Sunday, April 24, 2016

Dam Museum

For this project we had the choice of focusing on either the building of dams or the dust bowl in the 1930s. I chose to focus on the building of the dams because I thought it was a perfect example that showed how the past can effect the present and eventually the future. The next step was to do research on your topic. Now we are to imagine that we are designing an interactive space that not only engages the pubic but teaches them about our topic. This is what I came up with:


     In my dream museum, I would have it focus mainly on the Hover Dam. My space would be an indoors museum that also included a memorial on a special section. I chose to have it indoors because it allows you to be more flexible with technology and makes it easier to display things. My museum would consist of three floors. The first floor would consist of primary sources and facts, the second floor would be about the people of that time period who experienced the building of theses dams, and the third floor would be an interactive experience. 
     As soon as you would walk into my museum, you would enter into a large elevator that would take you to the very top floor of the museum. As soon as you walk out of the elevator, you would enter a maze filled with artifacts, facts, primary sources, pictures, and much more. The maze would go in a specific order starting with the beginning plans  of the dam and ending with pictures and artifacts of the finished dam. In the first part of the walk- through maze you would see the beginning of a timeline. This timeline will make it easier for the visitors to follow the process of the construction of the dam. The first date that would appear is 1902, when the engineer Arthur Powell Davis had the idea of building the Hoover dam and why it was needed. The purpose of the Hoover dam was to electrical power and the supply of water for people in the community, make it easier for farmers to irrigate their crops, and to provide flood control. The next date would be 1922, when the plans for the Hoover Dam actually were put into action. Following 1922 would be 1928. This was when congress passed the bill that allowed them water rights to the Colorado river (where the Hoover Dam was to be built). Congress were also the people who funded the Hoover dam. In 1929, president Hoover signed the Colorado river compact. President Hoover said that it was " the most extensive action ever taken by a group of states under the provisions of the constitution permitting compacts between states." Next would be 1931. This is when the actual construction of the dam began. This portion of the time line would include pictures of the construction of the dam. It would also include a picture diagram showing the steps that the took to build it. This included the four diversion tunnels that were driven through the canyon walls, the clearing of the rocks on the dam sight,  and the adding of the concrete that took two years to complete. Another thing that would be highlighted in this portion of the maze would be some of the challenges that they had to face while building the dam. This included the 120 degree summers, the freezing winters, the cabin monoxide poisoning, electrocution, and heat prostration. The very last part of this timeline / maze would be the final product which would be in 1936, when the dam opened. This would also include many pictures.  After you exit the short maze you will encounter a small room filled with artifacts from the construction of the dam, newspapers and even the act passed by congress to serve as the primary sources, a mini diagram of the hoover dam made out of actual concrete, a block of extra concrete from the construction site, a television that showed footage of the building of the dam, and a brief description about the controversy surrounding the naming of the dam. The dam was built in Boulder county therefore, they wanted to name the dam Boulder dam. However they changed it to Hoover dam because president Hoover played a huge role in the making if this dam. After visiting all of these fun things, you would take the stairs down to the next floor. 
     This next floor of the museum is dedicated to the people who not only experienced the building of this dam, but also the construction workers, the leaders of this project, and those who risked their lives. In a dream world, I would have every name of every person who participated with the Hoover dam written on all of the walls. However this would be hard because there were 2100 construction workers on the sight and even more people that were not actually doing the building... but we will make it happen. Over the names there would be water coming from the tom of the ceiling all the way down the wall to the ground. On a special wall there would be a large piece of concrete that was curved like the inside of the dam that listed each persons name of the 112 deaths that occurred while building this dam 96 of which were construction workers. This portion of the exhibit would not be anything fancy, but would show the visitors of today how the people in the past were so dedicated on making the future better. They were so dedicated that they even risked their lives to make our world a better place. After paying your respects on this special floor you will take the stairs down to the final floor which is where the interactive portion will take place. 
     This floor is my favorite floor. As soon as you walk down the stairs you will wait in line to enter a large room that looks similar to the room in the Disney ride Soarin'. Unlike Soarin', instead of having multiple section of seats, we will only have 2 that will consist of four rows each. The rows will be stacked like floating rows of movie theatre seats that way everyone can see. In front of the seats the will be a large screen in a dome shape ( just like the Disney ride). After sitting on your seats, buckling up, and listening to the safety instructions, the ride will begin. On the screen your "tour guide" will appear and will explain the journey that you are about to embark on through the Hoover dam. The tour guide will also continue to narrate throughout the video telling you interesting facts about the Hoover dam such as how it will last around 2000 years, how it was a major target in WWII, how it supplies water to large cities such as Las Vegas, how the 17 generators supply 100000 home with electricity and many more. facts about its lasting effects. As you fly through the Hoover dam, you will see when it was first built all the way to how it looks today. You will even get to hear the sound of the 20000 gallons of water per second going through the dam. Along the way you will even get to meet President Hoover and have him explain to you why the dam is so important. Towards the end of this flying, virtual tour, you will get the opportunity to fly to other Dams such as the Grand Coulee Dam which is the largest dam in the Colombia River Basin. Not only is it the largest concrete building in the world but Woody Guthrie even wrote a song about it. After seeing this you will fly back to the destination of the museum. Here your tour guide will remind you of the hard work and the thought that was put into the buildings of these dams and how the past and even today can affect the future in life changing ways. After the ride ends, the seats will lower back to the ground and you will exit the ride completely. Right outside the exit door will be a gift shop with t-shirts and mugs that say "Yeah, I visited that Dam museum!" After buying everything in the store, you will exit the museum feeling appreciative of the past and excited for the future. 

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