case studies

the challenge

The Royal Tyrrell Museum is one of the world’s preeminent palaeontology places. Brainstorm helped the Museum tell two different stories to two very different audiences.

The first goal was to engage school kids attending their summer science camp, to explain how Alberta’s oil and gas resources formed over hundreds of millions of years.

The second challenge was to give the general public a glimpse of the science and the scientists that are the backbone of the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

the solution

To explain Alberta’s geological history to school kids Brainstorm produced a show called “Pond Scum”. It is a short educational drama about four kids who get lost in the badlands and mysterious stranger who helps them find their way back, while also helping them find their way through 400 million years of the province’s past. Pond Scum won a bronze medal at the prestigious New York Festivals for Education in the Sciences category.

To meet the second challenge, Brainstorm produced “Passion for the Past”. This documentary highlights the Museum’s current staff of eight scientists and their research, all in a trim 22 minutes. “Passion for the Past” is an eye opener for those who think the museum is just a place to see old bones.  For viewers who already have a keen interest in paleontology, it gives a candid and more in-depth look at the research behind the exhibits.