The "Forever Ready" Exhibit
We’ve all seen it. You walk up to a fascinating-looking interactive exhibit, ready to dive in, only to find it in a state of chaos. Pieces are scattered everywhere, the "start" state is unrecognizable, or worse, the previous visitor left it in a "game over" condition that you can't figure out how to undo. (If I see one more already solved “ecosystem puzzle” exhibit at a Nature Center again, I’ll scream!)
In the world of interactive exhibits, the “Reset” is everything.
The "Reset" is one of the most critical (yet often overlooked) aspects of interactive exhibit design.
If an exhibit isn't ready for the next visitor immediately after the previous one leaves, it's “broken.”
If an exhibit requires a staff member to tidy it up every ten minutes, it’s not an exhibit; it’s a chore. <cough> mini-supermarket exhibits at Children's Museums <cough>
The Holy Grail of interactive design is creating experiences that naturally return to a "visitor-ready" state the moment the first user walks away.
Here are three different types of exhibit elements that handle their own housekeeping, ensuring every visitor gets a fresh experience:
1. Gravity to the Rescue!
You can’t beat gravity as a free source of energy (and cleanup). The classic Tennis Ball Launcher is a great example of reset. The visitor pulls a rope to raise a bowling ball inside a close-fitting acrylic tube. When the ball drops, a stream of air rushes through a smaller connected tube containing a tennis ball.
Whoosh! The constrained air sends the tennis ball flying!
When the tennis ball reaches its apogee? Gravity takes over and returns the tennis ball to its original position, ready for the next user.
• Why it works: It uses physics, not staff, to clean up.
• See examples of CW Shaw’s Tennis Ball Launcher here
2. The Magnetic Gear Wall
"Loose parts" exhibits are engagement gold, but they are also a "reset" nightmare. If you have a bucket of small pieces, they can end up in pockets, on the floor, or in the wrong exhibit entirely.
The Magnetic Gear Wall solves this by turning the entire vertical surface into a storage unit. The gears stick where you leave them. While the pattern changes, the functionality never breaks. The next visitor doesn't encounter a pile of junk; they encounter a collaborative work-in-progress that is instantly playable.
• Why it works: The "mess" is the exhibit. There is no "wrong" state.
• See an example: Magnetic Gear Wall at the Discovery Museum in Acton, MA
(Notice how the gears are always presented effectively, whether arranged in a line or a chaotic cluster.)
3. "Phygital" (Physical/Digital) Exhibits
Sometimes you want the tactile joy of a giant "Lite-Brite" but without the agony of picking up hundreds of little plastic pegs.
The Everbright is a giant grid of dials that change color as you twist them. It satisfies that tactile itch but offers a massive maintenance advantage: Auto-Erase. You can program it to wipe the screen clean with a satisfying ripple of light after a period of inactivity. It’s always a fresh canvas for the next artist.
• Why it works: It mimics a mechanical experience while clever engineering handles the reset instantly.
• See an example: The Everbright
(Their site specifically highlights the "self-resetting" feature as a major perk for staff-less spaces.)
The Takeaway
When prototyping your next interactive, ask yourself: "What’s the Reset?"
If the answer involves a staff member constantly picking up loose pieces or a confused visitor pressing buttons randomly, keep iterating!
Have a favorite "auto-reset" exhibit example? Share it in the Comments Section below!
Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!
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