Verizon and Cooper Hewitt Call on Innovators to Create Interactive Museum Experiences
October 22 2020 - 9:26AM
Verizon and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s Interaction
Lab, are calling on creators and technology entrepreneurs to build
interactive tools that redefine the way people visit, interact with
and learn from museums. Launching later this fall, Activating
Smithsonian Open Access will award $10,000 commissions to up to six
teams to build working prototypes. Using 2D and 3D digitized
collection objects from the Smithsonian Open Access Initiative, the
selected teams will develop experiences with support from Verizon,
Cooper Hewitt, and industry mentors and be given the opportunity to
develop and test their applications at Verizon’s 5G Labs. With
COVID-19 making physical distance the new norm, Cooper Hewitt will
look to continue developing successful prototypes to be integrated
into the museum’s digital offerings, as remote extensions of the
museum-going experience. Sign up here!
“As our first public commissioning venture for the Interaction
Lab, we’re thrilled to be supporting independent creators and teams
in creating new digital tools and immersive experiences with
Smithsonian's incredible library of Open Access collections. Not
only does this offer new approaches to engaging new audiences, but
also represents a new way of working at Cooper Hewitt,” says
Carolyn Royston, Cooper Hewitt’s Chief Experience Officer.
Verizon Launches AR Museum Experience
Verizon has already utilized the Smithsonian Open Access
Initiative’s collection to aid parents, students and teachers
looking for new and engaging educational content. Verizon is
offering a first wave of content that brings to life artifacts
housed across Smithsonian’s network of museums and galleries.
Verizon’s 5G Labs and RYOT, Verizon Media’s next generation
immersive studio, used augmented reality (AR) and narrated audio to
complement 3D assets made available to the public by the
Smithsonian.
You can now point your phone or tablet at a QR code, and the
museum artifact will virtually jump out of your device onto the
table. Imagine learning all about how the woolly mammoth became
extinct while walking around its skeleton in 3D from various
angles. The first wave of Verizon’s experiences also includes
content and artifacts about Hellen Keller, Anne Sullivan, the
Wright Flyer, and a Supernova to name a few. These next gen content
experiences, created by Verizon Media Immersive - the largest
online XR platform for advertising and content, powered by 5G - can
be accessed via webAR by visiting Verizon 5G Labs and Yahoo!
Life which will feature a special QR code to place the museum
artifact in one’s space.
“Whether kids have returned to the classroom or are remote
learning, we need to think of new ways technology can help them
engage with educational content,” said Sanyogita Shamsunder, Vice
President of Technology Development and 5G Labs at Verizon.
“Activating Smithsonian Open Access is a great step forward toward
immersive, interactive, and remote experiences made with the
creative community. Verizon’s new AR museum sets the stage for even
more amazing enhancements when paired with the massive bandwidth
and low latency of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network.” Verizon 5G
Ultra Wideband is now available in parts of 55 cities.
Moving the World Forward Though Action
Verizon recently unveiled its Citizen Verizon
responsible business plan which includes an education
platform geared towards grades K-12 that will address the new
hybrid learning models emerging from COVID-19. The platform will
support district leaders, teachers, parents and students; enhance
teacher resources with a focus on remote learning and expert tech
guidance for districts; provide parents with digital literacy
training; and offer engaging content for under-resourced youth.
Learn more about Verizon 5G technology here.
About VerizonVerizon Communications Inc. (NYSE,
Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is celebrating its 20th
year as one of the world’s leading providers of technology,
communications, information and entertainment products and
services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around
the world, Verizon generated revenues of $131.9 billion in 2019.
The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on
its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’
demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and
control.
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About Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and
experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs,
master’s program, publications and online resources inspire,
educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the
Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education and
research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum
Mile in the historic, landmark Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of
the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over
210,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup
dating to about 1100 BC to contemporary 3D-printed objects and
digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the
importance of design and its power to change the world. Cooper
Hewitt knits digital into experiences to enhance ideas, extend
reach beyond museum walls and enable greater access,
personalization, experimentation and connection.
http://www.cooperhewitt.org/
The Interaction Lab is an embedded R&D program driving
the reimagining of Cooper Hewitt’s audience experience, across
digital, physical, and human interactions. Since its Fall 2019
launch, the Lab has injected new ideas into the museum’s work
through internal workshopping and strategy, an extremely successful
public program series merging interactive design and museum
practice, and a commissioning program that engages the design
community as creative collaborators in creating the next wave of
the Cooper Hewitt experience.
Media
Contacts:Chris
Ashraf christina.moon.ashraf@verizon.com201.320.4259Twitter:
@ChrisMoonPR
Laurie BohlkCooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design
Museumbohlkl@si.edu
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