A New Partnership Takes Shape

A new collaboration between NC State’s College of Design and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is granting students the opportunity to take their design skills to the next level. Tania Allen, professor and interim head of design studies in media arts, design, and technology (MADTech) is leading a partnership focused on taking a complicated scientific database and turning it into an engaging and easy to understand experience for a wider audience. 

After acquiring fossils from a site in Montana, the museum has been engaging in a public extension project, shipping soil samples from the site to elementary students across the country. Students sift through the soil, identifying fossils and sending the results back to the museum. The project, “Cretaceous Creatures,” collates students’ findings into a database of results. 

“I’ve been going to the North Carolina Natural History Museum my whole life as a North Carolina native, so I especially valued the opportunity to create digital visual media for this project,” said Lauren Mole, a design studies student. 

Making Data Accessible

“What they really want to do is make the database more accessible, more engaging, and  more public facing, so that people can really see what’s been identified,” said Allen.

This partnership not only helps elementary students learn about archeology, but also helps design students at NC State gain experience in the real world, applying their knowledge in a meaningful way that benefits others beyond the classroom.

“I really want to develop more opportunities for students, especially in design studies, to practice their craft and what they’re learning in real world situations,” said Allen. “When we first talked about the project, we were just going to examine the database and have some ideas for how it could be organized. But then it blossomed into a little bit more of a design project where we’re actually coming up with a prototype for this public-facing database.”

Building Connections Beyond the Classroom

Not only does this project help design studies students gain experience in the field and build connections post-graduation, opening doors to jobs that the students are passionate about.

“I’ve always been interested in User Interface as a potential career path, but never had a real opportunity to explore it in practice,” said Mole. “This project was the perfect exposure to the field, and I can confidently say it reinforced my interest. I particularly enjoyed the balance between creativity and problem-solving, as well as designing with the client’s wants and user’s experience in mind.”

“This project gives students opportunities to make connections, engaging with professionals who are working in different capacities or in different industries,” said Allen. “A lot of our students work in and around museums, either doing design development or marketing content. This is a good opportunity for them to get their feet wet.”

While all projects present challenges, this group is exploring how to combine design and computer science to produce a game based on the same concept. Working in teams of six, they are trying to avoid redundancies while getting work done efficiently. 

“I learned so much from this project – from learning to use Figma for concept development to working with a client, incorporating their feedback and refining my designs through iteration. The experience helped me adjust my designs to better serve users, and I know that all of these skills will be valuable in a future design role,” Mole added. 

A Foundation for Future Collaboration

While this partnership will greatly benefit both the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences  by helping the museum develop an easy to use and understand database for users, it could also pave the way for future collaboration between the museum and the NC State School of Design, giving students in the design studies program professional experience along the way. 

“A long term goal would be more independent internships [with the museum]. An internship with designers on board would be a great goal for this project – to demonstrate what we can do,” said Allen.

As the collaboration continues, it shows the powerful connection between the museum and NC State design students. By changing complicated data into an engaging journey for everyone, NC State students are not only gaining knowledge and experience but also contributing to a project that will help make science more accessible to everyone.