Whatever Happened to Polio? National Museum of American History, Smithsonian
Johns Hopkins
Cystic Fibrosis Center
Maryland/DC Collaborative
for Healthcare Information Technology
Whatever Happened to Polio? Web Site
Client: National Museum of American History,
Smithsonian Institution
Challenge/Objective
The Whatever Happened to Polio? Web site is an online virtual exhibit created to accompany the physical exhibition opening celebrating the 50th anniversary of the announcement of the first effective vaccine for infantile paralysis in the United States. The main goals were to provide a glimpse into how this impacted the daily lives of people infected by the poliovirus, create a robust online experience with the same content, provide an interactive educational activity, to meet ADA 508 compliance and to be accessible to the visually and hearing impaired.
Solutions/Results Achieved
The site design and navigation provides a focus on four main themes: The American Epidemic, The Virus and Vaccine, How Polio Changed Us, and Polio Today. The layout of the home page gives equal weight to these four themes and the quadrant promotes non-linear navigation. A neutral background is utilized to emphasize the four main themes with more vibrant colors. The past and present reach of Polio is expressed through the curved shape containing a photo from the past on the left and a photo from the present on the right.
Throughout the site, the perspectives of communities, individuals, families, physicians, nurses and hospitals are brought forth through audio clips, video clips, quotes and photos. Polio impacted the daily lives of people during the American epidemic and continue to do so today. In order to capture this concept, a key component of the site is an interactive Flash game, “Got Ramps?” which simulates the challenges of mobility in 1950 and 2005. The two time periods
Solutions/Results Achieved (continued)
allow for a comparison of before and after the movement for disability rights and important legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. The visitor takes on the role of the person in the wheelchair for the time period they select. The active participation of the web-visitor with this interactive module is designed to enhance the understanding of the impact of the environment on people using wheelchairs. Throughout the trip the user encounters obstacles and must make choices. This example attempts to demonstrate that disabilities have more to do with the environment rather than the person. In other words, many of the obstacles hindering a person using a wheelchair are architectural and urban design barriers. In addition to the education goals, viral marketing strategy was incorporated into the activity. Part of the challenge was to have the user choose and send a post card with imagery from the exhibit, depart from their apartment to visit the post office for a stamp and to send the post card. The e-postcard is filled out and sent to their friend once they the trip successfully. The concepts for the Got Ramps? activity emphasize problem solving and a Flash alternative version was created. In addition to the interactive game, Link Studio utilized their expertise in medical illustration to provide an education Flash animation on the Life Cycle of the Poliovirus.
Accessibility is a theme throughout the site including the approach to how the pages were built. The Web site complies with all priority 1 and a majority of priority 2 checkpoints of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 and follows United States Federal Government Section 508 Internet and Intranet Accessibility Standards. Stylesheets were incorporated for design layout, users can toggle between larger and smaller text for content, pages are all XHTML compliant, pages were optimized for screen readers, alternative HTML versions of Flash components were offered, printer-friendly pages are available, and any form of audio or video is accompanied by a transcript. These are just some of the steps which were taken to create an accessible site within the current and realistic parameters of the Internet.
From telling the story of polio through the four themes, incorporating the exhibit sections and additional information, to creating accessible and original interactive games, illustrations, animations and simple interactivity, a learning opportunity was made available to visitors of the site. Through this experience a broader understanding of how polio has shaped our lives will be gained.