Students redesign museum

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 493, 6 July 1993, Page 6

Students redesign museum

Forty-six students and six tutors from Wellington's Central Institute of Technology spent last week working

on a design project at the QE II Army Memorial Museum following an invitation made by Major-General Hassett, a

member of the Museum 's Board of Trustees. CIT's Interior Design Course Supervisor, Fientje Allis-van

Rossum said they were privileged to be asked to take on the Museum project, especially considering the scope was so large. The students worked in groups of eight, with each group having to produce eight design boards dealing with different aspects of the museum. The groups were comprised of students from first, second and third year levels of the course and were required to work together. Prior to coming to Waiouru the students were taken on field trips to study current museum display trends and to gather ideas for their own work. The central aim of the project was to make the Museum* s display s more interactive and stimulating to the visitor. To this end the students incorporated the use of technology in their proposals. This included more audio-based information and the use of computer software to cater for all levels of understanding, including children. The memorial aspect of the museum was highlighted in several proposals, including the innovative idea of a centrally located hologram

depicting various memorial displays when viewed from different angles. Another project's focus was a water-wall made from greenstone at the entrance to the Museum. The projects not only dealt with the Museum 's actual displays but also with the building 's interior architecture, internal traffic flows and such design problems as wheelchair access. Students involved in the Museum project were very excited to be able to undertake practical work as part of dieir course. "It is just like a reallife job, having to meet strict dead-lines," one student said. Students worked until 10pm some nights in order to finish the job. Prior to an informal presentation of their proposals to the staff at the Museum last Friday, the students were taken for a ride around the Camp in the Army's Armoured Troop Carriers. A formal presentation of the completed projects is to be held at the CIT in Wellington on 12 August, where the students will hand over their work to the Museum' s Board of Trustees.