5 Clients Who Built the Coolest Apps in 2018
This year we decided to end 2018 with a celebration of our clients: their excellent research, engaging and meaningful interpretation, and innovative design. We often humblebrag about the creative ways clients use the CultureConnect platform to build apps on their own. So, we thought we should truly shine a light on some of the best examples of their #MuseTech genius in 2018.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Engagement Type: Enterprise License
Project: Discriminating Thieves | Advanced Interactive | 32” Touch Display
Why We Love It: Discriminating Thieves is not only beautiful in its style and design but also, it’s intention. The Nelson-Atkins team breaks down how four paintings came to to be in the permanent collection. This application focuses in on provenance as the main narrative, showing how each artwork was victim to the Nazi’s systemic attack on the property and lives of Jewish families. It follows each artwork through restitution and ultimately, the legal sale to the museum. The exhibition and application are an outstanding example of historical accountability and transparency, acting both as an accounting but also, a didactic tool for other institutions researching their own collections.
Further resources on provenance standards:
The application includes historical images, video, and documentation which helps track the change of ownership and geographic location for each artwork.
Five primary questions asked about each artwork:
- From whom was the work stolen?
- Why was it stolen?
- Where was it during the war?
- How do we know this?
- How did the work come to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art?
Discriminating Thieves was built using the Advanced Interactive product and will be displayed in-gallery on a 32-inch device for the run of the exhibition, Discriminating Thieves (January 26, 2019 – January 26, 2020).
The Nelson-Atkins interpretation and digital teams use the Enterprise License to build many in-gallery applications for permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Want to see more? Let us know and we can connect you with the team behind Discriminating Thieves.
The Marine Mammal Center
Engagement Type: Project Engagement
Project: Necropsy | Advanced Interactive | MS Surface Pro touch display
Why We Love It: The Marine Mammal Center advances global ocean conservation through marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research, and education. The Necropsy application tackles a difficult subject: what happens when we lose a patient through illness or injury?
The Necropsy application is divided into three categories:
1 – Vet Detective
Vet Detective introduces the visitor to common symptoms or red flags that alert veterinarians to specific injuries and illnesses during an admit exam or necropsy (or, an autopsy, for animals). Visitors read about common injuries to the brain, heart, stomach, and flippers.
The Marine Mammal Center’s veterinarians investigate why animals get sick and die. By diagnosing disease and injury, their team is able to save future patients.
2 – Scientific Breakthroughs
Scientific Breakthroughs introduces three unique and potentially fatal diseases that affect marine mammals and humans: Cancer, Domoic Acid Toxicosis, and Leptospirosis. The application introduces each disease, potential causes, symptoms, and where the research currently stands.
Studying marine mammals helps to save future patients but also, reveals information about our ocean health and environmental red flags. The Marine Mammal Center often partners with human health researchers and other wildlife ecologists when tackling disease outbreaks.
3 – Saving Species Around the Globe
While The Marine Mammal Center’s headquarters is in Sausalito, California, their work has global reach. Their experts are part of a global network focused on training and research to better understand and treat marine mammals. The application shows how their work has impacted marine mammals in Cape Code, Guadalupe Island, Chile, Antarctica, and South Korea.
The Necropsy application is displayed outside the lab where veterinarians and scientists perform necropsies. The team used Advanced Interactive layout systems and displays for the application on a Microsoft Surface Pro touchscreen.
We encourage everyone to check out The Marine Mammal Center’s website and learn more about changes you can make in your daily lives to have a positive impact on the ocean and marine mammals, but also to find out different ways to contribute through volunteering, fundraising, or adopting marine mammals!
New Orleans Museum of Art
Engagement Type: Client DIY after initial Project Engagement
Project: Poets for Art Tour | Mobile Guide | Various Smartphone Devices
Why We Love It: We consider the New Orleans Museum of Art education and interpretation team power users. Not only do they launch new interactives for key artworks every year, they often build new mobile tours in response to current interests and educational programming. Every April during National Poetry Month, the worlds of literature and art merge at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Teens from around the Greater New Orleans area are invited to participate in a writing workshop with professional poets during which they tour the museum and write poems inspired by what they see in the galleries. This tour features poems by teens to be enjoyed in front of the work of art that inspired them. The poems are reproduced just as they were submitted for publication.
NOMA’s digital program includes this dynamic mobile guide format as well as ten digital labels produced and installed throughout the museum galleries. Want to speak to someone on the NOMA team and hear how they went from no digital program to an award-winning digital leader among southeast museums? Reach out here.
Mississippi Museum of Art
Engagement Type: Client DIY after initial Project Engagement
Highlighted Project: Teacher Resources | Mobile Guide | Various Smartphone Devices
Why We Love It: The Mississippi Museum of Art thoughtfully includes Teacher Resource tours to accompany exhibitions tours. Stops on the tour includes pre-trip prep, a list of logistical information and contacts, as well as student activities for before, during, and after the field trip.
The current Teacher Resources tour is focused on the exhibition, Jeffrey Gibson: Like A Hammer which runs until January 27, 2019. Visitors are prompted to download the mobile guide but they can also borrow devices for use onsite. Read more in the Mississippi Museum of Art Case Study. And, check out the tour on their web application or by downloading the app from the Google Play Store or iTunes.
Alexandria Museum of Art
Engagement Type: Client DIY after initial Project Engagement
Project: Family Tour and Louisiana Women Making History Tour | Mobile Guide | Various Smartphone Devices
Why We Love It: You may be noticing a theme here – we love when museums get creative and create targeted or thematic tours (especially when they are empowered to take the reins and build the tours themselves!). The Alexandria Museum of Art (Alexandria, Louisiana) team created a dedicated tour for families providing tips for navigating the museum as a family. Need help explaining the art to your kids? Want ideas about starting a conversation? Look no further than the Alexandria Museum of Art mobile guide. It’s all there.
The museum team has continued experimenting with their tours. Most recently, they launched Louisiana Women Making History. While most tours take an artwork- or object-first approach, here the entry point is the artist. The curator selected women artists from Louisiana’s history as the narrative starting point and introduction to related works by the artist in the collection. Profiling artists Alberta Kinsey, Caroline Durieux, Clementine Hunter, Clyde Connell, and Ida Kohlmeyer, visitors are encouraged to better understand the artist’s biography, art practice, legacy, and finally, artworks within the Alexandria Museum of Art collection. Check out the web application here.
Connect with the CultureConnect team if you want to learn more about these projects, the platform that powers the apps and empowers our client teams, or to connect with a client team directly.
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