Chris loves traveling about as much as she doesn’t love attention. Birthdays are a fine time for a little escape!

This time we took the 4hr drive to Franklin, TN, snagged a cheapo hotel, and got on our fine outdoor winery clothes for a night out. Arrington Vineyards had live jazz, food trucks, and flights! Wine was..ok, ambiance, music, and company ;) was great!

And a birthday brunch on the square for my girl! 😘

Charity: water - The Experience Lab

The main reason we actually chose Franklin this time was to visit an interactive exhibit recently opened by Charity Water at The Factory in Franklin, TN. It’s a creative way to raise awareness and donations, by letting people experience the transformation that clean water means for a remote people group.

The experience starts by introducing the main characters of today’s story, who are a mother and her daughter. The video shadow-boxes make it feel like they’re standing right in front of you. I’m really curious how the tech works for these.

Then you move to a theatre room for a powerful short film about the role water plays in our lives, and, notably, how much most of us don’t think about it at all.

Next, one of the more immersive experiences is a water walk. In an 80° small room, you follow Grace on a treadmill as she makes the trek to a watering hole.

The door on this room was especially fun.

If you tapped the number of the corresponding item, you’d get a quick story on how that applies to charity:water history. You could also use the touchscreen to explore a map of every water project they’ve installed.

There were about 6-7 experiences in all, including a VR headset movie at the end that puts you in the middle of the story as their village gets clean water. This was truly the best VR film I’ve seen.

Lately, I’ve been exploring the idea of taking on more interactive design projects for work, so this visit was equal parts fun, a great cause, and exploratory research. If you are in or near Franklin, definitely recommend it!