huge model of a solar system and a set of playground slides.The Museum hosts several different galleries which entices visitors to roam and experiment with the fifty different models and objects in seven different zones. Muf is particularly know for designing outdoor spaces and they seemed to bring the same immersive experience to Wonderlabs.
To create the exhibition space Muf took over 25,000 square foot of the Statoil gallery. They also stripped and even removed all existing partitions to create a huge unhindered open space. The space is then split into different zones all dedicated to a particular theme such as Light, Sound, Forces and all of their environments are adjusted to fit the theme.
The lighting is mostly artificial though I assume natural light was used wherever available. No skylights seem to be present so only windows would allow the rays in. The sub-exhibits themselves are all lit with both dim and bright white lights. The main items found in the sub-exhibits are lit using a spotlight showing importance to the interactable items. The rest is lit dimly so that the visitors can still manage to get around freely. There are some spaces which rely on dark spaces but this is mostly in order to contrast the exhibited pieces themselves.
Most of the floor is covered in parquet flooring, other than one sub-exhibit space which seems to be a form of concrete or tiling.
I would think that it would have some form of background music playing throughout the entire exhibition though due to its size sound could echo and muddled. I would assume that music zone wouldn't contain any form of BG music but rather a quite space in-order to fully experience the Interactive exhibit.
The Entire exhibition is separated into zones each having there own theme. There is a clear distinction between one space and another as there is an emptiness separating each place whilst also changing the theme per sub-exhibit.
As there are no doors or other obstacles between one zone and another its quite simple to access the entire exhibition with ease.
The space is extremely open plane and visitors are encouraged to go wherever their eyes take them, there is no definite paths or traffic flow but the space is big enough to cater for this navigational system.
What I found quite interesting as there are no implied signs suggesting what the exhibit is about but rather a hanging objects which represent the space. For example the sounds zone has a brass instrument hanging above it.
The space is huge and can cater to a great number of people at any given time. The exhibits themselves don't take up to much space from each given room.
There is no traffic flow system as it is a pretty much free for all, the visitor can traverse as he wishes. The place itself doesn't have that much reading material but there are some isles that can be viewed with ease both by adults and children. The exhibition looks pretty safe and well designed but on closer inspection a lot of the exhibited items have dangerous potential but a little common sense would prevent any unnecessary accidents. As for safety equipment I didn't manage to see any fire extinguishers of any sort, considering a place of this size there must be a good sprinkler system that would cover the area in an efficient manner. There are also Exit signs found throughout the entire exhibition clearly visible to anyone looking for it.
Sources :
http://www.dezeen.com/2016/10/11/muf-wonderlab-science-museum-gallery-london-slides-theatre/
http://www.theweek.co.uk/77665/inside-the-science-museums-new-interactive-wonderlab-gallery
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/13-19-june-2016/science-museum-set-open-interactive-wonderlab-gallery/
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
http://www.dezeen.com/2016/10/11/muf-wonderlab-science-museum-gallery-london-slides-theatre/
http://www.theweek.co.uk/77665/inside-the-science-museums-new-interactive-wonderlab-gallery
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/13-19-june-2016/science-museum-set-open-interactive-wonderlab-gallery/
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
