"Reflections on the African Burial Ground" Interactive

Client:

Amaze Design | African Burial Ground National Monument

Market Type:

Museums & Education

Project Type:

Kiosks

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Tools & Technology:

Adobe Director

Project Description

Visitors to the African Burial Ground National Monument in Manhattan, New York, will be able to reflect upon their experience there and share their impressions with others, thanks to a new interactive produced by Silver Oaks.

In 1991, excavators working on the construction of a new federal office building in Manhattan, unearthed the skeletal remains of more than 400 men, women and children — just a fraction of the 15,000 free and enslaved African Americans estimated to have been buried in that area throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. In 2007, a memorial was opened in remembrance of the lives of those buried there and to educate the public about the role Africans played in the early life of the New Amsterdam colony and New York City.

Located in the Monument’s Interpretive Center, the computer-based touchscreen interactive “Reflections on the African Burial Ground” allows visitors to contemplate their visit and record their thoughts, or view videos posted by others. Using a camera and microphone, visitors can respond to one of three questions, leaving a 90-second video that the National Park Service monument staff can, in turn, preview and add captioning before posting live for other visitors to see. Special care was taken during the development process to ensure that the interactive program is completely accessible and ADA-compliant for those that are visually- and hearing-impaired.