Open Forum

An overwhelming majority of museum visitors believe that climate change is real and that it is an important topic for museums to address. However the challenge is to be able to link information about global warming with prompts for personal and collective action.

When Te Papa Tongarewa - Museum of New Zealand started developing its nature exhibition they knew that climate change is the issue that their audience cares most about, but target audiences said that they felt overloaded, scared, and stuck when it came to thinking about it. This talk will step through the process of ideation, design and production of the interactive and immersive exhibit Climate Converter. It will highlight collaboration between the museum exhibition team, climate scientists, creative technologists and game designers to strike the right balance between articulating the scientific reality and encouraging behavior change in target audiences.

Kate Stevenson is one of the founders of DOTDOT, an award-winning creative studio focused on generating impact through social and immersive experiences. Exploring the boundaries of technology, art and design, they create spaces that are memorable, playful, interactive, curious and have positive social impact. Kate moved from dancing on the stage, to hiding behind a camera, to designing multiplayer storyworlds across networks. She is a documentary storyteller, researcher, designer, movement improviser and creative maker especially interested in exploring immersive installations as an intersection of the skills collected across screen, theatre, dance and games.