Museum-L'ers,

I have been following this thread with interest as employing
technology in exhibits, especially computers is what I do
for a living.  First, I want to say that I do not feel that
technology is the answer to every exhibit or interpretive
situation.  "Real objects" and interpretation by trained
staff blow just about every other method out of the water.

Here are some of the issues mentioned:

1. Maintenance.

If you are getting a new computer interactive, be specific
about how long the warranty for equipment is and how it will
be fixed.  Will you have to pack up the computer and ship it
back every time it acts goofy?  Often, the only warranty
discussed relates to the computer hardware.  Ask about the
software warranty, if it's a custom program you're paying
for... establish how bugs in the software will be fixed and
make sure that the programmer knows that ultimately, it's
their responsibility to find and fix bugs.  Get an
installable (setup.exe) copy of the software in case your
system crashes and you need to re-install it yourself.  Find
out exactly what the necessary components of the software
are, images, video clips, executables, etc. and make sure
you get a backup of all of them.  Remember, 5 years from now
when your computer crashes and you can no longer find the
programmer... if you don't have these things you might as
well write the exhibit off.  Software is the key element of
a computer interactive.

Also, remember that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of cure."  Some of my clients balk at my recommendations to
purchase a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) for their
exhibit computers (that they got from someone else - I
always provide them).  They pinch pennies forgetting that
the extra $100 they spend for a UPS is going to protect
$3,000 to $5,000+ of equipment.  Many facilities I visit
tell me about regular power problems, and these are the ones
they are aware of.  Aquariums are probably the worst with
their big pump motors, chillers, heaters, etc. kicking on
and off all the time.  It's a miracle that the computer even
runs at all.  :)

2. "Detailed, layered and complicated" information in the
interactive software.

This is one of the biggest mistakes I see and this is why it
is important to use a software designer/programmer with
experience developing software for museum interactive
exhibits.  Regular programmers just don't get it, and the
design burden ends up being dumped on your staff.  Just
because you have a 4 gigabyte hard drive, doesn't mean that
you need to fill it with thousands of pages of text and
pictures and video.  Is the computer to be used as a
"resource workstation" (sitting down) or an exhibit
interactive (standing)?  This will determine the amount of
content you should develop.  Next _focus_ on exactly what
you want to say.  Break up this information into simple
topics (modules) and keep the detail to a minimum.  Many of
my clients get very excited about the multimedia
capabilities of the computer and forget that a visitor isn't
going to want to spend 20 or even 10 minutes stuck at a
computer.  Keep it simple, streamline your content and make
your point(s)  The biggest advantage that a computer has
over wall labels and video tapes is that it allows the
visitor to get more detail and explore what interests _them_
the most, but don't overdo it.  You can't teach your
visitors everything you want them to learn, but if you focus
on what points are important they will walk away learning
something.  Don't be afraid to repeat information contained
on wall labels or even in other program modules.
Remember... some people will walk up to a computer and
ignore a wall graphic (and vice versa).  Just because you
offer 5 choices from the "main menu", that doesn't mean that
your visitor will go through each one of them.  Use the
computers multimedia capabilities (sound, pictures, video)
to "re-phrase" interpretive information visually.  Use a
diagram or an animated sequence to get a point across, not
blocks of endless text.  Repeatedly pressing "Next Page"
does not classify a software program as interactive.

Well, I've rambled on, but like I said, this is what I do
for a living.  I respect your opinions and experiences and
hope to see more of this thread.

Mark C. Vang
Freya Ventures
www.freyaventures.com
[log in to unmask]