Sloan Museum of Discovery

The City of Flint has been through many challenges—most recently during the Flint Water Crisis of 2014. We felt a responsibility to tell the stories of Flint residents with respect and clarity, bringing diverse perspectives and sharing ideas that might be controversial or uncomfortable. To bring StoryStones to life, we brought the Flint River itself into the gallery to wind along the floor between exhibit areas. As visitors walk along the river, they trigger unexpected video projection and audio perspectives from key moments in Flint’s history.

The Sloan Museum wanted to create exhibits promoting everyday health goals for children, such as nutrition and public safety.In the Early Childhood Learning Gallery, set up like a city street with different businesses for kids to explore, we added three food and beverage exhibits— encouraging families to explore a wider variety of choices and food groups.

Visitors receive gentle guidance on what makes a food or drink an “everyday” or a “sometimes” treat. Children scan a food or beverage at a cash register or drink station to get advice from playful characters, while also learning to recognize words and numbers.

This gallery focuses on the physical sciences, showcasing the forces of our planet, from weather and climate to electricity to air and water pressures.Mix your favorite molecules and see them come to life.

Get in Your Element!

Visitors mix up common molecules like salt, carbon dioxide, and rust. A virtual beaker showcases fun animations for gas, liquid and solid state molecules, and explains facts about each element.

Climate Climb

This Arctic-themed interactive allows guests to see the impacts of climate change over time by inputting their own birthday and seeing historical temperature data in the Flint region for that calendar date.

Weather

Using a mix of virtual sliders, visitors “remix” the weather to create all sorts of effects from blizzards to thunderstorms, and learn about the different environmental factors such as humidity, air pressure, and stability that shape the atmosphere we live in.