RIVER ALIVE!
Interpretive Installation
Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia
4,000 sq. ft.
COMPLETED December 2018
AWARD: Excellence in Exhibition award for Special Achievement – Interactivity, 2020 in the 32nd annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition, presented by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM)
River Alive! is a new, 4,000 square foot exhibition focused on the wonders and challenges of the Delaware River watershed, our place within that system, and the increasingly sophisticated science we use to understand the watershed’s complexity. River Alive! has been designed to reposition the Independence Seaport Museum as a hub of watershed research and exploration, and provide platforms for project partners (23 members of the Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River, as well as Stroud Water Research Center, Partnership for Delaware Estuary, Philadelphia Water, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel, the Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia, and others) to directly engage the public with their important work.
Each River Alive! visitor is asked to reflect on their relationship to water as an integral member of a living freshwater system. Site specific artwork throughout the exhibition will explore wetlands (wild freshwater nurseries); the interdependency of sky, water and land habitats through storytelling and visitor-directed soundscapes; and a site-specific film that will take visitors to places and spaces throughout the watershed from a bird’s eye perspective.
Exhibit elements throughout the space will create opportunities for participation in hands-on science activities that express our connection to the watershed, build knowledge about the watershed’s structure and challenges, and invite action on behalf of all watershed inhabitants—including us!
photo credit: Bluecadet
photo credit: Bluecadet
River Alive! reveals the Delaware River watershed as an amazing system that covers 13,500 square acres in the heart of the northeastern United States. More than 15 million people—and thousands of plant, animal, and insect species—are part of this complex world. River Alive! will illuminate the continuous life of the Delaware River through a watershed science and innovation lens, providing platforms for project partners (23 members of the Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River, as well as Stroud Water Research Center, Partnership for Delaware Estuary, Philadelphia Water, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel, the Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia, and others) to directly engage the public with their important work at different stations.
Habithèque led a diverse team of professional designers, builders, media makers, and storytellers to take the River Alive! project from concept to fruition, in partnership with the Independence Seaport Museum.
This award-winning team includes: Hands On! Studio, Stemann/Pease Architecture, Handymakes Studio, Stacy Levy, Will Owen, Lexy Ho-Tai, James Ijames, Gallantry Media Group, PEER Associates, Creative Machines, Bluecadet Interactive, Frazer Technology
photo credit: Bluecadet