Immersive Experience at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Open in June 2014, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta connects the American Civil Rights Movement to today’s Global Human Rights Movements. The purpose of the Center is to create a safe space for visitors to explore the fundamental rights of all human beings so that visitors leave inspired and empowered to join the ongoing dialogue about human rights in their communities.
We visited the Center to try out the Lunch Counter Sit-In exhibit and found it to be an emotional experience: an excellent medium for studying empathy in interactive storytelling. Lunch Counter Exhibit
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Visitors get a taste of a protester's experience at this simulated lunch counter sit-in. When visitors put on headphones they hear voices making threats against them and the other protesters sitting nearby. A vibrating jolt gives the impression that someone has just kicked the visitor's lunch counter stool. The counter itself vibrates as if someone is pounding on the counter with a billy stick.
Watch the video (RIGHT) to learn how some visitors react to the exhibit. Immersive Experience Test Protocol
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Lunch Counter Experience (1:34 minutes)
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We used a script to ensure that Immersive test participants followed this evaluation protocol:
We used a checklist to help us with both the immersive and non-immersive evaluations.
- The participant completes a consent form.
- Participants receive an email with a link to the pre-evaluation survey at least three days prior to the evaluation.
- Participant sits quietly for 5 minutes and tries to relax.
- The participant straps on the Basis Peak watch and sits for another 2 minutes as the watch captures biometric data.
- The facilitator escorts the participant to the exhibit area to read and learn about the lunch counter sit-in protests.
- The facilitator walks the participant to the exhibit and suggests that they experience the exhibit with closed eyes. (The exhibit experience lasts just under 2 minutes.)
- The facilitator escorts the participant back to the discussion area and removes the Basis Peak watch.
- The participant takes a post-evaluation survey.
- The participant discusses their experience with the facilitator.
We used a checklist to help us with both the immersive and non-immersive evaluations.