SKULL21
CLIENT
Science Centre Delft
ARCHITECT
Hugo Out
Javid Jooshesh
LOCATION
Delft
DATE
March 2020
Fossil meets high-tech
Extra Context Part of Project
Picture this: a group of triceratops dinosaurs died roughly 66 million years ago. They were excavated in the early 20th century, and one incomplete skull ended up in Delft, The Netherlands.
Here we present the storytelling lighting scenario for its exhibition, designed in collaboration of the Science Center of TUDelft with students, scientists and industry.
Spectral tuning
Using spectrophotometry, mathematical modeling and spectrally tunable LEDs we succeeded to design LED spots that made the bone-print-differences invisible – while salient under white light.
Lighting as part of storytelling
In the Science Centre, Skull 21 is the centrepiece of a live presentation, supported by a light show. These techniques, like spectraul tuning to remove or accentuate the difference between real bone and artificial material, have never been used in a museum before, and certainly not in palaeontology and archaeology. When the spotlights fade and turn to white, the audience sees what parts are original and where the reconstructions are.