An examination of the emerging technologies that are expected to have a large impact in the museum world during the coming five years. Looking at the 2010 and 2011 Museum Edition of the Horizon Report. I give insights into which of these technologies I think are best suited to Arkansas museums given key trends and significant challenges.

1. Emerging Technologies for Museums
Heather Marie Wells
Education Technology Coordinator
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

2. Agenda
• Who and what
• Key trends
• Significant challenges
• The technologies

3. The New Media Consortium
• International community of experts
• Colleges, universities, museums, research centers, etc.
• Mission: to help members stay at the leading edge of
technology
• Research, publications, conferences, and workshops

4. MIDEA
• Edward and Betty Marcus
Institute for Digital Education in
the Arts, founded in 2009
• Meets the needs of art
museums, university arts and
museum education programs
• Severs museum professionals
through research, training, and
resources regarding the
application of technology in
interpretation and education

5. Horizon Report

6. Key Trends
• It's expected.
• Rich media is a valuable.
• Abundance is challenging.
• Visitors want an active role.
• Desire of access to
collections data.
• Expectations of civic/social
engagement.

7. Significant Challenges
• Content production is not keeping up with
technology & expectations.
• Need for comprehensive digital strategy.
• Funding not included in operational budgets.
• Decision makers not recognize the importance of
technology.

8. Significant Challenges
• Lack of technical infrastructure & trained staff.
• Understanding the intended audience.
• How to evaluate impact of technology.

9. “The future is already here – its just not very evenly distributed.”
- William Gibson (Sci-fi/Technology author)

10. The Technologies
0 - 1 years 2 - 3 years 4 - 5 years
Augmented Reality
Gesture
Social Media
2010 Location-based Computing
Mobiles
Services Semantic Web
Digital
Mobile Apps
Augmented Reality
2011 Preservation
Tablets E-Publishing
Smart Objects

11. 10
8
Augmented Reality
Gesture UI
Semantic Web
6
Relevance
Digital Preservation
E-Publishing
Smart Objects
4 Location Services
Mobile & Tablets
Social Media
2
0
2 4 6 8 10
Accessibility

12. Semantic Web
• Allow meaning to be inferred
from content & context and
structured in a meaningful
way
• Conceptualized in the 1960s
• Create a reconnection of
context
• Examples: tagging for blogs
and images, "smart" ads

13. Digital Preservation
• Preserving the ability to
access data
• Library of Alexandria
• Remaining accessible
in the future
• DigitalPreservation.gov
by Library of Congress,
the Digital Preservation
Coalition

14. Gesture-based Computing
• Nintendo Wii (2006), iPhone
(2007), Microsoft Kinect (2010),
PlayStation Move (2010)
• Original basic research done in
the early 1960s. PDAs in the
early 1990s. Plug-ins for
browsers in the late 1990s.
• Simulated interaction with
objects
• The Create a Chemical Reaction
table at the Museum of Science
and Industry in Chicago

15. Smart Objects
• Often non-intrusive, small object
requiring no batteries, capable of
holding versatile data
• RFID explored in research papers
in the 1940s, first true device
patented in 1973; QR codes came
in the 1990s
• Endless possibilities for anytime
you want to share or exchange
data
• Old Independence Regional
Museum, Shiloh Museum of Ozark
History, Crystal Bridges

16. Augmented Reality
• Blending data with what we see
in the real world.
• Roots in the 1960s and by the
1990s very popular for
visualization, training, etc.
• Way to provide additional
content, bring the past back to
life, interact with objects you
usually can't touch
• Nelson-Atkins & Beyond Planet
Earth by American Natural
History Museum

17. Location-based Services
• Content customized to user's location
• GPS commercially available in the 80s, but took off in 2000 when
the military opened the accuracy
• Extend physical reach, connect people, advertising/marketing
• Arkansas State Parks, Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources,
and American Museum of Natural History

18. E-Publishing
• Publishing in digital formats
• Project Gutenburg started
in 1971, CD- ROMs in the
1980s, and the .epub
format in 2007.
• Repurpose existing
content, inexpensive,
various distribution outlets
• Crystal Bridges

19. Social Media
• Engaging groups of people to
interact with each other and with,
about, and through media
• Does anyone remember listservs
and discussion forms?
• Inexpensive, not time consuming,
and used for a variety of aspects
• Shiloh Museum of Ozark,
Museum of Discovery, and
Clinton Library

20. Mobiles and Apps
• Connected to the
Internet
• Cellphones became
commercial in the 1980s
• In the pocket of every
user
• Old State House, AAM,
University of Virginia Art
Museum

21. Tablets
• Less disruptive and bigger
screen
• Portable laptop systems
came in 1980s, but concept
came about in 1960s
• Connected or not, good for
group work
• Crystal Bridges, MoMA AB
EX NY, Minneapolis Institute
of Arts

22. The Technologies
0 - 1 years 2 - 3 years 4 - 5 years
Augmented Reality
Gesture
Social Media
2010 Location-based Computing
Mobiles
Services Semantic Web
Digital
Mobile Apps
Augmented Reality
2011 Preservation
Tablets E-Publishing
Smart Objects

23. Take Aways
• Make your content portable
• Start simple
• Start with something inexpensive
• Don't try to do everything
• Consider partnerships and third parties

24. Thank You for Coming
Heather Marie Wells
Education Technology Coordinator
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
HeatherMarie.Wells@CrystalBridges.org

25. Image Credits
• Johnson, L., Witchey, H., Smith, R., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2010). The 2010
Horizon Report: Museum Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Cover
photograph by Mike Baird. Creative Commons Attribution License.
• Johnson, L., Witchey, H., and Adams, S., (2011). The NMC Horizon Report: 2011
Museum Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Cover photograph ©
wxin/123RF. Creative Commons.
• William Gibson photograph by Gonzo Bonzo, March 2008.
• Semantic web photograph by Opte Project, November 2003. www.opte.org
• The Course of Empire Destruction from Wikimedia Commons.
• "John Underkoffler points to the future of UI," TEDTalk, February 2010. Full talk
available at TED.com
• Augmented Reality at Museu de Mataro by Kippelboy, April 2012