Museum Techmuse

AAM session: museum video onscreen at ATM machines

I was struck during today's presentation on "The Current State of Exhibit Media" at the AAM conference by some stunning videos from that National Palace Museum in Taiwan. Here are a couple samples below (I heard a translated version, and I think the first had to do with Buddhist text in the calligraphy as interpreted by a video artist. The second includes 3D characters that come to life from exhibits.)

These are high-end productions that would be difficult/expensive for most museums to produce. But what struck me most is that the museum is looking for wide ways of distributing the videos, from display in bus stations, on subway cars, and on ATM machines. (Yes, ATM machines -- they made arrangements with a local bank to display short excerpts as people get cash...).

Very smart -- distributing content beyond the usual screens in exhibits and on the Web. It's one of the major considerations: how else can we connect with visitors in their daily lives?

MW2008: Notable sessions on community

It's been a couple weeks since the Museums and the Web 2008 conference now. Here are two sessions that I'm still thinking about: Peter Samis' presentation of their findings at SFMOMA of visitor text comments posted from the exhibit to a blog, and Gail Durbin's session about their experiences with Web 2.0 projects at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The two compliment each other well: raising questions about visitor voices in exhibits, and providing some potential answers.

Peter's presentation raises questions about the visitor voice based on experiences in their fascinating exhibit of Olafur Eliasson's work. Visitors could type in comments on the works while in the museum. The comments included reflection on visitors' experience, but were characterized generally as a "mixed bag" of responses (ie, "cooooooollllllll!!!!!!!!!!!"). An issue: how much weight do we give to visitors' comments, many of which did not involve much consideration?

The project that caught my attention in Gail Durbin's presentation focused on the V&A's World Beach Project which allows users to submit photos of installations of stone they create on beaches. The project provides an extraordinary structure allowing visitors to collaborate with the museum in parallel to an exhibit.

A thought: visitors don't have much time to create media while in the museum, and we need to ratchet up the filtering process to get at the gold (which _will_ be there), or scaffold more tools to support visitors' expressions. But post-visit creative opportunities (such as the World Beach Project) offer even more options for significant visitor involvement.
 

VT Interstate 89 rest stop: water from the toilets

OK, the title of this entry is misleading, but only a little so. I'm driving through Vermont on my way to Museums and the Web in Montreal, and about an hour ago passed by the most amazing rest stop I've been to (near Sharon, VT). Beautiful scenic views from large windows (it must be a LEED certified building)...But what is so outstanding is the way they are reusing waste water from the toilets and sinks.

Water goes through a process with the help of living plants to filter the water. And it feeds a gorgeous greenhouse connected to the rest stop. It truly is restful and beautiful to walk into the greenhouse to break the monotony of a long drive.

As you walk out, there are three large coffee urns -- free coffee to all travelers. And, here's where I'm being a little misleading. The filtration system doesn't really feed the coffeepots, but I thought -- what if it did?  What if you could demonstrate to visitors the power of this living system by offering them free coffee brewed from the outflow from the toilets? Wow -- what a memorable experience that would be, balancing the desire to consume with tangible ecosystem considerations.

Nonetheless, the rest stop is extraordinary -- highly recommended to anyone interested in ways public buildings can demonstrate concepts of reuse and recycling.