This design conjecture is made to help visitors feel connected to both the history and the land of the Dayton Aviation Heritage Museum. Visitors still receive a small twirl flyer, sometimes called a puddle jumper, but they are made of paper. One of the activities the museum is working on now is a hologram video system which says something along the lines of “Achieve your impossible,” as a way of invoking the miraculous work of the wright brothers, and make it seem possible to do the impossible. Through this, the paper flyer has a place on which to write a visitors impossible goal. Then, they have the opportunity to take the flyer to Huffman Flying Field where there is an installation flight statue with a trail of mess. Visitors can fly their twirl flyers up into the high portions of mesh in the installation where it will stay. Overtime the paper will soften and drop the small bulb of seeds attached to the bottom of the flyer where wildflowers and vines will grow up the mesh of the installation creating a living growing path to the sky. It also serves the purpose of being symbolic of a persons “impossible” goal growing into something beautiful. It also serves the local wildlife and environment.
Takeways
Positive: this would really bring together a cap to the experience of visiting different places, creating a finish line so to speak, letting visitors remember something in particular. It also involves the wildlife of the park more into the depiction of it’s subjects, tying together the area and the story. It gives people something specific to do with hand outs rather than just throwing them away, and encourages them to visit more locations in the park.
Negative: this would be more of a hindrance in outreach programs not taking place near the park itself. The installation serves no other purpose than to look cool, and may have permit issues from the air force base. This is not an augmentation to the experience in the park displays as much as it is an additional activity. Production of seed bearing flyers would likely be more expensive.
