A Conceptual Model of Interactive Exhibits for African-American Children

Abstract

The goal of this study is to help exhibition designers incorporate interactivity into their exhibits. In order to do this, we propose a model of interactivity that can be used to generate concept sketches for exhibits in a broad range of subjects, and we demonstrate how this model may be applied in designing exhibits for African- American children. Our model accounts for task, visitor motivation and cognitive mode, looking at two alternative ways an exhibit could account for each of these components. The relative benefits of each alternative are explored and a design model which intersects task, motivation and cognitive mode in a three-dimensional matrix is proposed, This matrix yields eight distinct ways to design an interactive exhibit. In order to demonstrate how this model can be applied to design exhibits for African-American children, we present case studies illustrating some of the possible uses.