1
2
3
4
5
6
7
In Motion
Large-scale touring exhibition for Edinburgh Science Festival 2012
Timeline: 4 months
Client: Edinburgh International Science Festival
Value: £100k
Aim: To create an engaging touring exhibition that celebrates the science of human movement through sport, technology and dance. The exhibition, InMotion, needs to combine interactive and graphical content from a variety of academic and commercial institutions with novel hands-on exhibits that allow users to learn through exploration.
What we did: The initial concepts, developed by Stuart Kerr at Stuco, centred around having 6 fully transportable units that all fitted comfortably inside a container for future world-wide travel. Our role was to develop these concepts and produce full working designs for the main structures and design, prototype and create all the interactive elements that were not being supplied by academic / commercial institutions - all within 4 months!The exhibition itself was split into three sections: How We Move, Pushing The Limits and Scottish Innovation. Each section had two units, with each unit having varying degrees of interactivity integrated with eye-catching static graphics, designed by Chris Peters. With just one month to go, additional funding meant we were asked to create a further unit for Pushing The Limits, which we took from concept to delivery in that month!FifeX had to take a holistic approach to ensure the success of the project, liaising closely with the academics and commercial partners, the subcontractors and of course Stuart and Chris. Interactive elements included things like 'Muscle Power' (hand bikes to calculate users peak power), 'Human Power' (dynamos that powered a light suit) and 'Squeeze Me' (how hard can you grip an object) to name a few.Every aspect of our work was included in this project, from writing custom software and firmware to control electronics to mechanical and electro-mechanical design - we even wrote an interface to control a prosthetic hand which was supplied to the client by Touch Bionics in Livingston.The experience for the user was very interactive and informative and visitors were encouraged to register their results on a results board but also to vote on ethical and moral issues using a series of custom voting stations implemented in the units.The exhibition premiered in the newly refurbished Grand Gallery at the National Museum of Scotland on Chamber St as part of the Edinburgh Science Festival 2012. During the Science Festival 157,000 visited the Museum - at peak times this matched the numbers seen during the reopening which was the summer before. InMotion saw approximately 30,000 visitors during the 17 days it was on display.
Testimonial: "With InMotion we set FifeX a hugely challenging task; we wanted a lot of interactivity with some quite complicated activities, many of which were entirely unique. And we came to them with a very tight budget and timescale. FifeX showed a really positive 'can-do' attitude to these challenges and worked hard to help us achieve our aims within the means we had. They worked very closely and collaboratively with us as the client and with the concept and graphic designers. I am very pleased with how the final product turned out and we estimate that up to 30,000 visitors to the National Museum of Scotland over the Science Festival 2012 interacted with InMotion. I look forward to seeing InMotion on tour at other venues over the next two years and I hope to have the opportunity to work with FifeX again."
Lyndsey Clark, Freelance Project Manager for Edinburgh Science Festival
"Working with FifeX over a 4 month period I found they had a genuine interest in making this Exhibition a success right from the start. They went the extra mile to ensure the graphics I was producing would integrate seamlessly with what was being produced in their workshop. They worked extremely well as a team to deliver an exceptional interactive exhibition for Edinburgh Science Festival, and I would be delighted to work with them again in the future."
Chris Peters, Graphic Designer
External Link to Client's Website: http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/