Interactive "How Loooong Till It's Gone" Signage at Hunterdon County Arboretum

Arboretums / Botanical Gardens
At Pannier Graphics, some of our favorite projects begin with a simple hand-drawn sketch and a vision to inspire the community. When a Girl Scout approached us with an idea for her Gold Award, we were thrilled to partner with her and the County of Hunterdon to make it a reality.
Client: County of Hunterdon
Location: Lebanon, NJ
Products: Fiberglass Embedded Panels, Upright Exhibit Base, Hinged Panels, Slider Panels
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Bringing Big Ideas to Life: From Concept to Trailside Learning

The goal was to create an interactive educational sign titled "How Loooong Till It’s Gone". This engaging exhibit would be designed to teach arboretum visitors about litter, decomposition rates, and environmental stewardship.

Installed at the beautiful Hunterdon County Arboretum in New Jersey, this 72" × 36" display turns environmental education into a fun, hands-on activity for visitors of all ages.

Custom Craftsmanship & Technical Details

Transforming a creative vision into an interactive, weather-resistant outdoor display required thoughtful graphic layout and custom engineering:

  • Interactive Slider Tracks: The sign features six sliding tokens representing common household waste items, including chip bags, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bags, biodegradable bags, and Styrofoam cups. Visitors slide each icon along custom-engineered metal tracks across a color-coded timeline ranging from 10–50 years to 500+ years.

  • Hinged Answer Doors: Beneath the "Answers" column, six custom metal hinged flap doors allow visitors to test their knowledge. Opening a door reveals the exact decomposition timeframe along with fascinating environmental facts such as how plastic breaks down into microplastics.

  • Vibrant Graphic Design Layout: Pannier Production Artist, Cassandra Williams, crafted an engaging visual background depicting sky, grass, and cross-section soil layers. Fun historical hints like "If you buried it today, your great-great-grandkids could still find it!" guide users as they guess.

  • Built for the Elements: Designed for outdoor exposure at the arboretum, the sign utilizes aluminum framing, durable hinges, smooth track hardware, and Fiberglass Embedded panels built to withstand sunlight and weather.

Spotlighting Our Client

This unique sign is a perfect demonstration of community collaboration and creative problem-solving:

  • The Girl Scout Vision: Driven by a desire to educate her community on waste management and sustainability, her initial concept sparked a project that will educate park visitors for years to come.

  • Hunterdon County Parks: By hosting this display at the Hunterdon County Arboretum, Hunterdon County continues its commitment to conservation, environmental awareness, and supporting youth-led initiatives.

Seeing this project move from an idea on paper to fabrication in our shop and finally to installation on the arboretum grounds was an incredible experience. We are proud to have played a role in bringing this creative educational tool to life!

Interested in bringing custom interactive signage or educational displays to your park, trail, or facility? Contact the Pannier Graphics team today to discuss your project!