Historical EXHIBIT DESIGN Connecting audiences to the past, present, and future of Tompkins CountY

Key Features

Modular exhibit design that uses the space efficiently and allows for extreme flexibility in updating content

Audience engagement through interactive media and object-based experiences

A user-friendly, customized, and integrated collections management system (CMS)

The Need

The History Center in Tompkins County requested an interpretative design that connects audiences to the meaningful history and narratives of the past, present, and future of the region. The museum desired a modular display system so that they could feature as many artifacts as possible, and easily change out objects as necessary.

The Approach

Tessellate designed a flexible series of modular “Story Pods” that work as an exhibit system to accommodate the current and future needs of the museum. This design allows for an open floor plan, use of the vertical space, and seating. We also designed a collections software that ensures data is input once, yet distributed throughout all the exhibit’s searchable databases. This flexible software system supports interactive and immersive media, and includes imagery, audio, and video. Tessellate closely collaborated with representatives of the Cayuga (Gayogo̱hó:nǫ), an Indigenous community from Tompkins County, to create a Cayuga Creation Story animation which was displayed on the door of an old bank vault.