Massar is a nationwide project that encourages, enlightens, educates and empowers Syrian children through personal journeys of growth and discovery. The discovery centre in Damascus – taken through to detailed design – was planned to be an enabler as well as a destination, providing a framework for individual, group, and family exploration through interactive, discovery-based experiences that will change and evolve over time.
Our team has been involved in the Massar project from its outset. While working at the Science Museum in London, we developed a touring programme of activities for children aged five to 15 that toured around Syria, using the country’s cultural centres as venues. The activities were delivered by young Syrians who were also trained by members of the KCA team. The project reached over 200,000 children across Syria. This first-hand experience of Syrian audiences, combined with KCA London’s technical and design capabilities, meant we were well placed to develop the experiences that will be contained within the 13,000m2 Massar Discovery Centre.
Inspired by Syrian culture, discovery based learning and cutting edge interpretation, KCA London designed three interactive galleries for this landmark project:
- The Beginnings gallery introduces visitors to their personal and shared Massar journey. This orientation experience incorporates layered multimedia with powerful messaging to transport the visitor from the outside world into the inspiring environs of the Massar Discovery Centre.
- Iconic installations, hands on interaction and message driven structures combine in the Ideas gallery to capture the imagination and facilitate discovery. Ideas centres on empowering audiences to discover and celebrate their potential talents and unique abilities. KCA developed over 50 bespoke exhibits for this iconic gallery.
- An uplifting exit experience, You Can Do It features mentors from the Arabic world and installations expressing Massars’ powerful and inspirational messages.
