Revitalizing legacy Flash interactives for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, these Predator-Prey and Hippo exhibits were transformed into engaging, accessible, and responsive educational experiences using HTML5, JavaScript, and GSAP. Now optimized for modern touchscreens and museum-grade hardware, these exhibits bring natural history concepts to life for visitors of all ages. I contributed to this project as part of a collaborative engineering team.
Client Background
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a leading institution dedicated to sharing and expanding knowledge about natural history. The Predator-Prey and Hippo Interactive Exhibits were originally designed as Flash-based educational experiences in Adobe Director. These exhibits provided museum visitors with engaging, hands-on learning about ecosystems, species interactions, and natural habitats. To modernize the exhibits, NMNH commissioned a rebuild using web technologies, making the interactives more accessible, future-proof, and compatible with modern devices.
Project Goals
1. Migrate Legacy Flash Interactives to Modern Web Technologies
Rebuild the Predator-Prey and Hippo exhibits using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and GSAP to replace outdated Flash and Director technologies, ensuring future compatibility and smoother performance.
2. Create Intuitive, High-Impact User Experiences
Develop engaging, educational interactives that leverage animations and intuitive controls to provide users of all ages with an accessible, immersive experience.
3. Ensure Accessibility and Compliance Standards
Design exhibits that align with accessibility standards, incorporating features like visual cues, narration, and responsive controls to cater to a diverse visitor base.
4. Optimize for Performance on Museum-Grade Hardware
Use efficient code and media management to guarantee stable performance on BrightSign devices, preloading and sequencing assets to ensure responsive and smooth interactivity.
Challenges and Solutions
1. Transitioning from Flash to HTML5 with Animation Fidelity
• Challenge: Recreating smooth, complex animations from Flash in HTML5 while maintaining the educational impact and interactive feel of the originals.
• Solution: Leveraged GSAP (GreenSock Animation Platform) for precise, high-performance animations, mirroring the fluidity of Flash while ensuring better compatibility and control across modern browsers and devices.
2. Optimizing for Touch-Screen Interactivity
• Challenge: Adapting the interactivity to work seamlessly on touch-screen displays, including BrightSign-powered touch interfaces.
• Solution: Designed a touch-optimized UI with large buttons and intuitive gestures, incorporating hover and click-based interactions with clear feedback for visitors.
3. Managing Media and Content Transitions
• Challenge: Handling the transition between different interactive media (videos, animations, text) without delays or lags that could disrupt user engagement.
• Solution: Implemented preloading strategies and z-index layering to ensure instant transitions, with GSAP animations triggered by timeupdate events to sync media changes precisely.
4. Accessibility and Usability Upgrades
• Challenge: Adapting the exhibits for modern accessibility standards, such as text size scaling, color contrast adjustments, and optional audio guidance.
• Solution: Added scalable text, volume controls, and high-contrast elements, ensuring compliance with accessibility guidelines and creating a welcoming experience for visitors with diverse needs.
Deployment and Testing
• Incremental Deployment on BrightSign: Deployed and tested the exhibits in stages on BrightSign devices within NMNH, allowing for troubleshooting and iterative improvements based on real visitor feedback.
• Comprehensive Usability Testing: Conducted in-museum usability tests, gathering insights from visitors and staff to refine interactive elements, narration, and animation timing.
• Compatibility and Performance Validation: Optimized performance for BrightSign hardware, testing across various configurations to ensure stable, smooth interactions during extended visitor sessions.
Results
• Modernized, Engaging Experience: The HTML5-based interactives brought new life to the exhibits, providing a modern, responsive experience that engaged visitors of all ages with visually compelling animations and seamless interactions.
• Accessibility Compliance and Enhanced Usability: The updated exhibits meet current accessibility standards, making ecological concepts more approachable and inclusive.
• Positive Feedback from NMNH and Visitors: NMNH reported high satisfaction with the updates, noting improved visitor engagement and ease of maintenance for the modernized system.
Value Added
• Revitalized Educational Experience: The conversion to HTML5 and GSAP ensured that the exhibits retained their educational value while adapting to modern user expectations.
• Operational Efficiency: The updated system is low-maintenance, reliable, and optimized for sustained performance on BrightSign devices, reducing the need for frequent technical interventions.
• Future-Ready Platform: The HTML5 rebuild establishes a scalable foundation, making it easier for NMNH to maintain and expand interactive exhibits over time.
Interested in working together? I'm always open to discussing new projects and opportunities.
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