We’re giving a big DCWEEK shout-out to the amazing people who are hosting the events, managing the projects, building the robots and sharing the big ideas that make DCWEEK such an terrific festival!
(Note – If you see any of these folks on the street during the festival, give them a high five! They deserve it!)
1. Who are you?
Smithsonian Mobile Strategy and Initiatives is a small department within the world’s largest museum and research complex, The Smithsonian Institution (SI). Dr. Nancy Proctor (Department Head), Laurie Stepp (Johns Hopkins Museum Studies student and SI Mobile intern) and Sonja Lopez (ethnomusicologist and SI volunteer), work to assist SI staff in creating innovative mobile experiences for SI visitors. We conduct studies, research new mobile developments, design projects, and help coordinate mobile across the Institution. Dr. Proctor advises on best practices and technologies, and will launch the Smithsonian Mobile App during DCWEEK.
Check here for Smithsonian mobile projects: http://www.si.edu/Connect/Mobile
2. What are you doing for DCWEEK?
Smithsonian Mobile invites DCWEEK participants to our ongoing, weekly Welcome Wednesday meeting. Each week we discuss new developments and specific Smithsonian projects in a collaborative atmosphere. For DCWEEK, SI staff from across the range of museums will present and discuss their SI mobile projects and mobile workshops.
3. Event Details
We will meet in a Smithsonian conference room, on the 4th floor of the Capitol Gallery Building, 6oo Maryland Avenue SW. It’s right at the green line L’Enfant Plaza stop, Maryland Avenue exit. We will meet from 3-5 on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
4. What does being part of DCWEEK mean to your organization?
The Smithsonian mission, set out by James Smithson in his endowment, states simply “The increase and diffusion of knowledge.” We are committed to using new media to open the Smithsonian collections, from art to zoo, to the wider public. We look for opportunities to use social media and crowdsourcing to gather, enhance and organize data, and to bring niche communities of interested people to experience the Smithsonian on a deeper, participatory level.
We are happy to mix with a group of creative people in DC. Smithsonian Mobile Strategies and Initiatives would like to maintain a roster of dedicated volunteer game, augmented reality, app and mobile developers, as well as technical assist for iPad projects, to move forward with innovative projects.
5. What impact do you hope this will have on DC?
The Smithsonian has an important place in the cultural life of DC, and if this helps to integrate the museum community and tech community, that’s great! If this helps to make DC residents more aware of how they can be more involved with the Smithsonian in a participatory way, even better. From something as simple as downloading gorgeous images from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory mobile site for iPhone wallpaper, to helping crowdsource documentation of all living things with the Encyclopedia of Life, we’d like it to be known that the Smithsonian has big ideas that everyone can have a part in. (http://www.si.edu/Connect/Mobile)
6. Why should people get involved in your event?
Attending our Open Welcome Wednesday should give a window into Smithsonian Mobile for anyone interested in volunteering technical skills, or who is interested in what is happening in mobile for museums. As the Smithsonian Institution moves forward into the digital age, and at the same time faces budgetary restrictions, the reliance on volunteers becomes even more essential. The Smithsonian Institution has relied on Citizen Science since its inception, and currently over half of the work force at the Institution has volunteer status. We would hope that there could be a mutually beneficially relationship.
7. What are you looking forward to most about DCWEEK?
We are excited to see who is doing what in DC, and look forward to meeting interesting people who can spark new ideas.
8. Anything else we should know?
Museum visitors are often carrying a smartphone, and this brings complex questions of copyright, access and rapidly evolving technologies. While the size and scope of the Smithsonian Institution can be daunting, we look for creative ways to use digital tools to both extend research capabilities, and to bring meaningful visitor engagement across all ages, interests and backgrounds. It’s an exciting time for museums, and we are happy to invite DCWEEK participants into the discussion.
