Interactive Digital Experience
The judges said:
A number of museums make a connection between on-site exhibition kiosks and websites available anywhere with Internet access. The Interactive Digital Experience from
the Luce Foundation Center for American Art rises above other interactives in this genre by offering a well-rounded suite of development and communications tools as
well as a depth of content that encourage visitors to both document and share their museum experience. The interactive content is satisfying to explore and makes
developing and commenting in scrapbooks -- the primary content organization tool -- very engaging. Sharing scrapbooks with and e-mailing image postcards
to others, whether from the exhibition or from home, is also easy and appealing to visitors young and old. Participating in the Luce Foundation Interactive Digital
Experience offers an engaged experience that both enhances the exhibition and is rewarding well after the visitor has left the building.
The producers said:
The Luce Foundation Center for American Art is a visible storage facility within the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). There is very little interpretative
information included in the displays, so the goal of the Interactive Digital Experience was to provide a way for visitors of all ages to access interpretation
about the collection. Ten in-gallery kiosks deliver content for every object in the Luce Center: 3,400 artworks and 1,100 artists. In addition, the kiosks provide
hundreds of multimedia assets, including video interviews with American artists and narrated slideshows. The experience does not end in the Museum, however.
Visitors can create their own virtual scrapbooks on the kiosks and then access them from home through SAAM's MyCollection website. This online feature allows people
to personalize their collections by creating and sharing scrapbooks, viewing slideshows, writing their own labels, and commenting on the scrapbooks of others.
They can also visit the Luce Center website to add more objects to their personal collection. The entire experience is managed through one content management
system that integrates with SAAM's Collection Management System. This allows non-technical Museum staff to continually update and expand the content and ensures
that object locations are real-time accurate.
Interactive Knowledge Card System
The judges said:
Building a website to extend the experience of an exhibition is not always enough. Visitors must actually choose to visit the site. The mission:CLIMATE
Interactive Knowledge Card draws visitors to the site in an ingenious way: purchasing a CD with exhibition multimedia content for a minimal fee enables
visitors to tag content of interest using a bar code on the CD packaging as they explore the exhibition. When viewing the CD at home on an Internet-connected
computer, visitors are offered the option to visit their personalized site from the CD entry page. The CD, in addition to standing on its own as a source of content
and continued exploration, also provides a doorway into the website and its continuously updated content. mission:CLIMATE offers a creative, innovative
solution to drawing visitors to and keeping them interacting with the extended exhibition experience.
The producers said:
The issue we addressed in developing the system is how visitors can remain actively engaged in the experience of an exhibit, after they have walked out of the
museum. How can even a short exposure to the content in the physical space lead to a continued experience in the virtual space? Our goal was to empower visitors
to extend, deepen and personalize their contact with the exhibit's content and messages when they returned home or back to school. We also wanted to give the
museum a tool with which to measure and respond to visitor behavior and interest. Additionally, by giving sponsors an opportunity to participate as "knowledge
partners" without compromising the integrity of the institution, we were able to finance the installation. Target audiences for the exhibit are school
classes from junior high school and up. The results have been encouraging. 60% of those who use the "Climate Card" in the exhibit area, return to
their "personal websites" online. Of those, over 60% voluntarily leave demographic data, including e-mail addresses.
Interactive DVD
The judges said:
How do you enable visitors to take home a 700-ton submarine as a souvenir? The Museum of Science and Industry answered this dilemma quite effectively with the very
engaging, very informative U-505 DVD. Not only does the DVD allow visitors to continue to explore the submarine, it peoples the boat in a way that can't be done in
person. High quality video clips which overlay action scenes and images of the submarine bring the experience to life. Additional materials, which invite visitors to
explore the context for the construction, deployment, and capture of the U-505, also reflect and expand upon the exhibition experience, extending the discovery long
after the visit has ended.
The producers said:
The U-505 submarine and its capture is a compelling story about WWII and serves as a strong reminder of the brave men and women who served at home and abroad. The
Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has had the U-505 submarine for over 50 years. The effort to refurbish and reclaim this national historic landmark
culminated in a new indoor exhibit that has broken attendance records.
The Museum of Science and Industry, working closely with The Iona Group, developed a concept termed "Extend the Experience." The intent was to extend the
normal bricks and mortar experience of a museum beyond the four walls of the building. The ability to design and develop a DVD which captures the overall U-505
experience allowed MSI to reach a broader audience than just those who might physically walk through the doors. The U-505 "Extend the Experience" DVD
includes all the media from the exhibit as well as additional special features. The special features include behind the scenes looks at the making of the exhibit,
previously unseen interviews with actual crew members and much more. The DVD represents an exciting look at an important event and its development was driven by the
guests who toured the sub or who had read the story. The DVD is not only a very strong memento of the visit; it also represents a very valuable classroom tool when
teaching about WWII.
The judges said:
More and more museums are taking up podcasting to extend the visitor experience beyond the institution's walls. In many cases, outside production firms have been
contracted to develop these series, resulting in a number of high quality, engaging programs. The Artists of the Week podcast from SJMA has been awarded an honorable
mention because it manages to be both high quality and engaging —and produced entirely in-house. SJMA demonstrates admirably that podcasting is within the
grasp of every museum.
The producers said:
Created for a permanent collection exhibition titled "New Year, New Gifts" on view at the San Jose Museum of Art for eight weeks, this podcast series was
designed to provide visitors with a deeper understanding and connection to eight beloved Bay Area artists. Available for subscription at the iTunes Music Store, to
borrow on a Museum-owned iPod, via personal cell phone in the gallery utilizing Guide by Cell, and on our website, each audio segment consists of voices of
the featured artists, art critics, gallery representatives, collectors, curators, or art historians providing insights, perspectives, and personal narratives about
the artists and the work on display. Each podcast was enhanced with music and photographs of the interviewees—including the artists in their studios.
This project is a model for small museums with limited time and budgets for interpretive projects. Aside from staff time for the content and production team—Lucy
Larson, Manager of Museum Experience & Interpretation and Chris Alexander, Manager of Interactive Technology—the budget for this project was $0. Working
solely with staff-conducted interviews, free independent music available online, photographs taken with our Canon Elph camera, and Apple's "Garage Band"
software, the content is mixed and created within one-week.
(Photo: Lucy Larson interviewing artist Amy Kaufman in her studio. Photo taken by Chris Alexander, 2007.)
