Sci-Bono Discovery Centre

The Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown, Johannesburg, is a world-class science centre. Here kids of all ages (and adults, too) can interact with maths, science and technology in an innovative and dynamic way.

Flow has designed, edited and compiled several annual reports for Sci-Bono, and has worked on its exhibitions.

The Sci-Bono Discovery Centre approached Flow Communications for assistance in developing an improved exhibition at its visitor centre. Prior to implementing any improvements, it was recommended that a full audit and assessment of the existing exhibition be undertaken. This was to ensure that any changes align with communications and business needs.

Flow has extensive experience in the assessment and development of exhibitions, having worked with other attractions such as Maropeng, the Sterkfontein Caves, SAAO (South African Astronomical Observatory) and the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History. This usually includes a thorough diagnostics phase – where the state of the present exhibition is evaluated – followed by creative recommendations as to how the exhibition can be improved.

Years of working in this space have given us insight into what is needed to get an appropriate balance between education and entertainment, and how to engage visitors so that they leave feeling satisfied with the experience. The assessment of the existing Sci-Bono exhibition and visitor experience was undertaken to see where the strengths and weaknesses lie and to identify opportunities for improvement.

The process of assessment included numerous site visits by Flow to review the existing material, speak to staff, engage with visitors and see what the visitor experience was like first-hand. The Sci-Bono experience was measured against similar science centres both locally and internationally.

In 2018, Sci-Bono organised to bring the Lascaux travelling exhibition to Johannesburg, and tasked Flow with promoting a combined French and South African rock art exhibition to potential visitors in Gauteng.

The Lascaux exhibition is of world-class standard, with huge educational and entertainment appeal. The problem that Flow faced was that the South African public had no knowledge of Lascaux or its treasures. Naming the exhibition Wonders of Rock Art helped to explain the subject matter, and allowed for South African rock art to feature as well. Our primary focus was to use social media, digital channels and media coverage through a PR push to get the message of what the exhibition is, and why it would be of interest, out to the audience.

The Flow PR team rallied media interest and we hosted an opening event at Sci-Bono, attended by over 200 media, dignitaries and social media influencers. All attendees visited the exhibition and by capturing their engagement, we had great material to push on our social media channels. We negotiated a media partnership with a local radio station, which gave extensive coverage to the exhibition, including a live broadcast from the venue on the opening weekend.

To maintain interest while the exhibition ran, we conceived numerous marketing and promotional activities to attract visitors. These included adding special activities and packages during school holidays, a Women’s Day special offer and incentives for corporates to sponsor underprivileged schools.

All of these marketing pushes were promoted on social media and our other media channels. We leveraged the fact that Sci-Bono is a not-for-profit organisation to get extra coverage from local media. Flow took over the existing Sci-Bono newsletter, which goes out to all schools in the Johannesburg area, to get the message of the exhibition across and to explain to schools’ decision-makers why a visit would be of benefit to their students.

Flow also developed the visual identity for the exhibition, which was carried through onto all the collateral produced. These included banners, posters, signage, tickets, and orientational and promotional leaflets, as well as a collectible 24-page booklet for guests at the opening. We also produced kits for all the media, with relevant information about the exhibition, image sources and videos to make their promotion of the exhibition easier. A stop-motion video was produced by Flow to show the public the build of the exhibition, to highlight its complexity and size.

The budget allocated to the promotion of the exhibition was very limited, so we needed to make clever use of the more affordable media channels that were available to us. Putting time and effort into a memorable launch event was worthwhile because we managed to attract some high-profile guests, celebrities, specialists in the field, school groups and media. Having videographers and photographers on hand at the opening event meant that we had sufficient fresh and relevant content to feed our social media channels for the run of the campaign.