We designed this interactive exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland to explore the battle against five tropical diseases and the parasites which cause them. Presented in partnership with the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, the exhibition enabled visitors to discover how scientific research taking place in Scotland is leading the way in the field. Visitors were introduced to five of the world’s most persistent parasites and invited to discover the people who are fighting against them – from scientists and researchers in the laboratory to the local communities and workers on the front line.
The exhibition was designed to appeal particularly to families, school pupils and students and visitors could build their own parasite as they moved through the interactive displays, finding out about the deadly diseases it can cause and experiencing the tactics which parasites use to fight back against medicine. The exhibition was themed into four zones each with a different environment and brought together audio accounts from scientists leading the fight, allowed visitors to discover what it’s like working in a lab and to explore how to design drugs to tackle the diseases. We were responsible for exhibition design, graphic design, design of mechanical interactives and input into digital interactives.
Backlit graphics provide a strong visual treatment, introducing visitors to the parasites (image © Ruth Armstrong).
Backlit graphics provide a strong visual treatment, introducing visitors to the parasites (image © Ruth Armstrong).
Coming face-to-face with parasites in the lab (image © Ruth Armstrong).
Comic books explore the science behind the research (image © Ruth Armstrong).
Visitors build their own parasite by choosing its characteristics at different stations throughout the exhibtion.
After building their parasite, visitors discovered how successful their choices were (image © Ruth Armstrong).
After building their parasite, visitors discovered how successful their choices were (image © Ruth Armstrong).
Visitors learned more about the work of the scientists to defeat disease in the Lab area.
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