Interactive Constitution at National Constitution Center

Type

Interactive Installation

Role

Developer, UX Engineer, Videographer

Technology

Cinder, C++, OpenGL, GLSL, OSC, Google Analytics

Situated within the Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality exhibit, the interactives begin with the final text of 13th, 14th and 15th amendment. This text is physically printed on a drafting table surface so users can feel the individual words that make up each amendment, underscoring their relative permanence. As users touch the physical text, the table activates projections that draw out the themes and rights contained in the selected clause; citizenship, due process etc. These themes can then be analyzed in multimedia wall mounted presentations. The interactive also includes a timeline of the events that influenced the framers in the run up to ratification as well as previous drafts of the amendment text. In reviewing each draft, visitors can see how the text evolved over time, discover the authors who fought for and against those changes, and learn why even the smallest word choice was so contentious and influential in what our country is to this day.

Potion Team

Principal: Phillip Tiongson
Producer: Claire Bradley
UX Designer: Marcy Mayer, Luobin Wang
Designers: Andrew Cheu, Ruth Cheung
Developers: Jennifer Presto, Luobin Wang