Archaeology and Criminal Investigation travelling exhibition

Recently, MASSIVart collaborated with the Roussillon Museum of Archaeology on their brand new exhibition Archaeology and Criminal Investigation which highlights the fascinating work of bioarchaeologists in investigations sometimes revealing crimes hundreds of years old.

“In addition to discovering the work of these scientists, this new exhibition invites visitors to become bioarchaeologists for a visit. They will be able to handle tools, observe artifacts under a microscope, analyze 3D reproductions of bones and even solve the enigma of an investigation that will be proposed to them,” says Christian Ouellette, Reeve of the Roussillon MRC and Mayor of Delson.

As the museum wanted a turnkey exhibition, MASSIVart took care of all the details from scripting, content writing, design, fabrication and production. The process started with a deep analysis of the documents provided by the scientific committee, from which our museum experts scripted the exhibition and wrote the different contents in collaboration with museologist, Julie Deroin.

Next, we developed a design proposal based on three principles: having an intuitive exhibit, a clean design and simplified itinerancy. To make this a reality, the exhibition was conceived as an archaeological dig site with an orderly, geometric, sequenced design. A neutral and sober aesthetic reminiscent of scientific and laboratory environments. The natural and organic colours are also evocative of the dig site and contribute to the immersiveness of the exhibition.

The modules are set lower than normal so that visitors lean in and engage their bodies to look at the content of the exhibit as if to put themselves in the shoes of the archaeologist. This makes the exhibition more accessible to children and people with disabilities at the same time. Being a travelling exhibition, the furniture was imagined as archaeological storage boxes, and the artifacts are integrated into the exhibition’s furniture as well.

Another clever way to engage the visitors is the integration of interactive devices, allowing them to manipulate objects and tools to understand the gestures that are made throughout the excavation and research process. To their amazement, they find themselves in bioarchaeologists’ shoes for the duration of the visit.

Finally, to diversify the content, MASSIVart also organized the filming of videos featuring different bioarchaeologists of several generations. Everyone was able to look back at the evolution of the discipline since its beginnings and to imagine the future of bioarchaeology.

MASSIVart is thrilled to have made it possible to turn a complex subject into a playful one and to make a scientific discipline, that may have seemed obscure, accessible and understandable.