Final Design Review

After a long and arduous journey, we have completed our final design review. All in all, it went pretty well. We had a very professional and enticing poster layout, a polished and creative final exhibit, and I think we did a good job connecting the exhibit to the SLO community. we received many compliments on the professional look of our posters thanks to Matt's background in graphic communications. However, our lack of a tangible model may have made our exhibit seem less enticing to the visiting panel of experts.

Eric from SLO-RESCO gave us some great pointers on how our exhibit could be taken to the next level. He pointed out that one of the major criticisms of wind energy is its intermittency. By adding another module dedicated to wind storage, we could help make the SLO community aware of the criticisms of wind energy as well as present the new technological developments to overcome them. All in all, this class has been a great experience, and I hope it gets offered again in the future. But in the words of the great YouTube poet Rebecca Black, "It's Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday! Everybody's looking forward to the weekend!" Indeed, every member of the Whirligigs is looking forward to the much needed weekend.

Cheers,

Lord Stanley of Yorkshire

LAST CLASS

Last class before the final design review!
We still need to put together the final poster. Some items that we discussed to put on the poster are:

• Learning objectives
• Signage
• A night shot
• A view of a different configuration of the exhibit to show its modularity

Also, the poster is divided into one main summary poster, with two supporting panels on each side. Each supporting panel will show each modules in detail and the interactions between the user. 

The module with the chimes is being changed to a horizontal bicycle wheel that will be rotated by a a generator. A still mallet will hit the spokes on the wheel as the wheel turns, which will make noise. 

Sadly, there will be no physical model for the final presentation. :[

5/27/11 update

Today we worked on the content of our posters for the presentation. We found some information to connect the topic to local green initiatives. Also, Jessica has been working on a sketchup model for the presentation. For the weekend, each of us is looking for more information, thinking about how best to sell our idea and get others excited about it, and a name for our exhibit.

5/25/11 Display Display Discussion

The Presentation Display Posters : discuss everything that could possibly be on the poster, and an optional scale model. Divide and Conquer : Jessica to create vModel, and possibly scale model; Monica and Lord Stanley to compile concept elements; Matt to begin Poster Layout, organization, and styling. Poster Matrix : preliminary content organization, visual hierarchy, and [possible] sector content; to be reviewed Friday 5/27.

5/23/11 Class Update

Our group has a bunch of ideas on how to communicate the scientific aspects of wind technology. We have also incorporated a more aesthetic element by introducing a large wind sculpture in the center of our exhibit. Now, we need to find a way to relate our exhibit to the SLO community, find a way to portray wind as renewable resource in a way that touches the user on a personal level. Some ideas we discussed were giving each turbine investigation module a setting, some location within the SLO community where that kind of wind technology could be implemented. We also discussed how to convey the amount of energy that could be produced by wind turbines in a way that the average user, probably coming from a non-scientific background would understand. We will continue discussing this on Wednesday.

Wind Energy STEM Exhibit Overview Flowchart

From Team & Instructor discussion

Friday 4/20: class review

Today we discussed the changes that were made to the exhibit. The exhibit has been separated so that the three turbine displays are standing alone with a central wind sculpture. While we were searching for wind sculpture ideas we came across a wind sculpture in New Zealand that seemed to fit with our wind theme as well as have a playful appeal to the younger audience.

The sculpture is made of colorful blocks that have fins within it. The fins catch the wind and turn the individual blocks. Our group discussed the potential use of the sculpture as a central piece in the exhibit. This sculpture would also allow the use of more modular pieces for the exhibit displays so that the entire exhibit would look more united. By using a modular design it would also open the display up to different orientations depending on the site requirements if the exhibit were to be moved.