[NTLK] more old news

Something I stumbled across...

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9708/06/museum/

Smithsonian takes interactive show on the road

August 6, 1997
Web posted at: 4:18 p.m. EDT (2018 GMT)
 From Correspondent Greg Lefevre
SAN JOSE, California (CNN) -- At most museums it's hands off. Look
but don't touch. But to show off some of America's oldest treasures,
the Smithsonian Institution's traveling exhibit, called "America's
Smithsonian," uses a handheld computer to lead the interactive tour.
The device helps highlight more than 90 of the objects in the exhibit
"using narration, text graphics and historical audio bites," says
Colm O'Malley of Visible Interactive, the San Francisco company that
programmed the handheld computers.

Wrapped in red canvas, the device -- a Newton MessagePad -- can
display additional text on a subject, show graphics or play sound.

Press 55 on the keypad and a narrator's voice tells the story of
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "fireside chats" -- radio
addresses to the nation to explain issues and policies.

Want to know more about the original Kermit the Frog? Press 38.

The sights and sounds attract children who are not used to the
silence and dark of a typical museum.

"At first. he didn't want to come to the Smithsonian," says a father
visiting the exhibit with his son during the show's stop in San Jose.
"He didn't think it would be that nice. But having this MessagePad is
what made it for him.

"(Students) were telling us it's like bringing a schoolteacher with
you," the father said.

Children are "used to being bombarded with sounds and images," museum
official Meg Little told CNN. The interactive nature of the exhibit
gives "an additional incentive for children to get involved."

A hit on the road, the interactive MessagePads have been added to
some tours at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington.

The only thing that might cause a family squabble is deciding who
gets to push the buttons.

"America's Smithsonian" will be in San Jose through the end of
August. Future stops will be announced at a later time.
Admission is free but tickets are required. The handheld computers
are available for rent at fees ranging from $3 to $5.

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