Participatory Media Design
Take Flight, Exhibit Interactives—Connecting People Around the World
Client:
Museum of Science + Industry Chicago
Venue/Location:
MSI Chicago, Hyde Park
Browse:
Highlights
Take Flight exhibit at Museum of Science + Industry Chicago. Filmed at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, 05/10/2021, with permission. Additional footage courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry.
MSI's United Boeing 727, from below in the Transportation Gallery. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
The flock of model aircraft and the Flock touchtable interactive are located just outside the entrance to the 727. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
The Flock interactive touchtable allows visitors to explore aircraft by their size, range, and first commercial flight. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Detailed view of The Flock's user interface—highlighting both historic and future aircraft. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Large-scale exhibit graphics explain the process of producing aircraft, and the complexity of airport operations. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
The Cockpit Views interactive introduces viewers to the array of tools and controls in the cockpit. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Spot illumination and short explanatory videos interpret cockpit controls. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
The interior of the United Airlines Boeing 727 is fitted with 1964 fabrics and finishes. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Inside the 727, exhibit graphics and physical interactives explain the science behind flight. Exhibit interactives allow for a deeper dive. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Tablet touch stations invite visitors to learn more about the science behind flying and air travel. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Animating infographics—mimicking aircraft safety cards—are included with each interactive story. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
MSI visitor pictured in training as an Air Marshaller. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Visitors can try their hand at guiding aircraft at the Air Marshaller activity. Photo courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Client:
Museum of Science + Industry Chicago
Browse:
Highlights
In this newly reimagined interactive exhibit, Take Flight celebrates and interprets the Boeing 727—an aircraft that changed aviation forever. Visitors can explore the United Airlines plane and discover how the airline industry connects people around the world. In partnership with Studio Matthews and JREMco, Belle & Wissell designed a number of participatory media experiences to reinvigorate this exhibit.
Visitors can see a section of the 727 as it looked on its first flights in 1964. Featuring era-appropriate fabrics and finishes, museum-goers are transported back in time as they enter the cabin.
As they pass the cockpit, visitors learn the three crucial flight deck procedures: Aviate, Navigate, and Communicate. With the touch of a button, viewers gain a better understanding of the array of instruments, gauges, and control mechanisms—spot illumination and short interpretive videos identify and explain each tool’s purpose and functionality.
Meanwhile, in the central section of the 727, would-be passengers can discover the science behind air travel through lessons on air pressure and the sources of turbulence. Visitors also learn about possible side effects of flight, like jet lag and dehydration, and ways to manage them. Tablet-sized exhibit interactives filled with playful animations and concise, visual stories supplement the hands-on mechanical activities.
The Flock, a touch-table installation, examines the lineage of aircraft that have shaped commercial aviation. A flock of silhouetted airplanes dynamically sort and reshuffle to compare chronology, size, and range. Visitors can also explore each plane’s history through informative story vignettes featuring archival film and photography. The Flock profiles aviation icons of the past (such as the 727) as well as today’s greats, and aircraft prototypes for the future.
The Air Marshaller Activity marries digital and physical—visitors observe and mimic an animated Air Marshaller as she guides aircraft (batons in hand) in and out of passenger loading zones and taxiways. Users can get the full experience by waving prop batons as they learn the gestures.
