in relation to our bodies.
The exhibition is located in a bright and airy ground-floor space, and the exhibits are freestanding and self-contained, so visitors can dip in and out without needing to follow a linear route. Even so, I would have liked a way of making the zones more easily identifiable because it can be difficult to navigate the space without missing things.
Admittedly, I was jostling for position along with a couple of hundred teenagers, but I had to do three laps of the room before I felt satisfied that I had seen everything.
Information overload
I would also have liked the interpretation arranged into a clearer hierarchy. Visually, the displays tend to be quite busy with several interpretive elements vying for attention. It would be easier to understand if the content was broken down into progressively more detailed chunks of information, with an easy-to-follow entry point. The DNA section is particularly overloaded with information.
This might be the result of a fruitful and close relationship with a group of well-meaning scientific advisers who have provided amazing content, but don’t have the necessary skills to adapt the material for the target audience. Some judicious editing would have been advisable. On the whole, the exhibition is creative and experimental.
Museum professionals should definitely visit if they are looking for ideas on how to develop and maintain robust mechanical interactives, or if they would like advice on how to attract and manage large numbers of school groups. (The answer lies with having an army of irrepressible gallery explainers complete with megaphones at the ready.)
On the other hand, they should steer clear if they don’t enjoy displays that are primarily aimed at children (or at least avoid mornings during term time), or if they prefer material culture to scientific principles, because there are very few “real” objects on display.
Otherwise, be prepared to dive in, elbow the kids out of the way and have a go.
Maria Blyzinsky is a freelance exhibitions consultant and founder member of the Exhibitions Team
The press release promises an experience “to be enjoyed by all the family, allowing visitors to test human phenomena and engage in real science”. More than 50 hands-on interactives are used to explore seven core topics: DNA, reproduction, cardiovascular, brains, digestion, locomotion and the senses.
The most impressive thing is that it has been devised, designed and made in-house. At-Bristol is in the enviable position of having its own workshops for developing interactives, and there is no doubt that the team deserves praise and recognition for the effort of pulling together such an ambitious show.
However, they could have benefited from an objective outside view to help them step back from the mountain of information that is available on the subject and to tighten up the content.
The introductory panel provides a list of facts and figures relating to the making of the exhibition: 175 metres of metal wire used in the Digestive Run exhibit; 60 prototypes; 1,273 m2 of new carpet; 52 scientific advisers, 508 suppliers.
All fascinating, but off-message for the target audience. An introduction that includes interesting facts and figures about our bodies as a taster for the exhibition to come would have been more appropriate.
The interactive-heavy approach has strengths and weaknesses. There is no doubt that hands-on exhibits capture the attention of children. My visit coincided with the simultaneous arrival of about five school groups, which provided an excellent opportunity for a “time and motion” study.
Left to their own devices, it soon became apparent that kids tend to just tug at the interactives to make something happen without trying to find out why it happens. The How Long is DNA exhibit took a battering as an improvised tug-of-war machine.
Air pump adaptation
However, the topics are strong enough so that, as soon as a member of the Live Science Team (as the gallery explainers are called) arrives on the scene, kids and adults are absorbed in the subject and ask pertinent questions.
Even so, I felt there was a missing link in some of the interpretation, which meant that kids can engage without learning. Viewed as individual elements, the interactives are interesting and thoughtfully developed.
I was particularly taken by the Vocal Vowels display, which explores how we change the shape of our mouth and throat to make subtle but different sounds that make up speech.
There are three main components to the display: text and graphics; an animated fi lm showing how the mouth and throat change shape; and a mechanical interactive where air can be pumped through different-shaped chambers to produce vowel sounds.
The concept is relatively simple and the key messages are well-considered, but it might have been better if a reward for the right interaction could have been incorporated into the display. A group of schoolboys ignored the key message and adapted the air pump to make farting noises.
The Real Brain display is sensitively devised to make sure visitors realise what they are looking at and understand how important it is to have volunteers who leave their bodies to science.
It felt like a privilege to be able to inspect the brain at such close quarters. I particularly liked the corresponding interactive where visitors can handle brain-models to consider how they grow and weigh in relation to our bodies.
The exhibition is located in a bright and airy ground-floor space, and the exhibits are freestanding and self-contained, so visitors can dip in and out without needing to follow a linear route. Even so, I would have liked a way of making the zones more easily identifiable because it can be difficult to navigate the space without missing things.
Admittedly, I was jostling for position along with a couple of hundred teenagers, but I had to do three laps of the room before I felt satisfied that I had seen everything.
Information overload
I would also have liked the interpretation arranged into a clearer hierarchy. Visually, the displays tend to be quite busy with several interpretive elements vying for attention. It would be easier to understand if the content was broken down into progressively more detailed chunks of information, with an easy-to-follow entry point. The DNA section is particularly overloaded with information.
This might be the result of a fruitful and close relationship with a group of well-meaning scientific advisers who have provided amazing content, but don’t have the necessary skills to adapt the material for the target audience. Some judicious editing would have been advisable. On the whole, the exhibition is creative and experimental.
Museum professionals should definitely visit if they are looking for ideas on how to develop and maintain robust mechanical interactives, or if they would like advice on how to attract and manage large numbers of school groups. (The answer lies with having an army of irrepressible gallery explainers complete with megaphones at the ready.)
On the other hand, they should steer clear if they don’t enjoy displays that are primarily aimed at children (or at least avoid mornings during term time), or if they prefer material culture to scientific principles, because there are very few “real” objects on display.
Otherwise, be prepared to dive in, elbow the kids out of the way and have a go.
Maria Blyzinsky is a freelance exhibitions consultant and founder member of the Exhibitions Team
Project data
- Cost £1.5m
- Main funder Wellcome Trust
- Exhibitions director Dan Bird
- Exhibition design, development, research and construction in-house
- 3D concept design Razorbite
- Illustrator Juliet Percival
- Graphic design Qube Design Associates
