Education has made its way into Tangible User Interface Design, a user interface that is interacted through touch. Reefs on the Edge is an interactive installation on Climate Change by Phillip Gough in Australia. This installation is meant for users to learn and explore the endangered coral reefs and how coral spawning can help reverse the damage.
Coral Spawning is when corals reproduce and simultaneously release pink and orange bundles filled with eggs and sperm (Fig. 2). This natural process is essential for the replenishment of coral reefs. The coral reefs are deteriorating due to the rising temperatures and acidity in the water.
I visited the Science Museum of Virginia in August. This museum is also an interactive art museum about science and climate change. They have machines that detect touch, motion, and sound.
Sources and References:
de Bérigny, Caitilin, et al. “Tangible User Interface Design for Climate Change Education in Interactive Installation Art.” Leonardo, vol. 47, no. 5, [Leonardo, The MIT Press], 2014, pp. 451–57, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43832953.
“Ocean Acidification.” Ocean Acidification | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1 Apr. 2020, https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-acidification.
Science Museum of Virginia: https://smv.org/
McVeigh, Karen. “Climate Crisis May Be Disrupting the ‘Great Orgy’ of Coral Spawning.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Sept. 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/10/climate-crisis-great-orgy-coral-spawning#top.
Holmquist, Lars. “Interactions.” The Future of Tangible User Interfaces | ACM Interactions, Sept. 2019, https://interactions.acm.org/archive/view/september-october-2019/the-future-of-tangible-user-interfaces.
