This is a tangible installation that highlights the loss of wildlife especially due to anthropogenic causes.

Mentors: Simona Maschi  |  Alie Rose
Advisors: Iskra Uscumc |  Zaza Zulihof

INTRODUCTION

Loss of biodiversity due to climate change and human impact is a serious topic with dire implications but it's hard to comprehend the magnitude of the problem as we are physically disconnected. These changes in the environment happen over a long period of time. The information we receive is fragmented and often, we can't see any instantaneous effects in our immediate environments or imagine the scale.

What if there was a way to bring reality closer to people? 

CONCEPT

/ˈanθrəpəˌsiːn/

The Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time, viewed as the most recent period in Earth's history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet's climate and ecosystems.

'AnthropoScene' is an interactive installation inspired by it's namesake. It is meant to be educational, highlighting the loss of wildlife, and includes tangible play while retaining the seriousness of the issue.

The smaller tokens range from systemic changes (eg. offer alternate jobs/training to poachers) to individual changes (eg. check consumer products before purchasing) that need to be made in order to conserve the particular animal. The visitors can then place tokens by trial and error to find out which ones are relevant to each animal (If the token placeholder lights up, then it's the right token). Each 'right' token when placed, reveals exactly how it affects the animal in more detail. After they have successfully matched the tokens, they will be presented with a QR code. This leads them to the app store to download a widget that lives in the background of your phone. People are able to choose the endangered animal of their choice. This acts like a tamagotchi of sorts and occasionally suggests all the simple things they can do at a personal level to help endangered animals. 

HOW IT WORKS

People can interact with the installation by placing an animal in the centre of the board, which triggers a screen with information about that animal. All of the creatures are on a spectrum of 'vulnerable' to 'facing extinction' (IUCN Redlist). For the purpose of this project, I chose three animals indigenous to Central & South America to demonstrate the installation - The Scalloped Hammerhead Shark, the Giant Anteater, and the Jaguar. They are not as frequently highlighted in the media, which makes them all the more intriguing and inspires people to learn more about these remarkable animals.