The Modern Wing...Is it Up to Date?

The Modern Wing

Two days ago, I went to The Modern Wing at The Art Institute of Chicago, with my class. We were there to observe the technology used within the new wing and also the museum as a whole.

Overall, for the modern wing being modern and all, I was disappointed with the lack of technology. The coolest part of the new wing is the Education Center:Ryan Education Center. There is a kids discovery zone in the "Family Room" which supports four computers with interactive games for the kids. Also in the education wing is poorley planned studios and classrooms that have technology like big screen TVs, projectors, DVD players, etc. The blinds themselves are technology and controlled by remote control. The Space is used by kids, families, teachers, and educators. The space is still up and coming and I dont think it has fully discovered it's full potential.

On the website for the education center there are introduction videos, podcasts,and Musecasts. These videos can help prepare an individual or group to coming to the museum.

A cool piece of technology in the Museum is a thing called Pathfinder, which can be accesed on the website of ARTIC under Visit on the top of the web page. The Pathfinder will show you where all the collections are, how to get them from where you are, closets bathrooms, audio guides, and information is located among other things.

Some negative sides of the Pathfinder is the signs leading to them or even explaining what they do. People have the thought "that things in museums should not be touched or played with" and the Pathfinders need to break that thought!

Audio Tours are also available to the visitor, they are located within a few places of the museum. The tours come in two languages and have about two different codes to plug in each exhibit. You can play the tour at any time...by playing the correct numbers.

There are four different tours as well

"Four tours are available:

Director's Tour
Join Art Institute Director and President James Cuno as he discusses a selection of the most significant works in the collection. This tour has 40 stops.

American Arts Tour
Explore American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the colonial period to the 20th century.

Lions Trail Family TourThe Lions Trail tour is designed for children ages 5 to 10 for an informative, dramatic, and fun tour of the collection. Listen in English or Spanish. This tour has 32 stops.

Collection Highlights
Listen to informative commentary on works representing 5,000 years of human artistic achievement. Collection highlights include art from the following areas: China, Japan, Korea, India, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Ancient Egypt and the Near East, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and Europe (Renaissance to Modern). In the Modern Wing, hear about 20th century and contemporary works–in some cases, from the voices of the artists themselves.

One of the employees who was stationed at the Audio Guides booth said that people do use the guides and explained briefly how they are used to me, since I have never used one myself.

To refer back to my mention of Podcasts the link is

http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/podcasts/index.html

Musecasts are

http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/podcasts/musecast/index.html

Videos are

http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/podcasts/video/index.html

Educational Videos etc.. are

http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/podcasts/video/education_videos/index.html

If I Was to Design a Museum...

I would create an application for and iPod Touch. The application and program would have audio tours similar to the ones you offer now but you can choose to play them by clicking the picture of the piece of art work you wanted to hear about. Also the pathfinder would integrated so you can have the directions to your next location in the palm of your hands:

Also I would have more things for people to touch and play with like the interactive spiderweb in one of the exhibits in the Modern Wing. The iPod touch would also have information stocked in it. As well as updates on lectures, events, and tours that may be happening while that visitor is in the museum, sorta like text messages.

I just wish museums were more hands on.