Search wall - I was one of two designers who developed this exhibit from the concept level all the way through to the end. We worked with a Science Fiction Museum curator, project manager, and building team to bring this exhibit to fruition.
Entry Arch - Freestanding archway designed to come apart into easily packable pieces for the exhibit to travel.
First view - The core of the exhibit were 3 full sized prop ships used for filming the show. The rest of the exhibit built a storyline around them.
A lot of care was taken into creating this first view when a visitor enters the space. We wanted the ships to create a 'Wow' moment, but not reveal too much too early, so the visitor is drawn deeper in.
Cylons
Human versus Cylon - This wall helped divide the fairly open exhibit into multiple spaces and also provided a very low tech interactive, by allowing the viewer to choose an entry. Character costumes were deliberately placed in the doorways, Captain Adama on the human side and Six (on the opposite end of the spectrum) in the cylon side. Sharon Valeri is placed in the center through a mesh grate representing her crisis of self and her imprisonment.
Reader rails - We needed to create a barrier to protect the ships and reused old fiberoptic cables to create this lighted fence. The reader rails house the lighting mechanism (Visible here while under construction)
The reader rails also housed artifacts that had to be changed periodically. The design allows curatorial staff to access the viewing box without taking apart the whole piece, but also keeps artifacts very secure from visitors.
Costume cases
Exhibit storyline - We started with identifying the major artifacts we wanted to include and designing a story line that tied them all together. From that story we were able to divide the space into four themes.
Through many iterations, we chose this layout because it created a intended path for the viewer but allowed some flexibility to explore. It also maximized viewing angles of the ships while adhering to accessibility and fire safety standards.
Search wall development
Costume case development - Many parts of the exhibit were reused pieces taken from old exhibits. The costume cases were taken from a Disco exhibit a few years earlier and given a BSG facelift.
Reader rail development
Interactives - Two of my favorite interactives in the exhibit.
The first is a bit of an easter egg for diehard fans of the show, and randomly plays the cylon trigger music when visitors stand in that spot. The music is a version of "All Along the Watchtower", and was an easy sell to the museum considering the large Jimi Hendrix exhibit one floor below.
The other is a phone that rings every few minutes and plays iconic sound bytes from the show.
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