Featured Project

Puget Sound Navy Museum - USS John C. Stennis Exhibition

The Puget Sound Navy Museum is dedicated to interpreting the naval heritage of the Pacific Northwest. Taylor Studios was brought on board to design, build, and install a new exhibition interpreting life aboard the USS John C. Stennis, a Nimitz-class Aircraft Carrier that docks in the navy shipyard near the museum.

The design incorporated large format and back-lit graphics, mannequins in uniforms, many artifacts from the ship, semi-immersive spaces, and multiple interactive exhibits to tell the story of the amazing men and women who live in this small “city at sea” for months at a time to protect our nation from harm. Different rooms in the gallery interpret everything from the tight living quarters, to the complex nuclear reactor, to the dangerous flight deck.

The gallery accommodates different learning styles with video, audio, tactile experiences, and simple hands-on interactives such as flip-up meal trays. Multiple LCD monitors placed throughout the gallery play looping video of real sailors describing their jobs on the Stennis and a large projection plays video from the cock-pit of a plane while visitors sit in real ejection seats. Two large touchscreen interactives invite visitors to explore different areas of the ship and help complete the steam propulsion cycle and a spin browser interactive allows visitors to loop through a take-off and landing sequence. Visitors can crawl into a real bunk and sit down to a meal at a real table from the Stennis as well as turn a steam throttle wheel in engineering or a steering wheel at the bridge. For younger visitors, stylized cartoon sailors placed throughout the gallery present “top secret” envelope-themed flip doors that lift up to reveal fun facts.

One challenge in this project came in getting information from contacts onboard the Stennis, which was deployed during most of the project. Taylor Studios accommodated for these potential delays in our project schedule and kept a clear line of communication to ensure feedback from Stennis sailors helped guide the exhibits.

For locations, hours, and contact information, visit their website.

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Judicial Learning Center