04 — 2026.1.20 — 2026.3.20
Endanzoo
Interactive Educational Installation
01 — Inquiry
Unlike previous projects, this one was designed for users whose needs and behaviours were very different from my own.
•Horseshoe crabs have survived for more than 450 million years yet now face significant human-caused threats.
•Research revealed how conservation issues often extend beyond a single species.
•Kindergarten observations showed that children learn most effectively through interaction and play.
•Written information had far less impact than movement and visual engagement.
•One child's curiosity often encouraged several others to join, creating shared experiences around discovery.
02 — Ideation
03 — Prototyping
Building the installation required a combination of engineering, sculpture, and environmental design.
•Designed bevel gears in Onshape and refined them through multiple iterations.
•Sculpted the horseshoe crab using foam and clay before painting surface details.
•Integrated mechanical components into the surrounding environment.
•Gear alignment proved more difficult than expected. A small amount of movement in one rod was enough to affect the entire mechanism.
•Repeated testing gradually improved reliability and performance.
04 — Evaluation
Watching children interact with the installation became the most valuable form of testing.
•Moving elements consistently attracted more attention than static features.
•Many children focused first on the mechanism before noticing the conservation message.
•The gap between intended meaning and user interpretation became an important design consideration.
•The project demonstrated how interaction can make abstract issues feel more personal.
•Seeing the bevel gear system function successfully after multiple iterations was particularly rewarding.
Next Project
Community Space Design
Biophilic Architecture