Multimedia, Multi-Touch, and Visitor Participation at the Levine Museum of the New South

I had the pleasure of visiting the Levine Museum of the New South with my daughter, a history buff, and my 7 month old grandbaby. It was his first trip to a museum, and he loved it - the pictures, the hands-on exhibits, and of course, the multimedia technology. Future historian?  Museum curator?  Digital archivist?  We'll see...


We had a chance to explore the Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers exhibit and Whirlwind of Growth, updated to take a look at the past decade and how recent events, such as rapid population growth in the region (69% between 1990, the year I moved to Charlotte, and 2010), recession and financial crisis, have impacted the Charlotte region and the Carolinas.


I especially liked the New South TalkBack part of the exhibit. I think the TalkBack feature was originally part of the Changing Places exhibit, a multi-part project that focuses on how people in the Charlotte region deal with the growing cultural diversity and steady stream of newcomers who come from just about everywhere, and how newcomers experience their transition to the area.  The exhibit was unveiled in February of 2009, and due to positive feedback, was extended well past the planned ending date.  The exhibit's impact was extended to the virtual world through  the Changing Places Project website, as well as the museum's YouTube channel. Both are great places to explore. 


I'd like to share a bit more about the Levine Museum of the New South "experience" from content related to the Changing Places: From Black and White to Technicolor® exhibit:


This overview video of the Changing Places exhibit at the Levine Museum provides a good dose of civic pride.  I've lived in the Charlotte area since 1990 and have come to appreciate the rich tapestry that makes up our community, reflected in the short stories (and songs!) shared in the visitors' video clips.



Changing Places "Our History":

(I especially liked the uplifting background music in this video.)


Changing Places: "The Out of Towners" is a mashup of clips created by visitors to the Levine Museum who come from other places in the US and around the globe:



For more videos from Levine Museum visitors, take a look at the Levine Museum's YouTube channel.   The videos are much better than what I took using my cell phone video cam, below:


New South Talkback, Levine Museum of the New South




What I didn't like so much...


Below is a video of a multi-touch picture/info display, part of the exhibit.  I didn't like it very much, as the screen was very cluttered and the content was "jumpy" at the slightest touch. Given my interest in large displays, multi-touch, and gesture interaction, my expectations were pretty high:


REMIX HISTORY
.


Perhaps it is my civic duty to volunteer with a few other multi-touch techies to create a "redo" of this application!  


RELATED
The following links are to some of the organizations/people who work or have worked in partnership with the Levine Museum of the New South:
Darcie Fohrman, Exhibit Developer and Designer, Changing Places
Irene Morris , Graphic Design, Changing Places
Dr. Pamela Grundy, curator, Changing Places
Dr. Tom Hanchett, assistant curator, Changing Places
Sarah Bryan, researcher, Changing Places
New Granada Productions, edited video footage from the Talkback Booth at the Levine Museum, spanning the course of 14 months.
Studio Displays, Inc.  (Changing Places)
Brad Larson Media "Using technology to encourage family learning in museums, zoos, and other public places" (Changing Places)
Community Building Initiative
Emulsion Arts, Film production, Changing Places
Luquire George Andrews, Changing Places (PR, brand strategy, media planning, digital solutions, located in Charlotte, NC)
Nancy Pierce, Photographer, Changing Places
Michael Daul, Kaplan & Associates Cultural Resources, Online Curator, Website Design and Development, Changing Places


Video preview of the new section of the exhibit, including some shots of "Remix History":

Microsoft Surface Light and Physics App for Kids at the Smithsonian

Microsoft Surface at the Smithsonian


The Surface is located in the Smithsonian's Castle,  and is part of "The Wonder of Light: Touch and Learn!" exhibit, which opened on Tuesday, November 9th (2010).  Microsoft donated the Surface unit to the Smithsonian.


Below is  slideshow of the interactive exhibit:



The video below provides a closer look at the applications created by Infostrat for the Smithsonian exhibit:


RELATED
New Interactive Exhibit Opens in Smithsonian's Castle, Bringing Light To Life
Smithsonian News Release, 11/9/20

Josh Blake's post, Microsoft Surface and Magical Object Interaction.

BP Oil Spill Multi-touch Map Mashup by Ideum

BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Multi-touch Exhibit

In response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the team at Ideum has created a free version of their multi-touch-enabled Google Map and Flickr mashup application to educational organizations, including museums and aquariums.  The information included on the map includes oil spill and fishing restriction data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), along with pictures taken at the scene in and around the region of the spill.

Ideum is a company that "designs and creates interactive computer-based exhibits, multitouch installations, rich Internet applications, and social networking sites for museum and Web visitors. We work closely with museums, nonprofit organizations, and socially responsible companies to create memorable visitor experiences."   Ideum uses their own multi-touch framework called GestureWorks to create interactive applications.

Jim Spadaccini is the director and founder of Ideum. He formerly was the Director of Interactive Media at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

Ideum is working on a version of the program optimized to work on 3M's  22" multi-touch system.  A single-touch version for the web might be available if there is interest.

RELATED

BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico Flickr Group

Ideum's oil spill-related pictures on Flickr

Reactable Live! at Sonar Barcelona 2010 - (You can see one at Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC.)

I like music technology. I like interactive, tangible table systems.  I like the Reactable!


To understand this system, see it in action!

Below is a video of Reactable Live!, Performed at Sonar Barcelona 2010 on June 18th. The music and performance is by Carles Lopez, and the video was by Marc Morera.

