VMC site first to incorporate wireless web and aboriginal content for astronomy

A new web site launched by the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) is the first, its builders say, to incorporate elements of science and culture into an online exhibit dedicated to astronomy. On January 5, new Canadian Heritage minister Hélène Chalifour-Scherrer launched the site, built by Vancouver-based Pangaea Systems for a large consortium of 17 partners that contributed content. The project, which began in 2002 and took a little over a year to complete, boasts an international partnership of content providers that includes the National Research Council (NRC), the Herzberg Institute for Astrophysics in Victoria, the Montreal Planetarium, the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, Calgary’s Glenbow Museum, the Manitoba Museum and the Australian Museums & Galleries Online. Unique to astronomy sites, especially on this scale, is a weaving of aboriginal history and belief into the site, so that scientific information about stars and galaxies is accompanied with tales brought in from the different First Nations involved. “That was a really interesting component to this project. We certainly felt that there were lots of astronomy-type products out there, so that would make it special in its own way,” says the VMC’s Martin Lajoie, product manager for virtual exhibits and public programs. Lajoie says the partnership could at times be unwieldy due to the big differences in time zones and the trickiness of timing conference calls. But, he says, the final result represents a focused end product that was well thought out from the start of the process. “Everyone comes in with a different idea…They are part of the brainstorming because they have the expertise and the content. We’re there to coordinate and facilitate the process.” He notes that it was a lucky coincidence that the site was launched just as the recent Mars rover landings took place. He says the need to put up a site dedicated to astronomy grew out of the VMC’s regular process of inventorying its collection to fill any gaps, but the timing has proving fortuitous. One key component of the site, and one likely to be watched by the whole new media industry, is a cell phone application that allows users to dial in to get information on whatever sky they’re viewing. Using a wireless web-enabled handset, users can phone into the VMC site, input basic information about where they’re standing and at what time, and receive basic information about the constellations they’re seeing via their handset. The system isn’t location-based, and hasn’t yet gone live to the site, but VMC staff are eager to see how well used it is. In addition to the astronomy lessons, the service will accompany the information with more aboriginal tales about the sky they’re looking at. “We’re basically looking at this as a pilot project and to see what interest it will bring. Also, the learning experience of doing something a bit more technology-advanced will be shared with the museum community so they can learn with our experience,” says Lajoie. The wireless application was built with the help of Bell Sympatico, he says. For the moment, information will be restricted to the Canadian sky, since little differentiates the view in most parts of the country except the time zones. International information may follow in the future, Lajoie says. An added twist to the web site, says head writer Kerri Power who worked on the project for the NRC, is that some of the information from the aboriginal community is time-sensitive. Certain stories, for example, aren’t meant to be told unless there’s snow on the ground. However, discussions with aboriginal groups led to the conclusion that because the site is static, it wouldn’t be practical to time the delivery of some information. “It’s on the web. You can’t really control it,” she says. The overall exhibit is wholly owned by the VMC, though individual components remain the intellectual property of their contributors. It currently has a wealth of art, images, text, sound and video, but Lajoie has left the door open to updating or adding on to the content based on the VMC’s usual proposal process. Says Power: “Astronomy’s such a huge subject. You could go on forever. The problem is knowing when to stop, actually.”

VMC site first to incorporate wireless web and aboriginal content for astronomy

News | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

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