Healthworks! is a children's museum sponsored by Memorial Hospital in South Bend, IN. Focused on teaching kids about health and the body, the museum sought a new exhibit to refresh their space. MyPlate recently replaced the Food Pyramid as a method of communicating healthy portioning, and is a highly visual campaign. In our design proposal, we wanted to develop quick recognition of proper portion proportions (how's that for alliteration!) for both parents and children.
Group project with Jillian Mungovan and Bobby Reichle, sponsored by HealthWorks!
The soft benches provide another visual representation of the MyPlate building blocks, while giving parents a place to rest and supervise children.
The colorful rug forms the MyPlate icon and reinforces the proper proportions of the five food groups.
The "Simon" game calls out items from each food group, prompting children to hit the corresponding area; vegetables and whole grains occur at a higher frequency, again reinforcing proportions.
The scanner game allows children to construct their own balanced plate. When an item's barcode is scanned, the meter for the corresponding food group builds up. If an unhealthy food item is scanned, the scanner will buzz but the plate will not change, representing the concept of "empty calories."
Actual implementation in the South Bend HealthWorks! Children's Museum.
