The Field Museum
U of M Senior Capstone Project
I designed and prototyped a web app that allows students to learn about natural selection and evolution. Students are engaged in activities that utilize 3D bone scans of The Field Museum's famous dinosaur "Sue."
The Field Museum completed 3D scans of specimens, including "Sue" the T-Rex. My team collaborated with the museum's digital education team to develop a cutting-edge 3D dinosaur web app for educators nationwide, prioritizing discoverability and student engagement.
The Field Museum had access to the 3D scans of Sue the T-Rex's bones for their "Dino Toolkit" to support Sue's new home, the Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet exhibit. The toolkit, designed for teachers nationwide, includes dinosaur lesson plans and learning tools. Our client chose Sketchfab for modeling the 3D scans but sought innovative ways to engage and educate students effectively, as the scans alone might lose their appeal quickly
Project Overview
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UX/UI Designer
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Prototyped HTML Landing Page
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Executed Participatory Design Workshop
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Performed User Research to Understand Use Cases and User Needs
My Contributions
Design Process
My team gathered data through competitive analysis and surveys, shaping our personas and user journeys accordingly.
We conducted a competitive analysis of 3D learning tools and educational dinosaur games to understand existing tools and find beneficial elements for our app.
Competitive Analysis
We surveyed potential teacher users to refine personas, understand technical and classroom constraints, and identify their classroom needs.
Survey Screenshot
We developed personas to anticipate user reactions to app features, ensuring design alignment with their needs and preferences.
Student and Teacher Primary Personas
Student and Teacher Primary Personas
We mapped personas into user journeys reflecting their current dinosaur learning experiences, with the aim of eliminating identified pain points with our web app.
Primary Persona User Journeys
Primary Persona User Journeys
After performing initial research, we brainstormed and sketched ideas inspired by "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) questions on evolution and natural selection. These concepts influenced our mid and high-fidelity designs, which we presented to the Field Museum. We opted for a landing page inspired by an early version of madwell.com, with islands linking to various activities on the 3D modeling platform, Sketchfab.
Preliminary Sketch
NGSS - Basis for App Activities
Mind Map of NGSS Related Topics
Preliminary Sketch
NGSS - Basis for App Activities
Mind Map of NGSS Related Topics
We brainstormed activity ideas and app flow, then produced storyboards for two planned activities. These storyboards served to introduce app features to our client and potential users, gauging their interest.
Activity 1 - Structural Similarities
Compares Sue the T-rex and turkeys, as birds are modern dinosaurs that have many structural similarities
Activity 2 - Form and Function
Allows students to discover how dinosaurs and turkeys use their similar bones for different purposes. Aims to get students talking and forming hypotheses about how dinosaurs lived.
Activity 1 - Structural Similarities
Compares Sue the T-rex and turkeys, as birds are modern dinosaurs that have many structural similarities
Activity 2 - Form and Function
Allows students to discover how dinosaurs and turkeys use their similar bones for different purposes. Aims to get students talking and forming hypotheses about how dinosaurs lived.
Activity 2 — Form and Function
Allows students to discover how dinosaurs and turkeys use their similar bones for different purposes. Aims to get students talking and forming hypotheses about how dinosaurs lived.
Activity 1 — Structural Similarities
Compares Sue the T-rex and turkeys, as birds are modern dinosaurs that have many structural similarities
We presented our work at the museum, confirming scientific accuracy with a paleontologist and gathering input from 8 Chicago school teachers. While the teachers were excited about our content, they suggested adding cross-disciplinary elements like ratio and language arts. We recommended the museum consider these additions in future app iterations.
Panel of Teachers
Preparing for Workshop with Team
Team Photo with Our Clients
Teammates presenting storyboards
Preparing for Workshop with Team
Teammates presenting storyboards
Team Photo with Our Clients
Panel of Teachers
To test our prototype with our primary users, middle schoolers, we selected three twelve-year-old boys. They found the initial prototype intuitive and engaging but were confused by the activity names. After team discussion, we decided to rename them from "Structural Similarities" and "Form and Function" to "Adaptation Attack" and "Function Fight," believing these names are more descriptive and appealing to students.
Outcomes
We've completed our design and delivered our materials and recommendations to the client. You can view our final prototype (initially created in InVision, but since migrated to Marvel) and the preliminary landing page I coded (please excuse lag time, software has been depreciated). We've suggested our client transform this prototype into an HTML site, incorporating lesson plan content around the Sketchfab screens. Additionally, we've designed "coming soon" islands on the landing page for easy linking to future activities.
I enjoyed the full design process and honed my UX research, ideation, and prototyping skills working with a real-world client. I'm immensely proud to have contributed to a product for nationwide classroom use.
However, this experience highlighted that following the complete design process is ideal. We wished for more time, especially during research, and desired additional user testing. Time and budget constraints limited these opportunities.
Explore Our Prototype:
(Prototype Experience Best on Desktop)