The Drop Project is an interactive, transdisciplinary exhibit that communicates the importance and promise of sustainability communications working together with sustainability science, to encourage action through knowledge in local stakeholders by highlighting their role in watershed wellbeing. The exhibit will involve a month­long series of exhibits and workshops held at Assemble, a community space for arts and technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

 

Chatham University graduate students at the new Falk School of Sustainability have teamed with their professor to create an experience that explores the complex pathways of water in Pittsburgh’s landscape and in local people's lives. Ann Payne and Kristen Reynolds, both second-year graduate students, are co-designing the exhibit as part of their final thesis project along with Chatham sustainability professor and ecologist, Dr. Molly Mehling. By linking their skill sets, they tell a unique story around water resources and lifestyle that can captivate a wide audience.

 

Frameworks of exhibit design, community ­based social marketing, informal science learning, and community engagement create an experimental exhibit aimed at altering lifestyle choices and ultimately, behavior change. The Drop Project includes hands­ on technology activities, data to art communications, participatory mapping, and opportunities for the community to meet water professionals. When a participant's mind and senses are engaged, the connection between the visitor and the content strengthens - and it is also fun - another key concept that drives The Drop Project.

 

By reaching out to communities that each have a unique role to play in their watershed, the initiative will foster a stronger water network, and a more accessible conversation around water in the region. The team intends to measure the effectiveness of the exhibit to create a replicable model for sustainability programing and action marketing that is scalable and transferable across different regions and topics.

Looking forward to meeting you in April!

Ann, Kristen, and Molly