Tag Archives: museums

National Museum Of Iraq Reopens As ISIS Threat Casts Dark Shadow | Co.Design

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National Museum Of Iraq Reopens As ISIS Threat Casts Dark Shadow | Co.Design | business + design

ISIS, the Sunni militant group wreaking violent havoc in Syria and Iraq, is fast extending its reach, claiming Iraqi cities as far southward as Ramadi. That dark shadow didn’t stop Iraqis in nearby Baghdad, 80 miles to the southeast, from turning out in droves last week for the re-opening of the National Museum of Iraq, closed for over a decade. According to Reuters, the museum was “packed with visitors eager to glimpse relics from happier times.”

READ MORE: National Museum Of Iraq Reopens As ISIS Threat Casts Dark Shadow | Co.Design

This Is A Floating Library. Every City Should Probably Have One. | HuffPo

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There are a few places where we dream of curling up to read a book. Mostly, these include treehouses, cozy attics and the Gilmore residence in Stars Hollow. But now there’s another: artist Beatrice Glow’s floating library. Who said water and books don’t mix?

Docked off Pier 25 in New York City beginning September 6, the library-slash-art-installation will include an outdoor reading lounge on the upper deck that will, according to its website, be “conducive to fearless dreaming.” Glow’s project will be taking over the Lilac Museum Steamship, a decommissioned steam-powered ship that once carried supplies to lighthouses and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

READ MORE: This Is A Floating Library. Every City Should Probably Have One | HuffPo

We took a nostalgic look around Seattles Living Computer Museum | Engadget

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If youre reading this site, chances are you’ve got a growing collection of obsolete, outdated tech in a closet somewhere, stuff you’re certain will be “collectors items” some day. Seattles’ Living Computer Museum, created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is full of that kind of history, detailing computer milestones from the past few decades. Earlier this month, the museum hosted its first-ever Vintage Computer Faire, a chance for tech fans to mingle and, of course, play around with a “greatest hits” collection of hardware.

VIEW GALLERY: We took a nostalgic look around Seattles Living Computer Museum | Engadget

Museums And Heritage Sites In Syria Are Under Siege | Co.Design

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Museums And Heritage Sites In Syria Are Under Siege | Co.Design | business + design

The civil war devastating Syria and spilling into Iraq has claimed yet another casualty: museums and cultural heritage sites. As evidence of destruction mounts, the international community is moving to action…

…To minimize the damage, U.S. museums are partnering with the Syrian Interim Government’s Heritage Task Force to train local curators and civilians in emergency packing and other practices designed to safeguard cultural treasures.

READ MORE: Museums And Heritage Sites In Syria Are Under Siege | Co.Design | business + design.

The real Jane Austen immortalised as waxwork | CNET

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Working from a single confirmed portrait of the Regency author, a forensic artist has created what she believes to be the most accurate representation of Jane Austen possible. READ: The real Jane Austen immortalised as waxwork | CNET

Japan’s New Robot Museum Guides Are All Too Human | Mashable

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Japans New Robots Are All Too Human

If you’re searching for the uncanny valley, look no further than the work of Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro. He has been creating humanoid robots for years, and his latest incarnation — which is so realistic its scary — will act as robot guides at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Japan Miraikan.

The museum will welcome three robots, introduced in Japan on Tuesday. There’s the youthful-looking Kodomoroid, the adult female Ontonaroid and the baby-like Telenoid. With the exception of Telenoid, these robots look remarkably lifelike, have eerily expressive faces and are designed, in a limited sense, to move and communicate like real people.

Read More: Japans New Robots Are All Too Human | Mashable

An Ingenious Museum Design That Turns Visitors Into Creators | WIRED

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An Ingenious Museum Design That Turns Visitors Into Creators | Design | WIRED

In the revamped Cooper Hewitt, still in Carnegie Mansion, there will be around 15 new interactive screen displays where users can draw, design, and virtually explore the Cooper Hewitt collection. Much of this will happen via an electronic pen conceived by Local Projects and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and designed by Cooper Hewitt, GE, Sistelnetworks and Undercurrent. Each is paired with a unique URL on the visitor’s ticket, and as guests pass through different galleries they can touch the tip of their pen to wall text next to objects they find interesting, or inspiring. The pen then stores those selections. The museum still is finalizing details, but either way what follows will be a free-flowing, open-ended experience: with their pen, visitors can download all their selected items into a screen, and begin designing.

Read More: An Ingenious Museum Design That Turns Visitors Into Creators | Design | WIRED

This Museum Gave Kids Crayon Helmets And Let Them Go Wild | Gizmodo

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If drawing on the walls at home is a no-no, drawing on the walls at a museum is a massive dont-even-think-about-it. Or it was, until the playful design duo behind Matheny Studio teamed up with Melbournes National Gallery of Victoria to create a new on-site space where kids can strap on crayon studded helmets, shoes, and all kinds of wacky gear and go completely nuts. All. Over. Everything.

READ MORE” This Museum Gave Kids Crayon Helmets And Let Them Go Wild | Gizmodo

The US is opening up the Smithsonian’s digitized art collection | Engadget

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The White House promised that it would open up government data last year, and it’s now expanding those plans in some intriguing directions. For one, it’s opening up the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s digitized collection; you’ll soon get to build apps and other tools using the institution’s artwork as a foundation. Even curators don’t have that much access right now, the administration says. via The US is opening up the Smithsonian’s digitized art collection | Engadget

From the White House Continued Progress and Plans for Open Government Data:

  • Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection: The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s entire digitized collection will be opened to software developers to make educational apps and tools. Today, even museum curators do not have easily accessible information about their art collections. This information will soon be available to everyone.

Finally, a Digital Library of Bizarre Human Bones From the Middle Ages | Gizmodo

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skull from Chichester

A spinal column with fused vertebrae. The bones of a woman with advanced syphilis. Skeletons deformed by rickets and leprosy. A fascinating online library of deformed bones from the Middle Ages goes live today—and while I didn’t even realize such a thing existed, now I can’t imagine living without it. God bless technology.

The Digit[ised] Diseases website is run by the Royal College of Surgeons in London. It brings together 3D scans of over 1,600 bone specimens taken from patients with debilitating and disfiguring conditions like rickets and leprosy, and makes them free for the public to browse. Bored on a Monday morning? Gawk at this deformed spinal column or marvel at this alien-like skull with an enlarged cranium. In the scientists’ own words, “it does not resemble any known hominid species.” Cool!

Read:  Finally, a Digital Library of Bizarre Human Bones From the Middle Ages | Gizmodo