Touch deep time

Touch deep time
Playfully uncovering what fossils tell us, and what they don’t

Five Triceratops skeletons in one space. How did these dinosaurs live together? What did they eat, how did they find a mate, how did they defend themselves? For Naturalis, we teamed up with Designwolf to develop a playful and accessible family exhibition about herd life with the collection as the starting point.

Client and Location
Naturalis - Leiden (NL)
Open Since
2024
Square meters (m2)
variable
Our Role
Interactive design & development
Exhibition Designer
Design Wolf
Fit Out
BRUNS
AV Partners
Redrum
Show all credits
What a fossil tells us

Bones tell a story. Bite marks, injuries, growth rings under a microscope. Look closely and you see a life. We made those details visible and tangible, so visitors of all ages understand what scientists can read from fossil material.

It's a match!

You may not immediately have a romantic connection with a Triceratops, but what if your partner has morphed into one? The interactive ‘Wildly attractive’ demonstrates a very original filter to players: they change into a Triceratops!

What a fossil doesn't tell us

But scientists don't have all the answers. The colour and texture of Triceratops skin? That's still speculation. So we handed visitors a paint spray and let them design their own version. Also scientists need to use their imagination.

Simple and playful

Watering plants is something even the smallest visitors understand. So we used watering cans with RFID technology to show which plants grew from fossil seeds. Physical, surprising and immediately accessible for every age.

The Tricerascope brings the skeletons to life
Safe as a herd
Behind the scenes

The herd on tour

The exhibition is designed as a travelling show. All interactions are built modularly: movable and easy to translate for new audiences. After Naturalis, the herd heads out on a world tour.

Wonder first

Designing simple and intuitive interactions takes thorough testing. Testing with the target audience, adjusting, and testing again. The technology fades into the background so that wonder takes centre stage.

Want to know more?

Our director Wouter would love to tell you more about this project! Send him an e-mail at wouter.verbiest@yipp.nl

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