Before the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum opened in 2015, the museum hired the talented team at Reich+Petch Design to do everything from the museum planning and exhibition design to the graphic design and promotional campaigns. To create a unique and wow-worthy campaign for the museum the team at Reich+Petch focused on the area’s unique paleontology history.
The Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in little Wembley, Alberta is located five minutes away from one of the most historic paleontology sites in Canada – Pipestone Creek. Way back in 1974 Pipestone Creek became an important dinosaur site when a local school teacher went out for a nature walk and ended up coming across the remains of the yet to be discovered dinosaur species Pachyrhinosaurus. To come up with their promotional campaign Reich+Petch wondered how they could help visitors re-experience that exciting historical discovery. What if each visitor could have their own Pachyrhinosaurus?
To make it happen they had experts create mini 3D models of what the Pachyrhinosaurus would have looked like and then we 3D printed them out at Hot Pop. The coolest part of 3D printing for exhibitions is that it can really bring the museum to life! Along with the 3D printed Pachyrhinosaurus, we also printed out some touchable fossils. Most fossils and bones are too fragile or sensitive to touch since they need to be kept safe from moisture on our hands. With 3D models you can replicate the sensitive remains and then print them out in more durable materials. For the museum this turned the typical “do not touch” exhibition into a “please touch” interaction.
The beautiful Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum is now open for visits, and also just recently won a Canadian Museums Association Award of Outstanding Achievement is Exhibitions for Science! Find out more about visiting the Museum.
Credits:
Museum Planning, Exhibition Design, Graphic Design and Promotional Campaign: Reich+Petch Design International
Multimedia Design and Digital Model: The Design Foundation
Client: Pipestone Creek Dinosaur Initiative
Museum Photography: Tom Arban Photography Inc.