Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall
National Geographic Museum & the Jane Goodall Institute
With a legacy of groundbreaking discoveries and the inspiration behind the Jane Goodall Institute for environmental change, Dr. Jane Goodall serves as a leader in research and global community conservation. These interactive kiosks explore Dr. Goodall’s legacy in three parts: her revolutionary observations of chimpanzees in the ‘60s, the active research to offset chimp habitat degradation in Gombe and surrounding areas in Africa, and the environmental pledges that museum goers can make for a hopeful future.
Role
Project LeadCreative & Art Direction
Lead UX & Design
Content Strategy
Audio Design
Created under the direction of NeoPangea
Exhibit Recognition
> American Alliance of Museums Exhibition Overall Winner> TEA Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement
Holographic Field Notebook
While observing chimpanzees in the ‘60s in Tanzania, Africa, Dr. Goodall’s field notebook was a necessary tool to document three key findings about chimps: they eat meat, they build nests as beds each night, and they engage in warfare. Within the exhibit, Goodall’s notebook sets the stage in which the three holographic vignettes could play out.
Through a carefully orchestrated holographic animation, the sketched images and text lift off the page and come to life as animated shorts, recounting each key finding as a 30 second vignette.
Each vignette was storyboarded based on collaborating with the Nat Geo team on the high-level story beats, further refined based on a tighter script, then illustrated and animated to fit the cadence and mood of each story.
Chimp Habitat Degradation Interactive Touchscreen
Using satellite imagery and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), The Jane Goodall Institute studies the vanishing habitats of chimpanzees in Africa. To set the stage for the satellite based map data, we created a 3D rotating globe to introduce the Chimp Habitat Degradation story displayed through an interactive kiosk.
NeoPangea worked directly with JGI’s Chief Scientist to capture hi-resolution map data, break down the information into easily digestible parts, and restyle it based on the exhibit’s style guide.
Since recognizing deforestation in the ‘70s, JGI has made strides with Tanzanian communities in taking ownership to manage their local environments.
Tree of Hope Projection and Interactive Touchscreens
Before visitors exit the museum, Dr. Jane Goodall encourages each person to pledge to make a positive change in their daily routine, as individual actions add up to make a significant impact. Each pledge takes the form of a leaf, which joins other leaves on the Tree of Hope representing the collective action for change.
I worked closely with the Nat Geo and NeoPangea teams to create the aesthetic for the “everyman’s” tree trunk and leaves, while designing a wooden, laser cut interface for each person to make their pledge on the adjoining kiosks.
Each visitor can add their name to the Tree of Hope, as one small pledge can make a greater impact on the world. Once they submit their pledge, their leaf flies from the kiosk to tree on the wall in front of them.