"Reactable in Concert by Carles López sounds like electronic house, minimal, electro, techno, idm, dnb…"

Here is a video of children playing with the Reactable, at Sonar Kids, Barcelona, 2009:



I recently learned that there is a Reactable in my hometown!
The Reactable Experience was installed at Discovery Place in Charlotte.  Discovery Place is the children's science museum for the metropolitan Charlotte, N.C. region. Below is a picture from the Discovery Place museum:


The Reactable is part of a new exhibition, "Think it up"  Here's the description from the Discovery Place website:

"The Reactable is a cutting edge electronic musical instrument merged with a visual experience. Special objects are placed on a translucent surface which trigger sound clips and audio modulation. The sound produced by the objects is represented visually on the surface, providing feedback and guidance for the creation of new music."


This version of the Reactable is for museums, science centers, schools, universities, and other public spaces.  It is an outgrowth of the original Reactable that was designed for musicians. This version is intuitive and invites people to share and create music collaboratively.


RELATED
Reactable Experience brochure (pdf)

Update on Ideum: Multitouch, Multiuser Table at the California Science Center

Ideum is a company that has been around since 1999.  It focuses on the design and creation of "computer-based exhibits, multitouch installations, rich Internet applications, and social networking sites for museum and Web visitors."   Gestureworks is the software developed by Ideum, which is an authoring solution for Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex.

Below is some information, including a video clip, of one of Ideum's most recent installations a multiuser, multitouch table at the California Science Center.

Case Study:  Ideum's  L.A. Zone Multi-touch, Multiuser Table (Jim Spadaccini)

Here is an excerpt from Jim Spadaccini's post:
"This multiuser, multitouch table exhibit in the L.A. Zone allows visitors to explore a satellite image and map of the LA Basin and view overlays in thematic areas that explore fire, air, water, and earth. In addition, points of interest are placed on the map in the form of images and videos. All of the content and navigational controls are available in English and Spanish. The exhibit software runs on a custom-built 50" multitouch table that supports 60+ simultaneous points of input."

The Ideum team has spent a great deal of attention to the way groups of museum visitors interact with their multitouch applications. In the past, they've noticed that on a 50" surface, visitors would experience interaction conflicts. In the present application, more than one visitor can manipulate the content without changing the interaction of others.  Spadaccini points out that multi-user control of touch screen exhibits is new, so interface design concepts developed for single-user interaction are no longer useful.  Social interactions around a multiuser display are now something to consider.

In my opinion, what the Ideum team learns through their design process can be quite useful to those of us planning to develop multiuser educational applications for interactive surfaces and displays. What I liked about this exhibit is that it has a monitor that mirrors the display, so people can view the interaction from afar.  This feature would be useful in classroom settings that have an interactive table and an interactive whiteboard. The interactive whiteboard as the secondary display so the teacher and other students could see what the group at the table was exploring.



Multitouch Google Maps and Flickr Mashup Built with Flash



Update: A video showing how Ideum's multi-touch table can withstand all sorts of heavy-duty treatment:




Note:I have been pretty busy over the past couple of months- I have much that I haven't yet blogged about.  More to come!

Interactive Multimedia at ABBAWORLD: High-Definition Holographic Performance!?

What is ABBA World? It is an exhibit in the UK, an audio-guided tour through 25 rooms which will provide a "mind-blowing journey through the music, memories, and magic of ABBA!"  (I came across this info on Strombergs' blog.)





The exhibit will include an interactive experience where people can get on stage with 3D holographic versions of the members of ABBA. You can see the cartoony-ABBA's on the SquareZero website. Square zero is the content provider of the the 3D experience.  Musion Systems, the creator of the Musion Eyeliner high definition holographic video projection system, was another partner in this project.

Details about the holographic system can be found on the  ABBAWorld website, along with the history of ABBA.

Interactive Touchscreen Displays at the Chicago Botanic Gardens

 
"15 letters, a Chicago-based interactive design company developed eight interactive, educational touch-screen kiosks that will enable Garden visitors to get a hands-on experience in understanding the essential role plants play in every day life and the critical role garden scientists are playing to preserve and better manage natural plant communities."


“Each of the eight interactive touch-screen exhibits in the new Rice Plant Conservation Science Center is dedicated to a specific lab in the facility,” Rattin continued. “We created interactive game-like simulations that will allow visitors to manipulate an environment and see the outcomes of their actions. This hands-on approach to education is becoming more commonplace as museums and research centers are encouraging the development of the next generation of scientists.”

Research laboratories featuring interactive kiosks include:
• Harris Family Foundation Plant Genetics Laboratory
• Economic Botany Laboratory
• Reproductive Biology Laboratory
• Dixon Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank Preparation Laboratory and Seed Bank
• Herbarium
• Population Biology Laboratory
• Soil Laboratory
• Abbott Ecology Laboratory


For more information, there are a number of videos regarding the Chicago Garden Interactive Kiosk Project



Plant Conservation Science Center Fly-through Simulation



I plan on visiting Chicago again, and I'll make sure I visit the Chicago Botanic Gardens!

Quick Post: Video clip of RENCI's exhibit at SC'08. Includes a view of a multi-touch table.

This is a videoclip of RENCI's exhibit at SC'08 (Supercomputing 08, Austin, TX). Quite a nice set-up!



-RENCI Vis Group Multi-touch Blog

Ideum's multi-touch, multi user table prototype

The above picture is from Jim Sapadaccini's post about Ideum's mutli-touch table prototype, using NUI (Natural User Interface) software, "Snowflake". Ideum is working on gesture-recognition software for use in future projects.

Ideum will be designing for museum installations, and will include user-testing as they work towards applications that will support collaboration among museum visitors as they interact around the exhibits.

For more information see the Ideum blog, and also Ideum's portfolio page.