THESIS & EKHIBITION
PROJECT OVERVIEW
It is easy to spot an interpretive sign or wayside exhibit scattered through a natural park along the various trails and wooden boardwalks. Here, we are welcomed, oriented, and informed on what lies ahead and all around us. Small low-profile signs draw attention to the Aora in its Latin name, while triangular upright wayside signage serves as the trail markers for the start (or end) of the journey These wayside exhibits are excellent in their ability to present text and imagery, yet the design and interpretive elements of these exhibits have largely plateaued. While some might argue that their cease in evolution wouldimply a perfection of form, this topic led me to consider what opportunities exist in enhancing the visitor experience beyond the quantitative. Ifbotanicalgardensand science centers have beenable to rapidlyadapt their exhibits, engagement, and experiences to consider the audience's emotional learning and impact, the wayside exhibit is long overdue for areevaluation. Which begs the question, what's next?
This thesis discusses the importance of outdoor exhibits in natural parks and their ability to interpret the natural world to provide context, history, and experience to visitors looking for recreation. Doused with technology, noise, and stressors of everyday life, many find solace, reAection, and no cellphone reception in these places. Outdoor exhibits are powerful tools for explaining and understanding the goings-on at every trail. visitor center, and monument that visitors encounter.
For my applied project, I designed an outdoor exhibit that utilizes narrative techniques to interpret ongoing ecological issues specific to the site and outlined by the client. Located on the West Lake Trail at Everglades National Park, Florida, the project invites visitors to learn about the park's ongoing issues and the history that led up to this point and provides opportunities to reAect on their place within these landscapes. By developing exhibition strategies based on information from the selected
site, audience, and client of the project, The Riverhas Teeth is an outdoor exhibit overlaid onto the existing park site. Consisting of an outdoor exhibit and an interpretive boardwalk trail. the exhibit will offer guests a chance to form a sense of investment in the environment and pledge to care for it in the future
THESIS STATEMENT
Outdoor wayside exhibits in natural parks provide historical and ecological information to visitors as they encounter the park landscape. While these exhibits offer site-based information, they fall short in facilitating a sense of connection and emotional investment between visitor and place. !=ls a mediator between visitors and the environment, wayside exhibits can be designed to reAect both entities through integrative placemaking strategies, enacted through site-specific engagements, interpretive storytelling, and directed facilitation between audiences. Implementing these placemaking strategies can connect visitors to their environment and cultivate a grounded connection to the park landscape in tandem with the experience. In doing so, wayside exhibits can provide a sense of place that contributes to a deeper understanding of local ecologicalnarratives for multi-generational visitors.
