Rediscovering Selam - California Academy of Sciences
Illustration - exhibit graphics
Exhibit Description: In 2006, the Academy's Dr. Zeray Alemseged reported finding a 3.3 million-year-old fossil in Ethiopia—the skeleton of a 3-year-old Australopithecus afarensis child. Nicknamed “Selam,” the discovery has provided new insights into the anatomical, behavioral, and developmental evolution of early human ancestors.
I worked with Dr. Zeray Alemseged, as well as the Exhibits and Visualization Studio teams to help create an interactive diorama that explained the story and discovery of the fossil of an early human, Selam.
Working closely with Dr. Alemseged to make sure that the information shown was accurate to his research, I illustrated graphics to show how Selam was washed away and buried. The graphics depict the different layers of sediment that settled on top of Selam’s remains, their composition, and how they contributed to determining Selam’s age. The illustrations were then animated for the final presentation. I also illustrated icons for the interactive touchscreen.
Credits: Dr. Zeray Alemseged (Paleoanthropologist), Rhonda Rubinstein (Art direction), Christina Jirachachavalwong (Exhibit Design), Ken Ackerman (Animation), Sarah Goodin (Interactive Design), Oliver Padilla (Photography)
Working together with the Exhibit Designer and Interactive Designer to create icons for the exhibit’s interactive touchscreen
Working with Dr. Alemseged, I created illustrations to depict how Selam was fossilized. The illustration was then animated by Cal Academy’s Visualization Studio.