Filmed at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, 05/10/2021, with permission. Additional footage courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry. Photos courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Project Accolades:
Chicago Tribune, “Renovated Boeing 727 is set for take-off again at the MSI. Gone: ‘80s-era seats. New: A vintage cockpit, airplane guts and a real-live black box,” 2021
Chicago Sun Times, “Museum’s Boeing 727 gets new, old makeover,” 2021
NBC, “New Boeing 727 Exhibit Opens at Chicago Museum,” 2021
ABC, “Boeing 727 “Take Flight” Exhibit Returns to Museum of Science and Industry,” 2021
Belle & Wissell Team Credits
Principal: Gabe Kean
Studio Director: Sarah Trueblood
Technology Director: Edward Tang
Content Lead: Natalie Karbelnig
Art Director: Edrea Lita
Designer/Animator: Jes Noparat
Designer/Illustrator: Izzi Vasquez
Contributing Design Director: Claudia de Almeida
Developer: Zach Archer
Developer: Alex Banh
Additional Project Credits
Project Director, Featured Exhibitions + Business Development, MSI: Jeff Buonomo
Creative Lead, Department of Science Exhibitions and Partnerships, MSI: John Llewellyn
Senior Exhibition Project Manager, MSI: Lindsay Washburn
Curator, MSI: Margaret Schlesinger
Creative Technologist, MSI: Jungu Guo
Exhibit Designer: Studio Matthews
Exhibit Manager: Jill Randerson
Fabricator: Roto
A/V Integrator: AVI-SPL
Lighting Designer: Morlights
Lighting Integrator: Intelligent Lighting
Belle & Wissell Team Credits
Principal: Gabe Kean
Studio Director: Sarah Trueblood
Technology Director: Edward Tang
Content Lead: Natalie Karbelnig
Art Director: Edrea Lita
Designer/Animator: Jes Noparat
Designer/Illustrator: Izzi Vasquez
Contributing Design Director: Claudia de Almeida
Developer: Zach Archer
Developer: Alex Banh
Additional Project Credits
Project Director, Featured Exhibitions + Business Development, MSI: Jeff Buonomo
Creative Lead, Department of Science Exhibitions and Partnerships, MSI: John Llewellyn
Senior Exhibition Project Manager, MSI: Lindsay Washburn
Curator, MSI: Margaret Schlesinger
Creative Technologist, MSI: Jungu Guo
Exhibit Designer: Studio Matthews
Exhibit Manager: Jill Randerson
Fabricator: Roto
A/V Integrator: AVI-SPL
Lighting Designer: Morlights
Lighting Integrator: Intelligent Lighting
In this newly reimagined interactive exhibit, Take Flight celebrates and interprets the Boeing 727—an aircraft that changed aviation forever. Visitors can explore the United Airlines plane and discover how the airline industry connects people around the world. In partnership with Studio Matthews and JREMco, Belle & Wissell designed a number of participatory media experiences to reinvigorate this exhibit.
Visitors can see a section of the 727 as it looked on its first flights in 1964. Featuring era-appropriate fabrics and finishes, museum-goers are transported back in time as they enter the cabin.
As they pass the cockpit, visitors learn the three crucial flight deck procedures: Aviate, Navigate, and Communicate. With the touch of a button, viewers gain a better understanding of the array of instruments, gauges, and control mechanisms—spot illumination and short interpretive videos identify and explain each tool’s purpose and functionality.
Meanwhile, in the central section of the 727, would-be passengers can discover the science behind air travel through lessons on air pressure and the sources of turbulence. Visitors also learn about possible side effects of flight, like jet lag and dehydration, and ways to manage them. Tablet-sized exhibit interactives filled with playful animations and concise, visual stories supplement the hands-on mechanical activities.
The Flock, a touch-table installation, examines the lineage of aircraft that have shaped commercial aviation. A flock of silhouetted airplanes dynamically sort and reshuffle to compare chronology, size, and range. Visitors can also explore each plane’s history through informative story vignettes featuring archival film and photography. The Flock profiles aviation icons of the past (such as the 727) as well as today’s greats, and aircraft prototypes for the future.
The Air Marshaller Activity marries digital and physical—visitors observe and mimic an animated Air Marshaller as she guides aircraft (batons in hand) in and out of passenger loading zones and taxiways. Users can get the full experience by waving prop batons as they learn the gestures.
Filmed at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, 05/10/2021, with permission. Additional footage courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry. Photos courtesy of Museum of Science and Industry/Heidi Peters.
Project Accolades:
Chicago Tribune, “Renovated Boeing 727 is set for take-off again at the MSI. Gone: ‘80s-era seats. New: A vintage cockpit, airplane guts and a real-live black box,” 2021
Chicago Sun Times, “Museum’s Boeing 727 gets new, old makeover,” 2021
NBC, “New Boeing 727 Exhibit Opens at Chicago Museum,” 2021
ABC, “Boeing 727 “Take Flight” Exhibit Returns to Museum of Science and Industry,” 2021