Dear Eliot,

Two examples of environmental/outdoor exhibits you might want to look at are:

1) Royal British Columbia Musem - "B.C. Land and Sea" gallery. This is a "walk-through "diarama" that is like a walking trail along the shoreline of B.C. It uses breezes and sea air (locally available, the lucky ones) and sound-scapes to make the indoors feel a lot like the
outdoors.

It is worth a visit, and it's not very far from you. Another example is in Australia.

2) The Sydney Aquarium - "The Great Barrier Reef Exhibit", reef pool exhibit. This also is a "walk-through diarama" but a room sized one. It has a curved path through the curved-shaped room. Raised tanks on either side of the curved path house live corals and other Reef dwellers.
The vaulted ceiling, typical of the diarama form, continues above your head, and further suppotyd the illusion of being surrounded by the Reef. The light level is brilliant, especially compared to the galleries on either side contributing to the outdoor feeling. The light also is
essential to the health of the fish which are enormously active, and being so brilliant in colour galvanize visitors' attention, and allowed me to suspend disbelief for a few moments and enjoy the exhibit.

The underwater exhibits at the Sydney Aquarium are also worth attention, but you mentioned weather as the subject, so I thought this one more useful for you.

To sum up, characteristics of both these successful environments/outdoor exhibits are a large scale, curvilinear spaces, continuation of the ceiling over the visitor path. Other characteristics are use of air movement and scent as appropriate, distinctly different light levels, and
a high level of activity centered in the viewer's cone of vision and away from the built envelope.

I hope this helps,

Leslie Munro.

> "outdoor"-like exhibits (2)
>
> >Eliot Stadler
> >Minnesota Historical Society,  Exhibits Department
> >(PH) 651-215-6885
> >(FAX) 651-297-8224
> >[log in to unmask]

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