museums
Latest
British Museum is digitizing its entire collection in response to recent thefts
The British Museum is digitizing its entire collection of more than eight million pieces, at a total cost of over $12 million. This move was announced after the museum experienced a theft back in August.
Museums use CT scans to take the mystery out of mummies
Most of us have a rather cinematic view of mummies: a bandaged body rising out of a sarcophagus, stumbling toward whoever just disturbed their slumber. Of course, this could never happen and not just for supernatural reasons. Mummies are wrapped up pretty tight and are just too old and fragile to do anything. In fact, they're often too delicate for scientists to even study them, meaning many human remains have sat in storage for more than a century. However, an exhibit making its way to New York's American History of Natural History today not only takes them out of the warehouse, but also tells us more about the people wrapped inside, thanks to some help from modern technology.
Doppler's smart earbuds coming to sports events and museums
Dopper Labs is partnering with the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Philharmonic and San Francisco fine arts museums on new experiences for its Here One earbuds. They use "smart" active listening tech to intelligently block outside sounds or blend them with music. For instance, you can listen to tunes while walking, but still hear cars; or hear live on-field action with reduced crowd noise, all while streaming stats and play-by-play.
A digital 'totem' leads the way in one of New York's oldest museums
Museums, for all the wonders they contain, have a reputation for being staid and musty. At their worst they've even been described as mausoleums. That's a problem when it comes to exhibits about an active, living culture like the Haida people of British Columbia. The American Museum of Natural History has taken it upon itself to change that perception of the native groups of the Pacific Northwest, implementing new technologies in its oldest hall to educate millions of visitors about these thousands of people living on the other side of the continent.
Major museums start banning selfie sticks
Selfie sticks, the logical "extension" of an already irksome activity, were recently banned in Premier League soccer stadiums. Now museums around the world are starting to do the same over worries of accidental damage to artwork. The Smithsonian barred their use effective last week as a "preventative measure to protect visitors and museum objects," especially on crowded days. Meanwhile, a formal ban is pending at Versailles palace and Centre Pompidou in France, and visitors are now being told to stow their sticks by guards at the Louvre. Both Pompidou and the Louvre will continue to allow regular photography and selfies.
Elon Musk pledges $1 million to help build Nikola Tesla Museum
Nikola Tesla just scored a very generous birthday present. The "father of electricity" was born 158 years ago today, and several fans are trying to preserve his legacy with a museum, to be built on the site of his final laboratory in Shoreham, New York. A 2012 Indiegogo campaign helped raise more than enough to cover purchasing the land, but nowhere near the $8 million that's needed to refurbish the property and actually build a museum. Fortunately, Elon Musk, the father of the modern day Tesla, has pledged $1 million and has promised to install a supercharger in the parking lot. That's still not enough to complete the project, but you can help out by making your own contribution here. [Image credit: Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe]
One of London's oldest museums will offer 'After Dark' tours via robot
We've seen telepresence robots used by everyone from doctors to check on remote patients to a student who needs to attend class. Now a robot is being used for a new purpose: museum tours. Soon you'll able to stage your own Night at the Museum, after hours at London's Tate Britain through a new project called After Dark. Unlike the movie where the exhibits come to life, in this version you'll be the unexpected thing moving around, manning one of four robots inside the museum. More spy cam than traditional tour, each robot is equipped with a spotlight that shines on exhibits heist-style as you pass by. The Workers, the creators of the project, say the robots aren't meant as a replacement for visiting the museum, and are instead designed to show the art from a different perspective, and literally, a different light. The group recently won the IK prize, a contest for digitally innovative projects that enhance public enjoyment of art. That win that scored them £60,000 to make their robotic dream a reality. Late-night tours of the Tate are expected to start at the end of the summer. Check out a video demo of the robots in action after the break.
