The Franklin Institute Museum Experiences

The Franklin Institute Museum

Custom Web Development

THE BRIEF

The Franklin Institute (TFI) in Philadelphia was founded in honor of America’s first scientist, Benjamin Franklin, and is one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the country.Through 2024, TFI fully redesigned and updated 2 of its exhibits – the Hamilton Collection Gallery and the Body Odyssey Gallery. Houdini had the supreme honor and privilege to partner with MDSX Creative to bring 16 interactive experiences to life across 24 installations between these two exhibits. In a combination of touch screen interactives and engagement-inspiring integrated hardware, these experiences excite and delight while providing educational opportunities to visitors.

PHOTO CREDITS: The Franklin Institute, Sarah Huffman/Technical.ly

AWARDS NOMINATION

PRESS

WHAT WE DID

• UX Design
• UI Assets Design
• 3D Modeling
• Architecture Design
• Frontend Development
• Backend Development
• Database Design
• Networking Engineering, Configuration & Consulting
• Arduino Integration & Development
• Raspberry Pi Integration & Development
• Integrated Hardware Installation

Hamilton Collection Exhibit

Build the Baldwin

The Baldwin 60000 in this gallery is truly a sight to behold, with the opportunity for visitors to walk into the cab. The Build the Baldwin interactive experience allows users to pick components from a track and place them over a ghosted outline of the Baldwin to challenge their puzzle-completion skills and educate them at the same time on the components. After adding all the components, the fuel and the water, the train animates to visualize how the full steam locomotive works and drives off the screen.

Complete the Case

Many museum galleries are a strictly visual experience, with curated artifacts and signage for consumption visually. Within the Hamilton Collection, though, there is a staggering volume of artifacts to display – simply put, too many to display all at once. In this unique multi-screen experience, visitors have the opportunity to help curate the artifacts in a case. Utilizing a touch screen interface, visitors can browse a selection of artifacts and add them to the digital screens in the case to complete the curation and help tell the historic journey.

2D Flipbook

In a modern-retro twist, this experience introduces a rolodex-esque set of informational cards for visitors to flip through and see more artifacts in the collection. As the visitor is flipping through the cards, a monitor in front of them swaps out dynamic visuals according to the card they have flipped to. The delightfully simple technology integrations smoothly animate between the 2D cards.

Collection 200

With the massive volume of artifacts, TFI wanted to give visitors the opportunity to visually see how related a sample set of 200 objects are, and a deeper exploration into the objects. The 200 Collection is represented as a node mesh of categories with sub-topics and related objects popping into view as the categories are selected. Object details for education include the title, creation date (age), description, related objects, relevant categories/sub-categories, images and videos.

Body Odyssey Exhibit

The Heart Tour

Explore the Body exhibit’s iconic giant heart! The Heart Tour uses 360° photos and interactive hotspots to let everyone experience this amazing work of art, no matter the crowds or physical limitations.

Say What?

Test your hearing with the Say What? interactive! Turn the dial to adjust the hertz and play different tones. See if you’re as young as you feel 😉 It’s not a professional test, but it’s a fun way to explore the range of human hearing!

City of Tomorrow - Stress

See how stress affects your body with this interactive exhibit! Use the touchscreen to add stress to an avatar and watch the effects unfold. Stop touching the screen to see how the body recovers.

City of Tomorrow - Skin

See the sun’s impact on your skin! This interactive exhibit lets you adjust sun exposure, melanin levels, and sunscreen amount to see how these factors affect your skin. Learn why sunscreen is so important!

City of Tomorrow - Exercise

Try this interactive exhibit to see how exercise affects your body! Use the touchscreen to make the avatar exercise, and watch what happens. Be careful not to overdo it!

Slice, Sizzle, Serve

Test your nutrition knowledge! This interactive quiz challenges you to read food labels and make healthy choices. 🍏

We're All In This Together Kiosk

This is a crazy world we live in, and we are all experiencing it in our own ways. This interactive is a poll for visitors to express how they are feeling today, and know they are not alone. See how your answers compare to others in real-time! 📊

We're All In This Together LED Ribbon

Based on all the submitted responses from the WAITT kiosk, an LED ribbon that spans overhead of a walkway animates the aggregate responses for the past 1000 submissions.

Draw It Out - Drawing

Express yourself through art! 🎨 Draw how you feel on different 3D objects or a blank canvas with the Draw It Out interactive. You can even submit your masterpiece for a chance to be featured in our gallery! ✨

Draw it Out - Music Maker

Unleash your inner DJ! 🎶 Choose a mood and create your own soundscape with this interactive music experience. Mix tracks, add tones, and experiment with different sounds to express yourself. 🎧

Pathology Possibilities

Can AI beat human expertise? Put your skills to the test with Pathology Possibilities! Compete against artificial intelligence to identify bone fractures in x-rays. Who will be faster and more accurate? 🤔

Custom Web Development

THE BRIEF

WHAT WE DID

Hamilton Collection Exhibit

Build the Baldwin.tatsu-r1KQoHxuye.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

Complete the Case.tatsu-BJxYQsHgdkx.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

2D Flipbook.tatsu-HklxVsHgOJg.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

Collection 200.tatsu-Hk-xVsBxuJl.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

Body Odyssey Exhibit

The Heart Tour.tatsu-B1QVuiBguyx.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

Say What?.tatsu-HyNNdorlOkx.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

City of Tomorrow - Stress.tatsu-S1P_AwgO1e.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

City of Tomorrow - Skin.tatsu-Hy46RveO1x.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

City of Tomorrow - Exercise.tatsu-H10y1_eOJg.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

Slice, Sizzle, Serve.tatsu-B1BGy_g_kx.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

We're All In This Together Kiosk.tatsu-HyDNOoBxO1e.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

We're All In This Together LED Ribbon.tatsu-S1_EdoSgdyl.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

Draw It Out - Drawing.tatsu-ryCUydl_1g.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

Draw it Out - Music Maker.tatsu-rkAsyued1g.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

Pathology Possibilities.tatsu-B1U0kdx_1g.accordion-head{color: #222222 ;background: rgba(225,165,229,1);}

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