Well, it's been a little while since I first posted the idea of using digital technology to tell stories in a museum setting. Since that first post, I've gained some experience in creating museum signage, and would now like to share with you all my most recent work, a digital interpretive kiosk.

This kiosk consists of a computer tower and keyboard (which will not be publicly accessible), a computer monitor (mounted inside an old-looking trunk) which will be publicly accessible, as well a mouse which the public will use for navigation.

The computer is running a version of Ubuntu (cost: $0). The whole setup has been customized to (1) boot directly into the presentation full screen automatically and (2) to automatically disable the scroll wheel and right mouse button so that the visiting public cannot exit out of the presentation.

Here is a link to short video showing a test of the system. Let me know what you all think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwtgE2qILnw&feature=youtu.be

Well first, I love Ubuntu. I think more organizations should start looking at Linux to keep operating costs down and allow them to use older PC gear.

Now I like the use of the trunk as a frame for the display. I would simplify the controls to use a USB compatible game controller. That way you could program the keys to function as desired without any chance of the public messing with the display. I guarantee you a high-schooler could hack that box in 5 minutes otherwise.

For the actual "show", i would suggest music to liven it up. Silence is deadly for a presentation.

All in all, a good first try. I would have liked the video to show more of the trunk and less of the boot-up time.

Keep us posted.

-Chris

Check out the possibilities at:

P.I. Engineering

http://www.piengineering.com

http://www.piengineering.com/xkeys/xkswi.php

http://www.piengineering.com/access.php

-Hudson

An android tablet running a flash application would work to.

Sure, or an Ipad, but his version of the system is probably available at any Goodwill for well under $100, or if he catch somebody on a good day when they're cleaning out the pile of old computers in the garage, for free. Just about any PC would work fine for this and it has much better storage/hard drive space for things like videos and images.

When they scrapped the BC Rail electrics from Tumbler Ridge at CEECO in Tacoma, I attempted to buy one of the cabs. My intent was to create a simulator for Mt Rainier Scenic Railroad, not for training, but for something like the Operation Lifesaver displays that lets kids play engineer.

Since many of the components could be re-used, the cabs were being gutted and wouldn't have had much left. Sure, I could have cobbled something together, but the cost of doing so appeared to be surpassing my limited budget. (It never really got beyond the initial discussion stages.)

Branford Electric Rwy Ass'n. - Shore Line Trolley Museum tried using 2 antique black on white Apple computers and 1 button mice for an interactive display of maps of trolley places in Connecticut. It was a bit too simple to interest children (no bells and whistles), and too modern for the taste of the insiders who decide things. It seemed a bit like entertainment, which would violate our Museum Purpose, and the computers, while too modern for the trolley era, were old enough to be precious "Do Not Touch" museum pieces in their own right. The display was removed after less than 3 years.