American history 2.0

Recently I took part in a “Smithsonian 2.0” conference about the future of the Smithsonian’s digital presence. In attendance were many of my colleagues from other museums and offices around the Institution and a group of invited guests representing some of the foremost thinkers on digital technology in the commercial, educational, and non-profit arenas. Over two days we had opportunities to share prior accomplishments and works-in-progress, dream up new possibilities, and address challenges and obstacles. (You can learn more and see video on the conference site, or follow the conversation on Twitter.)

After spending a morning viewing and evaluating some of the Smithsonian’s current digital projects (including two of our museum’s recent efforts, the new Star-Spangled Banner online exhibition and our History Explorer site for teachers), the outside participants were sent on behind-the-scenes tours of Smithsonian collections. In hindsight, this turned out to be a brilliant move by the conference organizers, and set the tone for the rest of the meeting.

Handball used by Abraham Lincoln. Photo by Bob Kupbens.

I tagged along as one enthusiastic group toured the political history and jazz history collections at our own American History museum. Their sense of excitement at seeing Abraham Lincoln’s handball which he used for recreation, or a manuscript written in the hand of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, was infectious. They delighted in asking questions of our capable curatorial staff and getting a sense of how the museum comes to acquire certain artifacts and how we know what we know about them. Others who went to the National Museum of Natural History told of their marvel as one of their scientists used a chunk of meteorite to, in their words, “tell the story of the universe in five minutes.”

These experiences provided several lessons and reminders. First is the fact that authentic artifacts have a power that will never fully be replaced by their digital facsimiles. But beyond that, the group was collectively energized to figure out how the Smithsonian can, in the words of one participant, “bottle up the experience” of exploring the storage cabinets in the presence of both knowledgeable guides and fellow enthusiasts. Of course, relatively few will ever have the privilege of doing so in person, but technology can approximate the experience for millions of users. This will involve a continued commitment to providing digital information, tools, and experiences in both adequate quantity and quality, while maximizing limited resources. Indeed, many argue that we must do this to remain relevant in the 21st century.

This blog is just one of our efforts to reach out in new ways. You can also now access the museum via Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and YouTube. What else do you think we should be doing to extend the museum experience to virtual visitors?

Matthew MacArthur is Director of New Media at the National Museum of American History.

Comments

[Ferry]

This article is so good so we know really the history back there.
Thanks for bringing the Smithsonian to us

[Tyler]

Social networks, media, and online technologies can try to replace the feeling of seeing a tangible item however it cannot. We judge everything with our five senses: scent, sight, hear, touch, taste. Im not saying all five senses are used every time, but if your experiencing stuff online you are only getting part of the experience. Media technology cannot replace real time presence!

[chandler]

I Agree, The use of technology such as a virtual tour for the general public would be awesome. I am in the Real Estate business and can tell you making a virtual tour is not that hard but the pay offs are great.

[Magento]

Matt,I Agree, The use of technology such as a virtual tour for the general public would be awesome. The Smithsonian is just the greatest!!! Keep up the good work.

[Daniel Stoica]

Totally agree that "authentic artifacts have a power that will never fully be replaced by their digital facsimiles."

In lieu of visiting and seeing the authentic artifacts, their digital facsimiles serve as wonderful conversation and educational material.

Thank You!

[Julie]

The Smithsonian is one of my absolute favorite museums in the world! Our last visit we gave ourselves a week to explore all the different buildings - but it STILL wasn't enough time. We had a blast though! I love that they are beginning to explore their digital presence for the future! It should make things so much more interesting!

[Dennis Marshall]

That what you said about true artifacts never being replaced by digital facsimiles is true in every since of the word. Every thing is getting the 2.0 makeover these days but we can not forget our roots.

[Melbourne]

That's awesome. Trust the US to lead the charge with blending old and new.

Great initiative!

[belajar di rumah]

Hello Matthew, nice post that you have about the Smithsonian’s digital presence, I think, given the sophisticated technology will be a positive value in future, hopefully useful tool for people's lives ...

