This summer has seen me working almost exclusively on a new exhibition for the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Bones of Oak and Iron tells the continuing story of HMS Victory’s conservation and restoration from the time she was built in 1759, through war and peace, to her current and future state. Working with Erich Kadow | Interpretation & Design and Maytom Associates, we developed and delivered the interactive exhibition from concept to installation in just 3 months.
In addition to working on the overall concept for the exhibition and media (including projected and audio installations), my primary role was the design, development and on-site installation of a suite of touch screen interactives, including:
Conservation Explorer provides a wealth of information about Victory’s construction and on-going restoration and conservation. Supported by modern day and archive photography, video, plans and diagrams, the content is accessible through a fully interactive timeline, a categorised elevation and plan of the ship, six key phases in Victory’s history and also a huge media browser. Displayed in full HD, the interactive showcases the best from the Victory archives.
Shipwright’s Apprentice features two games. The Repair Challenge asks visitors to try their hand at looking after and maintaining Victory, including dealing with an attack of Death watch beetles, leaks and water damage and giving Victory a new paint job. Get it wrong and you’ll be fired from a cannon! This interactive also includes a quiz about Victory, rewarding players with promotion up through the ranks.
The Next 250 Years is a questionnaire that provides visitors with an opportunity to give their views and opinions about Victory, including what should happen to her in the future. Responses are stored for the museum staff to analyse.
3D modelling – Philip Henderson, Rumour 3D
