Tūhura Otago Museum offers both Gallery trails and trails inside the Tūhura Science Centre and Tropical Forest. These trails are intended to encourage visitors to explore the different galleries by answering questions around a general theme.
This gallery trail has a nautical theme, as Tūhura was exhibiting a special exhibition based around prehistoric sea monsters at the time. I formatted the layout of the trail and designed illustrations, including a spot the difference on the back of the trail as an extra activity.
I wanted the trail to feel like a treasure map that takes you on a journey around the galleries, which lead to me adding motifs such as the red "X" marking the spot in the inside of the trail and the scrolls as margins for the trail answers. Even though the trail is named after the Kraken, I wanted to make my kraken illustration closer to cute and friendly, as the demographic for gallery trails are young families.
I also had the opportunity to collaborate on a plant trail for the Tūhura Otago Museum Tropical Forest. The "Fantastic Plants and How to Grow Them" trail gave visitors information on the various plant life in the tropical forest, as well as tips on what conditions and nutrients work best for these plants. This trail was a welcome addition to the Tropical Forest, as a lot of the information in the space focused on the animals and the Tropical environment as a whole, so to put a spotlight on the specific plants in the forest was a way to educate visitors further.
I enjoyed the challenge of a three-fold booklet trail (traditionally trails are A4 and folded in half), illustrating the plants, and making the inside of the booklet reminiscent of a botanist's field journal.