Louvre HD: Tour the world's great art from your iOS device
Louvre HD (US$1.99) is a beautifully done app that takes you on a virtual tour of one of the greatest collections of paintings in the world. The app provides access to 2,300 paintings from the Louvre in Paris that can be viewed in very high resolution. Louvre HD itself isn't that large (only 76 MB), but requires an internet connection to access the high-resolution images of the paintings. The works are organized by century and cover 800 different artists. There is a quick search function, and paintings can be saved to your iDevice or mailed to friends. The high-resolution images invite exploration, because you can two-finger zoom and really explore these painting in great detail. Louvre HD also has a slideshow mode with adjustable speed, and you can even choose some classical music to listen to in the background. I think the only thing Louvre HD lacks is any detailed information on the paintings or the artists. Links to Wikipedia or other sources would be most welcome. Still, it's hard to argue with the quality of images of the paintings. I spent a lot of time examining and enjoying the paintings I explored. There is a free version of the app with only 400 paintings, and it will give you a taste of how the app works. The free version has an in-app purchase feature that allows you to upgrade to the full app. If you are actually visiting the Musée de Louvre, there is a nice free visitors guide app that will help you navigate the huge museum. Louvre HD is a universal app. I thought it would have the most impact on my iPad, so that is where I reviewed it. iOS 5.0 or later is the minimum requirement, and the app is optimized for the iPhone 5 screen.
Google's Field Trip app gets you into 13 museums for free right now
Museum buffs and tourists might want to download Google's Field Trip app right now. As we've told you before, the location-based app shows you cool things to do while on a trip. For a limited time, the app will also get you into 13 major US museums for free, as Google announced on the Field Trip Google+ page: Rumor has it you can visit 13 museums in 6 cities for FREE with Field Trip... RUMOR CONFIRMED!!! For a limited time you can walk into any of these for free: Conservatory of Flowers, SF California Academy of Sciences, SF Walt Disney Family Museum, SF Museum of Contemporary Art, LA Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago Adler Planetarium, Chicago The Field Museum, Chicago Museum of the city of New York, NY Museum of Arts and Design, NY National Building Museum, DC Portland Children's Museum Portland Art Museum Pittock Mansion, Portland If you are around one of the following 13 museums, you will get a Field Trip card with "Free Entry" in the title (check the 'nearby' tab). Show the card on your phone to the admissions staff and they'll take care of the rest. Enjoy your Field Trips! Living in Europe I'm pretty spoiled, as almost every major museum is free. But looking at the list above -- especially seeing three of Chicago's best museums (my old stomping grounds) -- leaves me feeling a little envious of my US friends at the moment. Field Trip is a free download for iOS and Android.
Google's Field Trip app granting free admission to 13 museums (update: now 23)
While Google's Field Trip app may find attractions off the beaten path, it's been up to users to foot the bill for their excursions. Now, however, the Niantic Labs-made application is handing out freebies for an unspecified limited time, allowing those who wield it to waltz into 13 museums for free. Folks near the establishments will receive Free Entry cards in the "nearby" tab, which will let them pass turnstiles without forking over a dime. Although Field Trip has been beefed up with points of interest in over 80 countries, the participating institutions -- which range from The Field Museum to the Walt Disney Family Museum -- are all located in six US cities. Head past the break for the full list. Update: Google's let us know that they've expanded the offer to include a total of 23 venues. We've revised the full list after the break. Mountain View says it's on a "first come, first served basis," so you'll want to head out there as soon as your sightseeing self can.
Space Shuttle Endeavour hitching a ride atop a 747 to its new home on September 17
Space Shuttles Discovery and Enterprise have already settled into their new homes, and now Endeavour is scheduled to depart for its future abode at the California Science Center on September 17th. Taking to the skies atop a modified Boeing 747, the shuttle will make pit stops in Texas and at Edwards Air Force Base in the Golden State before touching down at Los Angeles International Airport on the 20th. During the journey out west, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft will buzz certain cities and NASA sites along its flight path at roughly 1,500 feet in altitude. After its voyage, Endeavor will head to the science center on October 13th, but won't be on display until the end of the month. Yearning to catch a glimpse of the historic vehicle before it reaches its final resting place? Head past the jump for its flight schedule and flyover details.
