Department of Marine Resources
Facility Tour & Staff Training

Story-driven learning design, live-environment testing, and stakeholder alignment in a public education setting. 

Context & Constraints

This project focused on an in-person tour of the Department of Marine Resources facility. Tours were limited to a one-hour timeframe and needed to remain engaging for a broad public audience.

The Core Problem

The existing tour lacked structure and consistency. There was no standardized content or formal training process; new staff learned by shadowing experienced tour guides and creating their own version of the tour. As a result, tours varied widely in quality and it often took several weeks before new staff felt confident enough to lead a tour independently.

Design Goals

The primary goal was to create a tour that was both engaging for participants and standardized for staff. I aimed to reduce reliance on memorization by pairing each tour stop with a supporting handout that visually reinforced the information being presented. This approach helped minimize cognitive load for guests, supported visitors with audio accessibility needs, and reduced the amount of information guides needed to recall under pressure.

A secondary goal was to leverage the tour materials as a training foundation for staff. By standardizing content and flow, the tour could be used to train new guides more efficiently, reduce stress, and significantly shorten the time required for staff to become proficient.

Design Approach

I began by gathering and reviewing all available information from previous seasons, including existing materials and a recorded version of the tour delivered by the aquarium director. To ensure accuracy and depth, I also met directly with scientists in each of the laboratories included on the tour to understand what information was most important to communicate to guests.

Using this content alongside a facility map, I designed a tour route that balanced logistics and engagement. The route allowed for a bathroom break at the start, limited stair use to a single descent, and included several optional stops that could be skipped if the group was running short on time.

Once the route was established, I identified the key topics that could be covered at each stop. I then surveyed multiple tour groups to understand which topics resonated most with guests and used that feedback to refine and focus the content. Topics that aligned well with guest interest and visual reinforcement were selected for inclusion in supporting handouts.

After developing the handouts, I conducted a week-long trial of the redesigned tour, delivering two tours per day with groups of up to 20 participants. Feedback was collected after each tour and used to further refine the experience. Content that proved less engaging or overly time-consuming was removed, while new material was introduced and tested during a second trial period.

Key Design Decisions

• Route-first planning: Designing the physical flow of the tour early ensured accessibility, minimized fatigue, and created built-in flexibility for time management.

• Optional content stops: Incorporating skippable stops allowed guides to adapt to audience interest without compromising the core experience.

• Visual handouts: Pairing spoken content with images and brief descriptions reduced cognitive load, supported guests with audio accessibility needs, and lowered the memorization burden on staff.

• Iterative testing: Running multiple live trials with real tour groups allowed decisions to be based on observed engagement rather than assumptions.

Outcomes & Impact

After the second trial, the tour reached a balance of standardization and flexibility. Early stops were intentionally shortened to serve as a warm-up, while highly engaging laboratory stops were prioritized, resulting in optional content later in the tour to maintain timing.

The finalized tour materials were then converted into a train-the-trainer program. Staff were walked through the experience using a presentation and provided with clipboards containing guest handouts and concise reference notes for each stop. While staff were encouraged to personalize the tour when appropriate, the standardized content ensured consistency across guides.

As a result, new staff were able to lead tours independently after one day of training, one day of shadowing, and one day of being observed—reducing onboarding time from approximately two weeks to three days. Guest survey feedback reflected increased satisfaction, with returning visitors specifically noting improvements in the tour experience. The aquarium director continued using the materials for two additional seasons, both for staff training and guest handouts.