Gemma Jones Visits Nuthatch Hollow
My prompt was to design a science curriculum to be more accessible for students. Dr. Jessica Hua's disease ecology lab at Binghamton University partnered with the Roberson Science Museum and local elementary schools around Binghamton area to develop school curricula for 180+ students about temperate wetlands.
This book was developed to accompany other materials, including the card game Metamorphosis that I designed as part of The Hua Lab.
You can go here to access the full book PDF.
This book was the result of the collaboration between English professors, ecotoxicology researchers, science museum staff, elementary school educators, Binghamton University administrators, and myself.
At every stage of development, we consulted with these collaborators as well as small groups of our end users to make sure that the book was scientifically accurate and respectful in its portrayal of our main protagonist, Gemma.
I had no experience in printing en masse before taking on this project, and I now know what it takes to coordinate with printers, benefactors, and researchers so that the final product looks the way we want it to.
This was a great exercise in user experience design.
I consulted with women, people of color, science educators, and researchers during the illustrating and and writing phases of this book so as to design the characters to be inspiring, relatable, and engaging.
The Importance of multiple perspectives
As we designed more drafts of this story, we inadvertently portrayed our main character in a light that was taken as being entitled and grumpy. This was brought to light for us by the women, people of color, and English professors that we had review the script.
We then took their feedback to heart, incorporating what they wanted to see in the protagonist, and our end product was much more successful and engaging because of that. Below is an example of that feedback being implemented:
Below is an old version of the book
"Why can't I go to Nebraska with James? Or take art classes with Julie?" Gemma complained.
Below is the revised version
"Why can't I go to Nebraska with my friend James and his family?" Gemma asked.
This version was much more concise, story-driven, and respectful in it's portrayal of Gemma.