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Home > Research Underway > Prototype Designs
Prototype Designs
The exhibit development team knew that we needed to prototype aspects of the exhibit to make them work well for our visitors before we could evaluate their effectiveness with families. What we did not know is how illuminating and simple this basic prototyping could be. The team learned that we should have been talking to visitors sooner and more often, and that getting visitor feedback did not have to involve a huge sample with a complex survey instrument. Speaking with 10 families about an exhibit element could quickly identify problems. Making changes with tape and paper based on families input and testing again led to successful exhibit pieces and identified larger problems.
Prototypes were tested for six interactive elements in the exhibit in Hammocks, Mess, Recruiting, Holystoning, Try-on Sailor's Clothes, and Pack Your Seabag.
Each of these elements and areas are described in the following:
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Hammocks |
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Description
The hammock area consists of five canvas hammocks strung with rope and iron rings at various heights in a recreation of a ship's berth deck. Instead of having a wooden deck floor, however, the floor is padded to prevent injury should someone fall out of a hammock. A mural portraying a ship's birth deck spans the wall in back of the hammock area. |
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Instructions
There are no instructions to speak of in the hammock area. The master label at the entrance to the area reads: "Can you snooze in a hammock?" and it is affixed to a historical cut-out of a sailor. |
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Goals
The hammock area is designed to get people thinking about how a sailor would have slept on board a ship like Constitution. It is also supposed to convey related messages about a sailor's regimented schedule which did not provide much time for sleeping. |
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Materials
Canvas, rope, iron rings, metal hooks, pads for flooring, paint, wood. |
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Selected Visitors' Comments on Interactive |
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It would be better if it was more ship-like, brown instead of white. |
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Another mural would be nice. |
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Could use something to help kids get into them (the hammocks). |
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Make the hammocks lower particularly for older folks. |
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I don't know that you could make this activity better. |
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Mess |
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Description
The mess area consists of a black canvas cloth laid out in a recreation of a ship's berth deck. Adjacent to the cloth is a chest filled with plates (with questions and answers about food and mess life on them), cups, hard tack, and stew sacks. Against the side wall there rests four barrels equipped with flip panel tops and filled with examples of food from a sailor's diet. Visitors are supposed to sit and act as though they are a "mess family" sitting down to have a meal at sea. |
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Instructions
(On the wall above food chest)
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Set mess cloth with plates and cups. |
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Sit with your mess family. |
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Serve a biscuit and scoop of stew to each hungry sailor. |
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Don't forget to clean up when you are done! If you don't you might have your grog ration reduced as punishment. |
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(On mess cloth) |
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We invite you to sit down on the deck and explore a typical meal for sailors. |
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Before filling your plates read them for fun facts! |
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Peek in the barrels too! |
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Goals
To have people gain a better understanding of camaraderie, diet and nutrition, and meal time aboard a ship at sea. |
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Materials
Canvas, paint, tin plates and cups, beads, barrels, food stuffs (beans, rice, hard tack), wood, vinyl lettering, labels. |
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Selected Visitors' Comments on Interactive |
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(The mess area) is not visually draining. |
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You need to add something to it like another kind of biscuit or more and different food. |
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We had fun. |
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Have some pictures to show for the kids who are not as good readers. |
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It has potential if you get people in here (the mess area). |
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Recruiting |
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Description
The recruiting activity is set in a recreation of a "house of rendez-vous," a tavern-like place where naval officers would judge the seaworthiness of prospective sailors. The activity itself takes place on the tables within the area where there are table tents with questions for visitors to flip through and ask each other. One person plays the recruit and one the recruiter. At the end of the questioning the recruit tallies his score on a tally sheet, reads about his degree of seaworthiness, and is encouraged to sign on to be a sailor (for the purposes of the exhibit). After the questioning and tallying, the people participating in the activity are encouraged to switch roles and do it all over again. |
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Instructions
(On tables) Recruiting Sailors in 1812 |
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Sit down opposite each other and flip cards to "start." |
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Use a tally sheet to record your responses. |
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Take turns asking the recruiter's questions and answering as the recruit! Welcome aboard! |
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(On table tents) On Recruit's Side |
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You are being recruited! The person opposite you will ask you questions about your seaworthy skills. |
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Write your answers on the tally sheet. |
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When done, switch seats and you get to ask the recruiter's questions. |
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(On table tents) On Recruiter's Side |
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You are the recruiter! Ask the person opposite you the questions on the cards. |
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Their answers go on a tally sheet. |
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When done, switch seats and you get to answer the recruiter's questions! |
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Goals
To get people acclimated and oriented to the rest of the exhibit; it is essentially an introduction to what will come. It is designed to get people thinking about life at sea and what it would have taken to be a sailor in 1812. It is also supposed to get people to think about whether they could have made it as a sailor; get people in the mindset of being a sailor as they start to go through the exhibit. |
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Materials
Wood, paper, labels, tables, paint, pencils, and tin cups (to hold tally sheets).
