I’ve just read Shelley Bernstein’s response to the NY Times “From Picassos to Sarcophagi, Guided by Phone Apps” article over on the Brooklyn Museum blog and she brings up some great points about the use of emergent technology and experimentation.

Edward Rothstein at the Times didn’t seem to be too impressed by any of the apps he tried, and from a contextual or information standpoint, he may have a point. If you are looking for an extended, interactive version of the wall plaques that detail the artist’s life, history, and context, these apps may fall short. But in our work designing interactive exhibits, we’ve found that it is the social component that can make or break an exhibit, and the Brooklyn Museum is pushing how mobile technologies connect people through the art they’re viewing as well as inform them about that art.

If used well, these new technologies can change the museum from a place where people connect with exhibits in solitude (audio tour headphones on, reading quietly to themselves, or quietly tapping a single computer screen) to a place where people are able to actively connect, recommend and participate with other visitors and the exhibit. Enabling a “like” or similar feature, as the Brooklyn Museum has done, allows visitors to connect long after they leave the museum floor. And such connections aren’t just wishful thinking; as Ms. Bernstein points out, the app statistics show that people are actually using the Like feature to find and recommend objects to other visitors.

Such connections may add to the “scarcely literate cybergraffiti” for Mr. Rothstein, but to us, they’re what make facebook, twitter, and a new crop of interactive museum technologies exciting: the ability to share with and learn from people you know personally and the opportunity to forge new personal connections over shared exhibit interests.

Of course there’s always room to grow, especially when working with new and largely untried technologies. Even if the concept is perfect, technological, networking, and financial limitations often frustrate the creation of that ur-application or exhibit. The perfect museum app might well act as Wikipedia, Share This!, FourSquare and a brilliant curator all in one. But we’d like to give a thumbs up to the Brooklyn Museum for having the guts to experiment with these technologies in a thoughtful and interesting way.

I went out this weekend to the newly renovated Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). Each of three disciplines (art, history and natural sciences) occupies its own floor, and the exhibit space for each is currently undergoing extensive remodeling. The art and history galleries are set to open in May, and both sections now feature a custom MT-50 multitouch table.

The history table has custom rust-colored panels, which look great with the antique California maps, gold rush-era artifacts and wood panelling that surrounds it. The history table will feature a custom mapping application, built using Flash and GestureWorks, that will allow visitors to explore points of interest in California–centered on a historical map–and magnify them using a component built specially for the app.

The art table is currently in a section of the gallery that features folk and outsider art. With its sleek white panels, it fits right in, and Stamen Design is creating a custom application for the table that allows visitors to further explore California artists. Rather than go with the standard art gallery neutrals, OMCA has chosen to paint certain walls throughout the gallery vivid colors (you can see that golden wall in the image above), and the effect is really striking.

The museum opening is May 1st -2nd. If you’re in the Bay Area, you should definitely come check out the museum’s amazing remodel for yourself!

Ideum is featured in latest issue of Santa Fe’s Trend Magazine.  ”Trend explores and celebrates the unique and fascinating intermingling of cultural influences, tradition, and innovation in art, architecture, and design—in Santa Fe, the Southwest, and beyond.”  The article talks about our multitouch table and other interactive exhibits in the magazine’s Business Profiles section. You can see the article here.

Just yesterday I heard the news that Bob Miller died on Sunday. He was an artist, exhibit developer and educator, and an important part of the Exploratorium experience. Bob developed the inspirational “Sun Painting” exhibit where sunlight goes through a series of mirrors and prisms to create a dynamic “painting.”

Years ago, I was lucky enough to participate in one of Bob’s famous “Light Walks.” You can see the online version for a description of the light walk, but it is only that – a description. For those who’ve participated, the light walk is a powerful experience and a Website hardly does it justice. While I don’t know how many people have been lucky enough to participate in this walk with Bob over the years, I was happy to see a post on the Exploratorium Explainers Blog talking about going on the light walk just last September.

Another blog post at Asymptotia, Remembering Bob Miller includes a great article about Bob Miller written by K.C. Cole. Bob Miller will be missed.

I just read a post from MuseumLab blog which directed to me to the Dashboard on the newly redesigned Indianapolis Museum of Art website. The concept of a “Dashboard” isn’t new, in fact there is even a book on Dashboard Design, but this the first time I’ve come across a dashboard in the museum world, and I have to say it is pretty interesting.

A combination of Web statistics, visitor and collections information, and even a monthly average of the museum’s electric consumption can be found on the IMA’s Dashboard. Clicking through to “more” doesn’t provide any additional information about the particular item, but it does take you to a page that lists which dashboard items have been recently updated.

There is also a comment feature, but I didn’t come across any comments, probably because the redesign is still new and registration is required to post. Also, there is an RSS Feed available on the Dashboard, but unfortunately this appears to be static. Still even with these minor issues, this a great example of a museum presenting basic information about the institution in a dynamic and unconventional way.

I just posted a review of the Second Life version of the City of Dresden’s Old Masters Picture Gallery on the ExhibitFiles site. Touring this formal museum space was an interesting experience, made even more so given my company. My good friend and Second Life artist, DanCoyote, was kind enough to show me around and share his insights about this virtual world.

Following our trip to the virtual Picture Gallery, we toured DanCoyote’s latest installation, Full Immersion Hyperformalism. The ExhibitFiles review contains links (SLURLs) to both spaces in Second Life along with pictures of our tour.