Do you have an MBA...or would you rather ride a roller coaster?

I must admit that I love to ride a roller coaster.  I like nothing better than to go to an amusement park or theme park and "ride the rides", but things are changing for me.  The change started for me at the National Air & Space Museum, at Epcot Center, in Las Vegas, and many other destination sites around the country.  Media Based Attractions (MBA) are everywhere and as technology gets better, we will see more and more of these attractions.  The museum community has embraced this technology, and they are using it to bring more people through the doors.

These attractions are set in a theater and are combined with a sensory presentation that will transport you to another time, place or even an alternate reality.  Click the link to see the "Blooloop.com" article Rise of the MBAs: The next generation of entertainment experiences.


http://bit.ly/cbhuPl


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Are you planning a traveling exhibition?

If you are planning your first traveling exhibition, or if you have been traveling exhibitions for years you will want to read this book.  On The Road Again: Developing and Managing Traveling Exhibitions by Rebecca Buck and Jean Gilmore is a must read.

This is what you need to know about traveling an exhibition to multiple venues.  In the first section you will find definitive information on every aspect of putting a show on the road.  The second section shows case studies from real life.

You can find more information on Amazon.com at http://amzn.to/dm2XrN

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Tour Guide vs Mobile App.

So now that everyone has considered using a mobile app to get your message across, maybe you would like to know how a mobile app compares to a friendly tour guide.  Click on the link to see an article from The Museum of the Future.  Charming tour guide versus mobile 3D AR app

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Are you part of the "Apps Culture"?

Are you an adult? If so, the Pew Research Center believes that there is an 82% chance that you are a cell phone user.  What surprised me was that almost one quarter of adults in the US " now live in a household that has a cell phone but no landline phone".

It appears that the wide embrace of mobile technology has led to an "apps culture".  The cell phone has become a mini-computer allowing us to access the internet from anywhere.  Because of the widespread use of smart-phones, mobile-software applications or "apps" have developed into a large and ever expanding market.

Many institutions, organizations and businesses make apps available to the public in an effort make it easier to obtain information.  If your organization provides an app or is thinking about providing an app, you may want to see the stats available from Pew Research Center Publications.  Click the link to read their article "Rise of the "Apps Culture".

http://bit.ly/bYW1kf

Here is a link to The Hermitage museum's app for IPad.     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7bYwXR70rY&feature=fvw

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Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing

This past Sunday was your last chance to see  Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment. at the National Museum of American History...but don't worry, it is going on the road.  See a behind-the-scenes look at how this exhibit was created and where it is going next.

NMAAHC Apollo Theater                                                                                                                    

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Jim Henson's legacy on tour.

Take a look at this Scrapbook Special. It is a wonderful episode on "Jim Henson's Fantastic World", an exhibition currently being toured by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. This video will give you a look into the life and career of Jim Henson and his legacy.

See why 370,000 people saw this exhibition when it was in Washington, DC.

http://www.orangetv1.net/musicvideo.php?vid=641505845


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Are you using QR Tags?

We have begun to see QR tags (a type of bar code) everywhere. I see them in a couple of the magazines that I read all the time. You can scan a tag with a smart phone and you receive access to additional information. This additional information might be text, or pictures, or anything you can upload to the web.

The link below will take you to a story about a creative way QR tags are being used to sell real estate. How can they be used to tell the story of an exhibition or a single piece of art?

http://fields.eca.ac.uk/totem/?p=503

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Social Media and your staff.

Does your institution use social media? Do you believe in the effectiveness of Twitter? If you do, and you also believe that the best advocates for your programs are the people that actually make them happen, you should look at this article from the Brooklyn Museum.

The article is about a service that allows your people to tell the story of your programs and exhibits. Please let me know what you think of this service.

http://bit.ly/9AJ44P

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Can you see the future?

It will be hazy, hot and humid in Washington, DC tomorrow. This is not a difficult prediction, it is always hazy, hot and humid in Washington during the summer.

Knowing the future of your museum is much more difficult. It is easy to know what you would like to happen, but seeing into that crystal ball is still a fairy tale.

Click on the link below and you can see what Ford Bell, the President of the American Association of Museums thinks we might see.

http://youtu.be/TKSQVrBBRlU

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