75. Museduino: Using Open Source Hardware to Power Museum Exhibits
Welcome to Museum Archipelago in Your Inbox, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Museum Archipelago, your podcast guide to the rocky landscape of museums, is hosted by me, Ian Elsner.
Proprietary technology that runs museum interactives—everything from buttons to proximity sensors—tends to be expensive to purchase and maintain.
But Rianne Trujillo, lead developer of the Cultural Technology Development Lab at New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU), realized that one way museums can avoid expensive, proprietary solutions to their technology needs is by choosing open source alternatives. She is part of the team behind the Museduino, an open-source system for exhibits and installations.
On this episode, Rianne Trujillo and fellow NMHU instructor of Software Systems Design Jonathan Lee describe the huge potential to applying the open source model to museum hardware.
Read the Plaque
The theory presented in this episode is that a museum can control its own means of production using open source hardware. But the means of production doesn't always need to be open source.
In episode 53 of Museum Archipelago, Quenton Cypress of the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office describes the process of teaching high school students how to use closed source geospatial software to make museum exhibits. These exhibits were displayed at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum on the Big Cypress Reservation in the Florida Everglades.
🏖️Club Archipelago: Museum Archipelago is Moving to Bulgaria!
Actually, I'm the one who is moving to Bulgaria. The podcast will continue to live in your favorite podcast player.
In this special episode, I discuss moving to Sofia in June with my new wife, the museum opportunities the move will open up, and what it means for you as a listener.