Silver Oaks has received a 2008 MUSE Award for development of the John Deere StarFire™ GPS Interactive Kiosk exhibit located at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. It is the second MUSE Award we have received in the past three years, and an honorable achievement considering only a handful are awarded for select categories each year. The international MUSE awards competition is sponsored by the Media and Technology Standing Professional Committee of the American Association of Museums to recognize outstanding achievements in museum media.
As part of the Museum of Science and Industry’s redesign of their Farm Tech exhibit, Deere & Company entrusted our team with the task of creating an educational kiosk programmed to showcase the John Deere StarFire™ GPS system. Consulting with agricultural specialists and product engineers, we developed an interactive program that literally places museum visitors behind the wheel of sophisticated farming equipment, allowing them to make the decisions of a precision farmer out on the field. A special “How Does It Work?” section also offers follow-up information, giving users the opportunity to delve further into topics related to planting, growing and harvesting technologies.
MUSE Award judges said that the kiosk demystified farming and made tractors interesting to some of them for the first time. They also thought the use of a real steering wheel was innovative and engaging, and helped visitors relate and control their experience as a driver. In addition, the judges liked that explanatory labels clearly stated the goals for users, and that the kiosk successfully met those stated goals.
MUSE Award applications were received from a wide variety of museums in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. This year, MUSE Award winners were named from 11 distinct categories. Thirty-eight judges – museum and media professionals from across the county – were involved in the process of selecting the winners. Winning entries were expected to demonstrate outstanding achievement in content quality, interface design, functionality, production quality, visual appeal, the user’s experience and the intent to which new directions were charted, or old challenges resolved through technical innovation. More information on categories and judging criteria can be found on the Media and Technology website: http://www.mediaandtechnology.org/
