Turn it yourself
Visitors turn the carousel holding eight fossils. That is the entire interaction: no buttons and no screen to touch.
Het Fossielenspoor
Discover fossils by turning a physical carousel
2026
Het Fossielenspoor is an interactive museum installation designed for children aged 6 to 12. Visitors turn a physical carousel with eight fossils. As a fossil reaches the fixed scanning point, an RFID reader recognises it automatically. A screen displays its story, audio plays and a light marks it as discovered. Visitors control the experience by turning the carousel, not by touching the screen.
- role
- Research, Interaction Design, Development & Physical Prototyping
- type
- Interactive Museum Installation
Turn, discover, collect
Automatic recognition
When a fossil reaches the fixed scanning point, the RFID reader detects its tag and automatically loads the right information.
See and hear
The screen shows images and short explanations, while audio and light support the discovery. The screen is for displaying information only.
Discover all eight fossils
An LED stays lit for every discovered fossil. Once all eight have been found, a final message appears and the installation resets automatically.
Why I chose a rotating carousel
I wanted children to start the discovery themselves instead of navigating a digital menu. With one simple turn, they choose a fossil and get an immediate response. Most of the technology stays out of sight so the fossil remains the focus.
Built to work and keep working
The installation combines a custom-built housing, a rotating mechanism, RFID detection and a locally running web app. During development, I revised the structure and LED placement to make the installation sturdier and clearer. It works without an internet connection during a visit, and a separate admin interface allows the content to be updated later.
technologies
Frontend
- React
- TypeScript
- Vite
Backend
- Node.js
- Express.js
Hardware
- Raspberry Pi
- ESP32
- RFID
