LCC and Science Museum Lates

A series of collaborations between LCC and the Science Museum has tested the ingenuity and design flair of students on BA Interaction Design Arts.

Science Museum Lates is a monthly series of after-hours theme nights that take place on the last Wednesday of each month at one of London’s major tourist attractions.

London College of Communication has collaborated with the museum on a number of projects for these ‘Lates’, which mostly attract 18-35s, with students from BA Interaction Design Arts having created several immersive and interactive displays.

Course leader Joel Karamath, who has also worked with other renowned institutions including the V&A and Geffrye Museum (Museum of the Home), has guided his undergraduates through projects including one to celebrate the Principia space launch, which involved British astronaut Tim Peake’s mission to the International Space Station.

Joel admitted that forging a partnership with the Science Museum took some time. “They’ve got all the things you expect of a major national science-based institution, and there was scepticism about students coming in. They were probably asking ‘can they really do this?’

“It’s like most things that involve student projects: people always expect them to be a bit [low] budget and a little bit basic, so it’s just a matter of convincing people.”

To help mark the Principia launch, LCC students were asked by the Science Museum to create a simple, engaging and enjoyable demonstration, interactive installation or performance relating to the theme ‘space’. The project was aimed at helping visitors to the Science Museum Lates event better understand different aspects of space.

It involved students initially creating working prototypes at LCC, with the Science Museum then selecting which projects would be installed at their event.

Joel explained: “The way we have to do it is always going to be a stressful process because we have to make stuff here [at LCC], then we have to take them down to the museum and we have a 45-minute window to set up.

“So, not only do we have to build stuff, we have to build it, then we have to dismantle, transport and reconstruct it and make sure it’s working again in very short space of time. On top of that we then get loads of people coming in and engaging and prodding and pulling!”

As well as showcasing their creativity and problem-solving skills, LCC’s students also get to experience the many challenges of collaborating with a major scientific and cultural player.

Joel said: “It’s the experience of working at a big institution and creating stuff that involve dealing with the public, because one of the major factors with these project is that they have to be engaging and interactive in some way.

“That means not that just in of itself, but also that our students have to be there, explaining things and engaging with visitors, talking about a project and the process of making it in the first place.

“So there’s a whole host of stress that goes on along with projects like these, and not least of all the intensity of the evening on top of all of the other things and processes that lead up to the production of that project.” Joel admitted that, compared to other university projects, collaborations such as these can have “the gestation period of an elephant”.

He added: “The lates are also specifically designed for adults, so you can deal with adult themes, and you also deal with people going around with a drink. The museum wants to let visitors sort of behave like kids, without real kids there. But adults behaving like kids is sometimes even worse in some ways, and you’ve got to negotiate that as well.”

With further collaborations with the Science Museum in the pipeline, Joel concluded: “These projects have to be imaginative, but in a way which engages with the public. Essentially, that’s a component of anything that’s going in an exhibition space – interactivity. How do you get people to interact with what is on display? The design has to take that into consideration.”

Main image of the Science Museum photo by L.T. Lee via Flickr Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC 2.0. Other photos courtesy of LCC and the Science Museum.