Museomix 2017 at the Palais de la Découverte: we were there!
I am web developer at smArtapps. If our content management system gets more and more intuitive and efficient, it’s a bit thanks to me! A few weeks ago, I took part of Museomix 2017. Here is the story.
What is Museomix ?
Museomix is a major creative marathon for museums. Three days long, more than a hundred people gather together and join their force to build up prototypes of innovative mediations. During this weekend, keywords are: interdisciplinarity, new technologies and a lot of DIY!
For the first time, smArtapps was partner of the event. My colleagues, Aurélien and Robin, and myself were really excited about the idea of submitting our smArtPublisher to museomixeurs. This sixth edition of Museomix took place in the Palais de la Découverte, a science museum in Paris that will soon close its doors for renovations. This edition’s theme was therefore “beyond the walls mediation”, so the museum could continue to spread its knowledge during renovations.
3 days to remix museums
So, Museomix is a complete weekend to take a fresh look at museums and to access their knowledge.
Friday morning, we had the opportunity to visit the Palais de la Découverte during a private tour. It was the perfect occasion to discover the mediation tools already in use with a critical eye. Then, we introduced ourselves to museomixeurs: what’s the use of our technology, how it works, etc…
While museomixeurs were constituting themselves in teams — eight teams of six people each -, we met with other partners. I’ve really appreciated that time of exchange, especially with the technical team of Epson, that develops the AR glasses used by our neighbours from Theatre in Paris. 🖐
Saturday, early in the morning, each team introduced itself to partners, according to the technologies they wanted to use. Only one team, called “Les Allées de la Découverte”, needed our smArtPublisher. We discussed a last time their project: could it be even more ambitious than they thought? Since we know better our technology, we can say how one can push it.
Once we all agreed, the rush begun. Prototypes must be finished for the plenary of Museomix, in the evening: organizers test every mediation project before the Palais opens to the public, on sunday. Our mediation met a great success!
Our project: “Les Allées de la Découverte”
The idea of our team consisted in a walk across Paris to discover physical laws applied in some emblematic buildings of the capital. For instance, in Gare de Lyon: acoustic and mechanic; in the Pantheon, geology and the history of the monument…
To motivate players, we insert a bit of gamification into our app — which we had never done before. So I developed that functionality from scratch, a hack I’m pretty proud of.
In practice, every time a player visits a place, he or she earns a colourful badge, that he/she will be allowed to display on his/her profile. Each badge represents a certain skill and profession: architect, painter, museographer… And for those with a bad sense of direction, the entire walk is geolocated. 😉
My favorite project
I’d now like to present my favorite project: the Magic Bus.
Imagine: you’re about to take off to Mars. To be well prepared for that dangerous trip, you have to select three items you’ll need on the red planet. Easy? Think again: there are six objects displayed in the magic bus… Which ones should you choose? Fortunately, the chatbot Curiosity is here to provide you with clues. Ask him the right questions and you might be able to select the necessary objects for your trip.
Museomix 2018: 317 days left!
Aurélien, Robin and myself really enjoyed discovering the Palais de la Découverte during Museomix. Hacking our content management system in so little time was a very exciting challenge but also a very frustrating one: three days, that’s way too short! One thing is certain: I can’t wait for Museomix 2018.
