In order to incorporate a measure of achievement into the experience of learning about flight, and to connect the many small locations of the park, this conjecture is a geolocating game. As a visitor goes through the museum they can scan a code and answer a question about flight to earn a part of their glider. There would be duplicates so they don’t have to visit every location. After earning the necessary number of parts, they can go scan the code in the hander at Huffman flying field to activate flight mode. This allows them to “fly” their glider by running across the prairie (or by panning their phone across if the choose the accessibility option, for those who don’t want to run). When they have a successful flight, they can go back to any visitor center and claim a model matching the parts they earned in the simulation.
Takeaways
Positive: this would limit the amount of things needed to be produced, as they have to be earned. It would encourage people to learn in the park, and could even be turned into a competition for best flight to encourage return visits. It would create a unique experience, and something to remember the day by. It opens the opportunity for some beautiful visual model design.
Negative: A complex software system would need someone to maintain it, a server and possibly staff. This is similar to the earn a ranger bear program that the park has already, but is more complex. This is not intuitive and requires visitors to “opt in”. Putting users on their phones may pull them from experiencing the exhibit. There is still some manufacturing of the prizes.