Second Story uses Kinect for augmented shopping, tells us how much that doggie is in the window (video)
Second Story isn't content to leave window shoppers guessing at whether or not they can afford that dress or buy it in mauve. A new project at the creative studio uses the combination of a Kinect for Windows sensor with a Planar LookThru transparent LCD enclosure to provide an augmented reality overlay for whatever passers-by see inside the box. The Microsoft peripheral's face detection keeps the perspective accurate and (hopefully) entrances would-be customers. Coming from an outlet that specializes in bringing this sort of work to corporate clients, the potential for retail use is more than a little obvious, but not exclusive: the creators imagine it also applying to art galleries, museums and anywhere else that some context would come in handy. If it becomes a practical reality, we're looking forward to Second Story's project dissuading us from the occasional impulse luxury purchase.
Google Maps adds floor plans and walking directions for 20 US museums
Getting lost can be half the fun of any leisurely museum excursion, but if you'd prefer to navigate your indoor outing with a level of precision typically reserved for trips across town, you'll want to bring Google Maps along on your next journey to the Smithsonian. Mountain View just added 20 US museums to its battery of 10,000 indoor schematics, including the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cincinnati Museum Center, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, 17 Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo in DC. You can find the plans for any venue by searching or hitting the current location button once you're on site, and Google plans to continue growing its collection, with SFMOMA, The Phillips Collection, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the National WWII Museum in New Orleans set to join soon. Meanwhile, institutions interested in joining forces with Google can use the company's Floor Plans tool to get the process started. Full details are at the source link below.
KonnectUs cloud-based software makes easy cross-platform sharing a reality, we swoon (video)
Last year, we expressed a yearning for something we called the Continuous Client that would allow us to pick up on one device where we left off on another, and in less than a year we saw the advent of HP's "Touch-to-share" technology, but our dreams weren't fully fulfilled -- we longed for a platform that would offer seamless sharing across all of our devices. Well, it's like we rubbed a bottle and KonnectUs popped out. The cloud-based software is a collaborative effort between Sensus and Open Exhibits that enables you to transfer files and information across platforms -- including Windows, iOS, and Android -- with a simple swipe of your finger. As it turns out, KonnectUs was built with museums in mind, but the company is offering APIs for integration into third party applications -- so maybe the perfect world isn't that far off after all. Oh, that's right -- we still don't have a robot to shake our martinis after a hard day at the office. Video after the break.
Google Art Project offers gigapixel images of art classics, indoor Street View of museums
Google's been hard at work over the past 18 months on something not many of us have been paying attention to lately: art. Specifically, the search giant has hooked up with 17 art museums around the world to offer tours of their internal galleries, using its familiar Street View tricycles, while also doing high-res images of 1,061 artworks that may be viewed on the newly launched Art Project web portal. Also there, you will find 17 special gigapixel images -- 7,000-megapixel versions of each participating venue's proudest possession. The resulting level of detail is nothing short of astounding and we've got videos of how it's all done after the break.
Bring your iPhone for SCVNGR hunts around museums and universities
SCVNGR looks like an interesting idea for an iPhone app: It's sort of a virtual scavenger hunt, composed of a series of "challenges" at certain real-life places that are found via the GPS on your iPhone. When the iPhone first released with GPS, the idea of a real-life MMO was something I wanted to see, and while SCVNGR (on the App Store for free) seems targeted more towards exploration than actual gaming, it's definitely something that should get you to exploring your world a little differently. Lots of organizations have already jumped in to make up some challenges, and this note, about how a few LA museums got their challenges, caught my eye. If you're looking for something fun to do with the family this holiday weekend and want a new iPhone-based twist on the usual museum tour, SCVNGR might be just the thing.
