Storytelling Animals II

A new type of guide for children was developed for The Water’s Way Exhibition at the Universeum Science Discovery Center in Gothenburg, presenting Swedish ecosystems to young visitors. The guide is auditory and allows the child to listen to animals that reside in the selected ecosystem. The animals narrate the story of their lives and tell of inherent conditions to this natural environment and how they affect them personally. The visitors can choose from four animals – a wolf, a beaver, an adder and a salmon – all species that follow “the water’s way” through Sweden.

Every audio guide consists of a headset and one of four bracelets which declares which type of animal the visitor has chosen. The different types of bracelets are set apart by decor and remind of the animal in question. The four audio guides/animals have separate scripts read out by different actors. They stop at different stations in “The Water’s Way” area.

Upon arrival at Universeum, children are offered to choose one of the animals. The headband of each animal contains a receiver and a set of headphones. Eleven small identifiers located throughout the venue trigger the receivers to play the appropriate content when the child wearing the receiver enters a certain predefined area. The next audio track comes on as soon as the child leaves the area and enters a different zone. This means that the child can do things in his/her own pace. A number of senders, corresponding to the different stations are situated at various places following “The Water’s Way” and give the child different tasks to accomplish upon passing the stations.

The success of this conception for a guide was indicated by the evaluation performed in 2005. Most children agreed that the guides were too short and that they gladly would have participated in a longer guided tour. As well as being a general description of an ecosystem the guide also aimed to raise awareness of environmental issues. The unusual account of this from the perspective of animal characters provided an efficacious format for the dissemination of this important message to up and coming generations. The personal and firsthand stories of the animal characters provided concrete and accessible examples which young visitors could understand and relate to on an emotional level.