Helping Gallaudet University Shape a Documentary About Deaf People’s Contributions to the Space Race

Experience Design Research
Written By Cathy Sigmond

Client: Gallaudet University | Location: Washington, DC | Funding: National Science Foundation

 
 

We led exploratory focus groups with hearing adults to help Gallaudet University shape a new National Science Foundation-funded documentary film about deaf people’s contributions to the Space Race, Deaf in Motion.

OVERVIEW

In 2025, we partnered with Gallaudet University to evaluate content and concepts related to their National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) grant #2415706. The grant funds the development of a documentary film, Deaf in Motion, which explores the untold story of the Gallaudet 11, deaf students from Gallaudet University who participated in NASA’s research during the Space Race.

Our front-end evaluation is the first of three phases of evaluation we are conducting to shape the development of Deaf in Motion. We have also partnered with another researcher, Meredith Peruzzi, who is conducting a similar evaluation with deaf audiences. Ultimately, the goal of evaluation is to help Gallaudet University create a film that will resonate with and be engaging for both hearing and deaf audiences.

APPROACH

We designed a front-end evaluation that included focus groups with two distinct hearing audiences—science-interested adults and museum professionals who have experience communicating informal science and history content. 

During the focus groups, we showed participants a 6-minute film reel to introduce parts of the Gallaudet 11’s story and had an open-ended discussion about participants’ prior knowledge and perceptions of related topics, such as: the inclusion of deaf individuals in scientific research, the specific reasons deaf students from Gallaudet were selected to participate in NASA’s research during the Space Race, and the role that immunity to motion sickness played in the overall story of testing the effects of space travel on human beings. To reflect on the implications of the focus group findings for the film’s development, we facilitated a conversation with Gallaudet University’s film team and researchers.

CLIENT TAKEAWAYS

We found that most participants were not familiar with the story of the Gallaudet 11 but were highly interested in learning more about their participation in NASA’s research. Similar to past studies, we found that audiences are intrigued by historical narratives that include details about the individual people who are central to the story. They wanted to know about the significance of the Gallaudet 11’s contributions to space research and how the experience personally affected them and their lives.  

Through our discussion with museum professionals, we also gained insights into what might make the film engaging to audiences in an informal education setting, including breaking the film into distinct segments that could be integrated into a broader exhibition and offering supplementary materials and resources for K-12 audiences. 

Gallaudet University and its film team are actively using the findings to guide development of the film’s narrative and visual production choices.

Cathy Sigmond

Cathy brings many years of experience in education and experience design to her role as Head of Strategy at Kera Collective. 

Having previously worked in a variety of educational settings, Cathy is driven by her constant fascination and delight at how people make discoveries about the familiar and the unfamiliar. 

Cathy loves helping to shape experiences that spark curiosity and make a difference in people’s lives. She particularly enjoys the rapid, iterative nature of design-based research and the deep insights that come from qualitative research, especially on projects exploring interactions with the digital and built environments. 

Cathy shares her passion for experience design research widely and regularly guest lectures for graduate programs, including the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Exhibition and Experience Design Program and the Pratt Institute’s School of Information. Cathy served as the co-chair of the Museum Computer Network’s Human-Centered Design special interest group from 2018-2021.

Outside of work, you can usually find Cathy playing soccer, thrifting, or making her way through her large cookbook collection. 

Cathy’s favorite museum experiences are immersive; she will always vividly remember walking through the giant heart at the Franklin Institute, being surrounded by birds at the Peabody Essex Museum, and hearing centuries-old instruments come to life at the Museum of Musical Instruments. 

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