Welcome to Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center NY!

Jones Beach State Park is a protected park in New York State. It’s located in Nassau County, on Jones Beach Island. This natural park stretches for 10.5 kilometres and is particularly popular for its beaches overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

The “Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center” opened in September 2020. The brand new interpretation center of over 460 square metres is located in a building created by nARCHITECTS. Its objective is to enable visitors to discover the biodiversity, energy and nature of this region, in a fun and interactive way.

Tactile Studio imagined and produced:

– the design of the exhibition, the logo and the outside sign,

– all graphic walls (with the naturalist illustrations of Ink Dwell and James Prosek),

– all the interactive games and multimedia (in collaboration with DEVOCITÉ),

– the complete sensory tour of the interpretation center,

– two audio tours (in collaboration with AUDIOVISIT), one aimed at families, the other dedicated to experts and enthusiasts,

– the accessibility of the site as well as all the signage (adapted to Covid-19 standards).

In short, an innovative project in which we used all our skills to offer visitors a totally unique and inclusive experience.

Immerse yourself in a fascinating journey into the world of energy.

WELCOME! ¡BIENVENIDOS!

It’s 3pm. After a nap, you decide to enjoy the magnificent New York sunshine and take a Sunday stroll with your whole family.

You do some research and you find out that a completely new, 100% accessible museum has just opened on the outskirts of Jones Beach: the natural park you’ve always dreamed of visiting, and famous for being the location of the film “Jaws”.

And then… what could be better than to combine learning and cultural activities with educating your children about the environment from an early age?

It’s decided! You set off with your family in the direction of Jones Beach.

On arrival at the car park, you get out of your car and find yourself in front of the park and the interpretation center. You have two options… The choice seems difficult.

After a little reflection, you decide to start with a visit to the museum, then to end the day outside, fully enjoying the park activities and the sunset.

You gain easy access to the museum doors thanks to very clear and reassuring signage adapted to Covid-19 standards.

At the welcome desk, you discover that a web app gives you access to 2 types of audio tours:

– a 15-minute one, available in three languages (English, Spanish and Chinese), offers you the opportunity of discovering the exhibition independently and easily. And, what’s more, this audio tour is also designed for people with disabilities: it’s available in American Sign Language (ASL) and in audio description. So your son, who has a visual impairment, can fully enjoy the museum activities!

– the second audio tour lasts 30 minutes and is mainly focused on the discovery of the net zero energy building and targets enthusiasts and energy experts. Your grandfather, a true fan, doesn’t hesitate for a single second and chooses this one!

AN INTERACTIVE AND INCLUSIVE NARRATIVE JOURNEY!

Starting your audio tour, you notice that the narrative journey of the museum divides into two themes: “The Power of Nature” and “The Nature of Energy”.

In each room you find large graphic walls, equipped with tactile panels and interactive games (skill, exploration and discovery).

The exhibition hall dedicated to nature has, for example, a wall about the oceans. This wall comes to life thanks to three interactive screens.

The first gives information about ocean biodiversity and the food chain of marine animals.

The two others are in the form of games:

– one allows the study and observation of the formation of the tides using two potentiometers located on either side of the screen (representing the orbit of the moon around the earth and the orbit of the earth around the sun).

– the other helps to understand how an artificial reef is formed, thanks to an integrated button with which it is possible to place objects into the water (a shipwreck, a wind turbine, a concrete block…).

Then you reach the energy exhibition hall, where an entire wall caters mainly to people with visual impairments. This wall, which has the theme “biomimicry*”, is made up of four tactile plaques with braille and 3-D objects. Your child, who has a visual impairment, now understands the value of biomimicry, thanks to the sense of touch.

After the graphic walls and interactive games you come completely unexpectedly to the “Energy Efficiency House” (E.E House). Imagined by CAWA architecture, this full-size house allows you to learn more about the different ways to insulate a house and good ways to reduce energy consumption.

Interactivity, inclusion, accessibility and discovery are the key words of these exhibition rooms!

A 100% ACCESSIBLE GARDEN!

You find your grandfather outside the museum and share together everything that you’ve discovered.

Your eldest son is proud! He won at all the interactive games. Your second son, who has a visual impairment, is beaming with joy that he could touch, feel and understand, through tactile panels, braille and the audio tour.

Your grandfather still can’t get over what he’s been able to learn about energy!

You decide to end the day strolling through the park with your family.

The park offers a fun, inclusive route that is always focused on the key themes of the center: nature and energy.

A tactile map available at the start of the route enables you to understand its layout as well as the different activities.

You start with the energy theme which comprises tactile panels dealing with geothermal well caps, batteries…

Finally you arrive at the Pollinator Garden, and your children can finally say hello to bees and flowers, thanks to dedicated tactile panels.

Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center is definitely establishing itself today as a next generation interpretive center.