[Thom Noble]

Long Live the Smithsonian. I remember when i was in air and space museum and the enjoyment i had from seeing and touching asteroids and trying the flight sim... just awesome, now i do think visiting the smithsonian via facebook would rock^^

[hawk]

I think it's a great idea make the Smithsonian's exhibits accessible in as many ways as possible. Most people will never travel to the physical location to the museum, but would really appreciate seeing the exhibits.

[Thousand Oaks]

I know what you mean about artifacts having power. I visited Pompei and the artifacts there were extremely powerful. I have tried to explain it to people, but I know they don't get it. I think they would if they actually viewed them.

[eskimobeats]

Great article. Digitizing info is definitely the way to go to preserve our knowledge for the future generations, and also to make it available to a wider audience. I have always wanted to go to the SI but I'm pretty sure I'll never get a chance, so this is great!

[John Ward]

Well done for making me aware that the Smithsonian was now available to the world.

It's easy to see that you are wholeheartedly committed to developing your collections to best serve the community. Keep up the great work.

[Cha]

Thanks for your thoughts, Matt. I think in large institutions like Smithsonian where people stay for years, there is considerably more caution when it comes to embracing new ways of doing things! excellent project!

[izle]

Great post Matt! I love the Smithsonian Institute and the American History Museum, having first visted them as a ten year old boy with my parents. Hopefully, the SI will continue to expand its digital presence to the American public.

[Joe]

One of the things I like best about digitizing museums is the fact that most museums simply have more works of art to display then they have have room to display them. Which means its a crap shoot what you get to see when you do visit a museum. Digitizing museums would change that, especially if the museum would put beside the artifact or piece of art when it was scheduled to be put out on display. This would make it very easy for people to schedule to see certain works of arts or artifacts.

[tarryn]

Hi from South Africa had no idea I could visit Smithsonian online, know it well from watching "Bones" with the kids. Look forward to visiting, thanks!

[Chris Butryn]

I agree with Bruce above. It would be wonderful to be able to peruse the text of ALL of your exhibits, online. This would be such a fantastic, fun resource. Nothing can replace seeing artifacts in person, and it may even entice more visitors to attend in order to see in person the things they have read about online.

[Bryan K. Watts]

It is amazing the technological advancements that we have seen in just the last 10 years. While there is no substitute for actually experiencing the Smithsonian in person, Facebook and Twitter do make it accessible to those who might not have access to it otherwise.

[Raman Aurora]

The Smithsonian has always intrigued me and I wish to visit it soon. Thank you for this blog.

[adine]

I was worried that when my wife and I recently visited the reopened museum there was a tremendous "wow" factor, but little context for the artifacts.

[John Walker]

This is just the beginning for social media to really exploit resources like museums that are set in stone so to speak.

With the combination of social media and video technology it will sure be beneficial for users worldwide (I,m from Ireland) to be able to access such places via your sitting room so to speak.

A suggestion for virtual interaction which I have noticed now in other industries is actual 3d virtual tours. There are virtual shopping malls now created and virtual trade shows. I am yet to fully use any of these features but they look impressive and it seems to be the future.

Live streaming of course too is very popular online and many concerts that are held on the other side of the world are being streamed to cinemas to a location closer to home.

With Google and Apple TV now coming online it will be interesting to see what features they provide and how they will be utilized.

John

[Ben]

I think this will be an excellent opportunity for those who may never have the chance to actually visit the museum to get to experience a little bit of what has made the Smithsonian so great for so long. I look forward to hearing more about this.

[Thornhill]

It's funny, the same thing is happening in medicine. Seeing digital MRI's and x-rays isn't the same as seeing the original. being able to move it, rotate it, hold it at a different angle. Digital facsimile's are great, but they lose context. The question is whether the value of the lost context is outweighed by the value of the convenience and speed of digital recall.