the butterfly companion
background
task
solution
Research
✴︎ Projection Mapping
Interactive projection mapping transforms static surfaces into moving, responsive visuals. In museum spaces, it allows visitors to influence imagery through movement or gesture, creating dynamic and engaging environments.
✴︎ Smart Bracelets
Wearable technology can create personal, trackable interactions throughout an exhibit. By connecting decisions to a visitor’s bracelet, each person can build a unique relationship with their butterfly companion as they move through the experience.
✴︎ Gamified Experiences
Game design elements, like challenges or choices, can motivate visitors to participate and learn actively. Museums use gamification to turn education into a hands-on, exploratory journey.
✴︎ Food Sources
The chemicals inside those plants that caterpillars eat become part of their bodies. These chemical compounds influence toxicity (which protects them from predators), wing coloration and patterns, immune development, and even pattern evolution over generations.
✴︎ Shelter Surfaces
Where a caterpillar attaches itself determines the coloration, texture, and shape of the chrysalis. This natural camouflage mimics its environment.
✴︎ Photoperiod (Day Length)
Butterflies use day length as a seasonal signal. Shorter days can cue caterpillars to delay metamorphosis or enter diapause, while longer days encourage immediate pupation. Light essentially acts as a biological clock, telling the caterpillar whether it is safe to emerge or better to wait.
✴︎ Moisture Intake
Hydration levels in their food influence growth speed and adult size. High moisture speeds development but often produces smaller adults, while low moisture slows growth and can create larger butterflies with different wing rigidity.
✴︎ Temperature & Humidity
Climate directly alters the speed and quality of metamorphosis. Warmer temperatures accelerate development but often result in smaller adults. Cooler or more humid environments slow down growth, producing richer pigment and larger butterflies. Humidity also affects wing expansion; too little moisture can result in wrinkled or misshapen wings.
market research
discovering the painpoints
Insights from staff interviews and on-site observational studies
Limited Staff Capacity
The staff are highly knowledgeable, but with limited personnel, it’s difficult for them to engage every visitor or provide deeper educational moments.
High Excitement From Children
Many families visit with young children who are eager to touch or interact with the butterflies, which can interrupt the flow of learning and create safety concerns for the butterflies themselves.
Visitors Leave Without A Full Story
Guests often missed the informational signs because they were small and text-heavy. As a result, many visitors left without grasping the larger conservation narrative or understanding how butterfly habitats connect to global ecosystems.
key objectives
💭 How might we increase meaningful engagement with butterfly conservation by helping visitors connect personal choices to real ecological impact?
💭 How might we integrate technology thoughtfully so that it supports immersion and storytelling without diminishing the authentic awe from the living environment?
persona
a focus on creating 'awe'
Scale
Feeling the impact of something vast in size or meaning.
Shift in perspective
Moments that make you.
Time Distortion
Experiences where time feels slowed or suspended.
Cognitive Stretching
Surprise, curiosity, or “aha” moments that challenge what you know.
Sensory Impact
Visual or physical responses that deepen immersion.
Wonder
Mystery or the unexpected that invites exploration and reflection.
opportunities
Bridge the education gap by using technology to deliver accessible, story-driven conservation knowledge that staff may not always have the capacity to share in person.
Encourage engagement through gamification that sparks curiosity, invites exploration, and inspires conversations among families, children, and staff.
Create layered learning moments that support visitors of different ages and knowledge levels, offering multiple entry points into the conservation story.
Leverage scale through technology to allow visitors, especially children, to experience butterflies up close in ways that are safe, immersive, and awe-inspiring.
low fi storyboard
iteration & refinment
Future state user journey map
Bringing the conservation story to life through layered digital worlds
key moments
Walking through the forest
The chrysalis countdown
Large-scale projection experience
Impact
Presenting our proposal to the Museum of Life + Science showed how well the experience aligned with their real needs. Staff shared that our three-room structure offered a clear and engaging way to teach metamorphosis, helping visitors form stronger emotional and scientific connections to conservation.
They appreciated how seamlessly the concept fit within their existing space and visitor flow, noting that several elements were feasible for future implementation. Most importantly, they felt the experience could spark deeper curiosity, conversation, and understanding among families, which is a core goal of the museum.
future work
Looking ahead, there are several opportunities to expand the experience and deepen visitor engagement. One direction is exploring how visitors could compare or adjust their choices, seeing “what if” scenarios that reveal how different environmental factors might change their butterflies’ needs or appearance.
We also see potential in adding collaborative moments that allow multiple visitors to interact together. This could include comparing butterflies, sharing facts, or creating group memories through shared projections or photos.
Finally, a gamified mobile extension could encourage repeat visits. Visitors could collect butterflies, track conservation insights, and continue learning long after leaving the museum.
