The State of Sex Ed: A popup exhibit on sexual education in the United States
View the full project at aidanhudsonlapore.com.
This pop-up exhibit was designed to raise awareness about the state of sexual education in the United States. Effective sex ed empowers young adults to make decisions that safeguard both their personal well-being and the health of others. Many people on the comparatively liberal east coast receive comprehensive sexual education, and as a result are unaware of the prominence of abstinence-only curricula in a large part of the country.
Through interacting with the exhibit, viewers are encouraged to reflect on their own experiences in sex ed and challenged to compare their experience to that of many teens in the U.S. today. They are given a chance to weigh in on the issues and share their opinions with other visitors.
Though the viewer can approach the exhibit from anywhere, this panel is designed to orient them to the issue.
This interactive map allows viewers to see how the dominant sex ed curricula in a state relates to teen pregnancies and STI rates.
In this activity, viewers can cast a vote as to when they think certain key topics in sex ed should be introduced.
Viewers may then compare their vote with the current Rhode Island standard.
Viewers can indicate whether they think a subject should be first taught in elementary school, middle school, or high school.
This station allows viewers to view the messages sent by abstinence-only and comprehensive sex ed curricula on key topics, such as STIs, relationships, gender roles, and more. They can turn the panels to display what messages they think are most productive.
Viewers can open a panel to learn more about abstinence-only and comprehensive curricula.
This board serves as both data collection and as a place for viewers to share personal experiences.
Viewers can take a moment to write out what they wish they had gotten out of sex ed.
They can even take a photo to share their thoughts!
This exhibit was conceived, researched, designed, fabricated, and installed in a span of five weeks by a team of four students. We hope you learned something new!
A selection of our original concept sketches.
If you are still curious, this is your chance to read some of the more information-rich signage!
