San Diego Air & Space Museum and Balboa Park Online Collaborative Win Prestigious Media and Technology Award

“Museum at Your Fingertips” program offers access to previously underserved segments of the population who otherwise cannot visit.

The MUSE Awards competition received more than 200 applications from a wide variety of institutions in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

San Diego, CA –  The San Diego Air and Space Museum (SDASM) and Balboa Park Online Collaborative (BPOC) are pleased to announce they are a recipient of a 2017 MUSE Award for the program titled “Museum at Your Fingertips.”

SDASM and BPOC were presented with the Silver MUSE Award in the Education and Outreach category during a champagne reception on Sunday, May 7, 2017, at the 2017 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. There to receive the award were James Kidrick, President & CEO of SDASM and Nik Honeysett, CEO of BPOC. This award recognizes SDASM and BPOC’s high achievement in the application of media and technology to Gallery, Library, Archive, and Museum programs.

For the award-winning “Museum at Your Fingertips” program, the San Diego Air & Space Museum worked in partnership with the Balboa Park Online Collaborative (BPOC) to bring the museum experience to students and learners who were otherwise unable to visit. Using the Suitable Technologies BeamPro™ (an interactive remote presence robot device much like a rolling teleconference screen), teachers and students were able to control a BeamPro™ directly from their classrooms and access additional photo, sound and video media by logging into a website developed by the BPOC. A SDASM educator “tour guide” accompanied the device during these sessions, allowing personal interaction with students in their home classrooms. The guide also interacted with Museum visitors as the device traveled throughout the Museum. Video and audio clips selected by the tour guide were then displayed in the classroom on inset screens via the BPOC software.

The Museum launched the BeamPro™ program to broaden access for a previously underserved segment of the population, such as economically challenged schools that cannot afford transportation, people with disabilities, and those too far away from local museums to visit. Read more about this innovative blend of culture and technology at http://sandiegoairandspace.org/visit/beam-tour-program.

The MUSE Awards competition received more than 200 applications from a wide variety of institutions in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. This year’s entries included videos and films, interactive kiosks and installations, VR experiences, applications and APIs, digital communities, websites, audio tours, and more.

Over 90 GLAM professionals from across the globe participated as jurors in the process of reviewing and scoring entries. Winning programs were expected to demonstrate outstanding achievement in their content, interface, design, technical merit, innovation, utility, and appeal.

“The San Diego Air & Space Museum is proud of the access provided to previously underserved segments of the population through the ‘Museum at Your Fingertips’ project, and we’re honored to be recognized with a 2017 MUSE Award.”

– Jim Kidrick, President & CEO, San Diego Air & Space Museum

“BPOC is honored to be a recipient of the Silver MUSE award for Education and Outreach in its partnership with SDASM. It speaks to our core mission of collaborative endeavors and connecting audiences to art, culture and science, and especially in this instance of putting the SDASM experience into the classroom.”

– Nik Honeysett, CEO, BPOC

Now in its 28th year, the MUSE awards competition recognizes outstanding achievement in GLAM media and technology efforts. The competition is administrated by the American Alliance of Museums Media & Technology Professional Network.

“It is an honor and a privilege for the Media & Technology Professional Network to host the 28^th annual MUSE Awards. The quality of this year’s entries demonstrates an ever increasing sophistication in the way GLAM’s are leveraging both traditional and cutting edge technologies in service to their public audiences.”

– Neal Johnson, Chair, AAM Media & Technology Professional Network

The San Diego Air & Space Museum is California’s official air and space museum and education center. The Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and was the first aero-themed Museum to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Now showing: Be the Astronaut, a fun, interactive experience where you fly and spaceship, drive a rover and land on the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and an asteroid. The Museum is located at 2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101. The Museum and gift store are open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with admissions until 4:30 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Learn more at www.sandiegoairandspace.org.

BPOC is a nonprofit technology consultancy founded in 2008, initially to serve the museums in San Diego’s Balboa Park, and now supports over forty cultural institutions both inside and outside the Park with a suite of products and services including IT and infrastructure, digital marketing, web development, collections and digital asset management and strategic consulting. Learn more at www.bpoc.org.