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Resources
Downloadable Resources
Tangible Resources
Pen, notebook, device to take pictures and record videos, computers.
Preparation
Contact a printing company that can produce captions, obtain relevant permissions from the municipality, contact experts from previous units and prepare them for a meeting with students.
Goals, messages & concepts
Specific goals
- Design and produce explanatory captions for playground equipment.
- Learn about the target audience for this playground, ensuring the captions are suitable for the intended user.
- Understand the planning regulations associated with the placement of captions in a public playground.
Specific messages
- Captions should be short and clearly worded
- Captions should be tailored to the target audience
- Graphic design is a tool that can be used to help convey messages clearly
- The issue of safety is a major consideration in the design of playground facilities, and physical changes or additions cannot be carried out without appropriate permissions.
Main terms
- Captions
- Graphic design
- Graphic communication
- Target audience
- Planning regulations
Practices & skills
STEM practices
- Constructing explanations and designing solutions
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Soft skills
- Empathy
- Teamwork and collaboration
Management skills
- Planning
- Use of resources
Course of activity
step 1
Designing the scientific playground - The planning will be carried out in gradual stages to allow for evaluation and feedback. In the event that there is more than one group working on the same plaque, the work should be split up (e.g. one group can write the text of the caption while the other group produces the label's QR videos).
step 2
Researching the target audience:
- Who uses the playground? This question should be at the centre of all decisions made when planning captions. It will affect what information to include, in what languages, at what height to install the label, etc.
- Observe the playground in the afternoon when it's most active.
- Observations must be carried out in a sensitive manner with strict adherence to safeguarding measures, including permission of the parents/guardians of any children observed.
- See resources for observation questionnaire.
step 3
Researching graphic communication:
- Students will look out for information portrayed in signs displayed in public places throughout the day (i.e. the queue at the supermarket, the doctor's office, the bus station, the petrol station).
- They will note: font size and type, accompanying graphics and icons, colours, correlation between the content and the presentation, target audience, any other relevant details.
- Students should take pictures of inspiring examples and save them in a shared folder.
step 4
Next, students will design the captions for the playground. They should ensure that the wording of the activity and the explanation is suitable for the target audience, as well as take into account additional constraints of design and the installation (i.e. maximum number of words, font size, etc.). They must justify their design decisions: what is the key idea, what message to focus on, and what should the reader take away from the text?
step 5
Students will produce videos or other digital material about the playground equipment, which will appear as a QR code on the label (collect in a shared folder and upload to a suitable digital platform).
step 6
They will then send their draft captions to the museum staff for technical advice, receive feedback and carry out corrections (if any), before sending to the graphic designer for design feedback.
step 7
Once finalised, students will confirm where the captions are to be placed in the playground area, and recheck the measurements before production by a local printing company.