Photos by Chris Meyer Designer and IU alumnus Ned Shaw of Bloomington stands next to the IU exhibit he illustrated. The exhibit is on display at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. Angela Tharp, assistant director for Bloomington campus marketing (left), and Eric Schoch, IU School of Medicine Office of Public and Media Relations, looked over the life sciences exhibit at Coppinger Exhibits in Indianapolis before it was installed at the Indiana State Museum.

“I can’t help but make it fun,” he said, referring to the IU-sponsored exhibit currently featured at the Indiana State Museum. “Fun is the best way to communicate something complex.”

And what could be more complex than explaining genetic factors involved with alcohol metabolism—to middle school students? “It had to be a lively, engaging display; one that would draw young people in with interactive touch screens and rotating graphics. It had to have a playful feel and include fun type treatments. What I came up with, I don’t think people walk by and say ‘hmmm,’” said Shaw, an IU graduate.

Shaw’s answer to the alcohol panel meant creating side-by-side human bodies with doors covering key organs. Once a door is opened, the digestion process is revealed, including a door between the legs, concealing a tiny toilet. Shaw’s favorite visual element of the project: A human-size rat, outfitted in a lab coat and accessorized with a microscope. “You can’t miss it, that’s for sure.”

The initial stage of the large scale, five-panel illustration started with Shaw hand sketching the visuals in pencil, then scanning the images into a computer for additional illustrating, adding text and color. Shaw spent the months of October and November working on the project, finishing in time for the December installation at the Indiana State Museum.

Indiana State Museum Web site:
www.in.gov/ism/MuseumExhibits/SpecialExhibitsDetail.asp?ExhibitID=29

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