TFI Hamilton Collection Exhibit
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By blending tactile hardware with dynamic digital interfaces, these interactive exhibits transform passive museum-going into an active, self-guided journey of historical discovery. They not only solve the challenge of displaying a massive artifact archive but also deepen visitor engagement through playful, hands-on learning.
4 interactive experiences across 11 installations in the Franklin Institute's redesigned Hamilton Collection Gallery.
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The Franklin Institute: Hamilton Collection Gallery Redesign In partnership with MDSX Creative, Houdini developed 4 interactive experiences across 11 installations for the fully redesigned Hamilton Collection Gallery at The Franklin Institute (TFI) in Philadelphia. These touch-screen and hardware-integrated experiences blend education with high-engagement play.
Interactive Highlights Build the Baldwin: Visitors complete a digital puzzle by placing essential components onto a ghosted outline of the gallery's iconic Baldwin 60000 locomotive. Once fully assembled and fueled, an animation demonstrates how the steam engine operates before it drives off-screen.
Complete the Case: To showcase TFI's massive inventory, this multi-screen experience lets visitors become guest curators. Using a touch screen, users select artifacts from the archives to digitally display inside a physical curation case, helping to tell its historic story.
2D Flipbook: Blending retro tactile design with modern tech, this installation features a physical, rolodex-style stack of information cards. As visitors flip through the cards, an integrated monitor dynamically updates to display smooth animations and visuals matching the selected artifact.
Collection 200: This experience visualizes the interconnectedness of 200 sample objects through an interactive node mesh. Selecting different categories expands sub-topics and reveals deep-dive details, including creation dates, descriptions, related objects, and media.
Photo Credits: The Franklin Institute, Sarah Huffman/Technical.ly