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Selected Visitors' Comments on Interactive |
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We would like more questions. |
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If we had read the instructions it would have been easier. |
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More visual stuff like hard tack or a model of a ship—something to want to make you sit down and do the activity would be good. |
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Have a rope with a knot there because kids like hands-on stuff. |
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I like the idea, it sparked conversation and interest. |
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The pictures are great. |
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Make a few more questions, they were lots of fun! |
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Holystoning |
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Description
A life size cut out of a sailor on his knees holystoning (scrubbing) the deck encourages visitors through the main label to "Get on your knees and scrub!" The interactive consists of a low platform with wooden planks that resembles the deck of a ship. In addition there is a small raised platform that is accessible to handicapped visitors or visitors who do not want to get down on their knees in order to try out the activity. Attached to the decks by ropes are holystones (two on the lower deck and one on the top section). Visitors can give holystoning a try while learning about how the captain, the surgeon and the sailors felt about holystoning by turning a text wheel attached to the interactive. |
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Instructions
The main labels says in bold print, "Get on your knees and scrub." |
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Goals
The goal of the interactive is for visitors to try out a chore that a sailor would have had to perform and to consider how a sailor would have felt about doing this tedious job. The visitor should also come away with a better understanding of what holystoning was and why it was an important chore on Constitution. They should also learn what the officers and the ship's surgeon thought about the task given to the sailors. |
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Materials
Wooden frame with wooden planks to represent the deck of the ship, holystones attached to the deck with rope. |
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Selected Visitors' Comments on Interactive |
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It's neat to try out and it's great that it's hands-on. |
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It needs more information, like why they would have done it. |
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Give them something to clean off, make it look like they are accomplishing something. |
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Put sandpaper on the bottom of the stones so it looks like we are actually doing something. |
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There isn't much to do and it would be bad on knees and back. |
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Could you get some sand and saltwater in here? It would give a full experience. |
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Try-On Sailor's Clothes |
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Description
The interactive consists of a wooden chest filled with reproductions of sailor's clothes in various sizes to accommodate both child and adult visitors. A label urges visitors to "Try it on!" Another label shows a picture of a typical sailor and tells visitors "Sailors didn't have an official uniform in 1812." Life sized cut outs of commissioned officers are standing close by to show the contrast of the more ornate uniforms that they would have worn. |
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Instructions
Try it on! |
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Goals
To have visitors learn about what sailors would have worn on board Constitution. To allow visitors to experience wearing the clothes and pretend they are sailors. To have visitors recognize the difference between sailors clothing and the fancy officer's uniforms. |
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Materials
Painted wooden chest, various pieces of clothing in child and adult sizes (shirts, waistcoats, jackets, handkerchiefs). |
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Selected Visitors' Comments on Interactive |
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You should explain more about different pieces of clothing. |
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Instead of (clothes) in a trunk, have them hanging up. It's easier to see. |
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Separate adult clothes from children's clothes. |
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How about a hat, even a hat to look at on display. |
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Pack Your Seabag |
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Description
The interactive consists of two rectangular magnetic panels, one with the outline of a seabag on it, and one with instructions and magnet representations of the items sailors would pack in their seabag. Visitors need to first pack the items sailors would have needed, such as shoes, pants, shirts, etc., and then carefully choose an optional item (a pipe, playing cards, shaving kit or bible) in the small space they have left in the seabag. |
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Instructions
(On the seabag panel) Pack all of these items: |
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Two shirts |
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Two jackets |
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One red or white waistcoat |
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Three pairs of pants |
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Two pairs of shoes |
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Two hats |
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One black handkerchief |
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What else can you fit in? When you are finished packing empty the bag for the next sailor. |
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(On the instruction panel) You'll be away from home for two years. |
Space on board Constitution is very limited. Everything you need has to fit into your seabag. Have you ever tried to pack everything you need in one bag? |
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First, pack all the clothes you'll use at sea. |
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Then, decide what you want to bring with you in the space left over. Choose very carefully. |
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Goals
For visitors to consider what a sailor would need to bring with them on the ship for a voyage that could last up to two years. They should also learn how little room a sailor had to put all the things he needed and wanted to bring. The visitor will also have to make a choice and consider if they were only allowed to bring one personal item besides clothes in their seabag, what would it be? |
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Materials
Two large magnet boards with wooden frames, vinyl graphics on magnet backs.
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Selected Visitors' Comments on Interactive |
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Add more items to fill the bag. |
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Describe what they would choose to bring besides clothes. |
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I didn't think everything would fit and they would have to decide, but there is a lot of extra room. |
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The bag looks closer in size to the one in the case, but the clothes are too small. There is not any challenge if everything fits in. |
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