http://www.blackbox.co.uk/

On the advice from a modelmaker from the glue factory I looked at this web site in the hope of using motion sensors to incorporate sound into my interactive.
Unfortunately I couldnt really make any sense of what I found on the web site.
I have no understanding of electronics and couldnt work out how what I wanted could be achieved. I tried sending them an email to ask advice but didnt recieve a reply.

This is something I am keen to learn about for future museum work. Lots of models use animatronics or at least require a basic knowledge/ understanding of electronics or mechanics to make them more complex and interesting. These are areas that I want to explore and study later to help enhance my work.

http://www.gluefactory.co.uk/modelmaker/London_Zoo.html

This is a museum interactive that I found on the glue factory website.
I really like the touch aspects of this. The big chunky texture panels are a really nice idea.
It is from this that I made the decision to use sculpted creatures on the doors of the interactive so that users can touch the creatures without reaching into the interactive itself.

I wish I could create a set of drawers for the interactive that could contain physical objects as they did in the mummy exhibit shown earlier in the blog.
This may be something that I can add/incorporate into the design at a later date.

Natural History Museum - London

This was one of the few marine life themed exhibits at the museum and it wasnt a very effective one.

It looked a bit old fashioned and neglected.

It makes the use of a story to introduce different sea creatures and report some fact about them.

Natural History Museum - London

This was an exhibit I saw at the museum some months back.

Similar to my own design the only real interative element is the opening of doors to expose information. It also strives to show these creatures live in their normal environment.

You can only view the creatures and cannot touch them.

After viewing some other museum models online I have started to realise that touch is an important sense with which to engage visitors and really aids the quality of the learning experience. My interactive design was based on this enclosed design and doesnt make use of touch.

http://www.dynamomodels.co.uk/index2.htm

I have been looking at the company Dynamo Models LTD and the few display models they have made. Both the panthers and the poodle seen here were made for the front window of a fashion store.

http://www.godfreydesigngroup.co.uk/pages/shop.html

This company also have a page of shop display models they have made. I really like the mole model although the ice lolly models are more like my own project.
Here are some enlarged images of them.

http://www.godfreydesigngroup.co.uk/largeimages/shopdisplayprops3.html

http://www.godfreydesigngroup.co.uk/largeimages/shopdisplayprops2.html

http://www.godfreydesigngroup.co.uk/pages/sculpture.html

This modelmaking company Godfrey Design Group do a range of architectural and product models as well as sculptural work and marine models.

Here I was really impressed by some of the sculptural work. What is particularly relevant here to my own work is the sculpts of fish and the cameleon. I was really impressed by the degree of detail and realism achieved as well as the paint effects on the fish.
The paint finish is something that I feel has let down my interactive project and it is something I would like to research into further and improve on.