Dinosaur website

Project Summary

The idea of developing and designing an art gallery features dinosaur exhibits. The website is styled as a virtual exhibit about the history of dinosaurs through different periods and habitats. The gallery highlights interactive content and media such as articles, images, animations, videos, games, and potentially an AR dinosaur experience that attracts both adults and kids. 

Process

UX Research - Research was conducted through several surveys which focused on general interest and knowledge of dinosaurs, features people would want to interact with in a virtual museum, color and word associations, and age preferences. The major takeaways from these surveys are:

People want to learn more about large vertebrates, iconic dinosaurs such as tyrannosaurus rex, Tyrannus, Spinosaurus, and pterodactyl as reflected in the dinosaur preference survey and the common word associations. 

In terms of general interest, our survey results indicate that all ages (~90% of survey takers), not just young children, would be interested in learning more about dinosaurs. 

The colors most people associate with dinosaurs were green (47%), red (15%), and blue (12%), which helps to inform our color choices for dinosaur recreations and the site theme itself.

VR Research - Research was focused on 3D design and VR options to host on the website. The software that best meets our groups needs for 3D object design is Blender, and Co-space will be used for 3D environment rendering. These options are the most powerful systems available that still provide ease of use while making quick turn-around possible.   

Museum Research - Popular dinosaur museums that utilize virtual exhibits and catalogs include the Smithsonian, the Natural History Museum, and the Museum of the Earth. These existing websites demonstrate possible content options and other features that we can include in (and improve upon) on the website. 

Dinosaur Research - Much research was done to complete this project, especially around the different geological areas and the dinosaurs that existed during these times. I was able to meet with SUNY Oswego paleontologist Jennifer Ori, who provided a perspective on the evolution of life in the local area, the ecological history of New York, and additional digital resources that can be utilized. In addition, blogs about relevant dinosaur topics are in progress.

.

 Goals

1. Creating a website that contains a virtual dinosaur theme park is the ideal goal, with areas for users to explore, an encyclopedia to consult, rich content to interact with, and an interactive digital museum explaining how dinosaurs lived, evolved, and what became of them.

Audience

The challenging part of this project was developing a virtual reality environment as well as designing a 3D modeling of a Dinosaur in blender. The website aims to through all different types of dinosaurs.