Centering young learners in a cultural museum
CLIENT
Working Studio and the Henry Ford Museum.
PROJECT
Texaco Garage at the Henry Ford Museum, Detroit, MI
ROLE
Exhibit Designer
CREATIVE PARTNERS
Exhibit Lead, Technical Design and Fabrication- Working Studio
Exhibit Graphic Design- Colorbox Inc.
The Garage
The Henry Ford Museum is known for its large and unusual artifacts that hallmark Americana. This Texaco Station is one such artifact at the museum- the entire station from the 1950s has been relocated to the museum and the office portion of the artifact remains a human scale diorama for visitors to view. However, the garage side of the artifact has been reimagined as a space for young learners to engage in immersive pretend play and learn about car parts and car repair.
The design is intended to be whimsical, with the using a mix of fun colors of HDPE and wood for warmth. Real artifacts, such as historic posters and a toolbox with tools pepper the space, which is itself an artifact and aesthetically could not be altered. The activities are highly interactive and analog in nature, using color and lights to give feedback to the visitors’ interactions.
