ContAQT: Designing an Interactive Data Display to Make Multi-Pollutant Air Quality Data Accessible

Air pollution poses critical health and environmental risks, yet public communication of air quality data is typically reduced to a single Air Quality Index (AQI) value that obscures underlying complexity. Existing visualization tools reinforce this oversimplification, leaving key AQI messages unaddressed. This paper presents ContAQT, an interactive platform that helps public audiences explore multi-pollutant air quality data in informal learning settings. Using a learner-centered design (LCD) approach, we conducted a three-step study: (1) surveys with novices and interviews with experts to identify pitfalls in current AQI communication tools, (2) iterative design and evaluation across multiple design cycles, and (3) evaluation at a local science festival. Findings show how interactive visualizations can address persistent misconceptions, spark inquiry, and support sense-making around air quality data. We contribute ContAQT as a public data display and derive design implications for building interactive systems that make complex scientific data accessible in informal learning spaces.