Wind
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
Ann Arbor, Michigan
The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum was engaged by the City of Ann Arbor to produce programs and exhibits about wind power in the region. AAHOM hired Larry Hutchinson to lead the development, design and production of the exhibit and demonstration devices. This summary addresses the exhibit portion of the project.
Hutchinson Studios was challenged to develop a traveling exhibit comprised of five interactive exhibits and a reconfigurable free-standing panel system in 700 square-feet. The interactive exhibits had to achieve the high level of interactivity, fit and finish for which AAHOM is known. The final configuration includes eight panels with a flexible connecting system, and five interactive exhibits including
• A wind table where visitors experiment with air flow with turbines, barriers, and tell-tails
• A flow tank which invites exploration of fluid flow as test shapes are manipulated in a tank with a flow-visualizing fluid,
• An instrumented bench with a turbine hub and various blades where visitors can design a turbine and monitor its performance,
• A hand-crank generator which powers an animation and charges a battery mimicking the irregularities of wind power generation and the need for storage,
• A computer game where visitors are given various scenarios and choose what and how much of various power sources they will use to “keep the lights on.”
Hutchinson Studios provided exhibit development, design, prototyping, production, and project management services.
October, 2016
