Hello Tech Virtual!
My name is Bob Ketner and it's been just over 24 hours since I started as the Virtual Community Manger here at The Tech Virtual.  Seeing the results of the current exhibits on display on the museum floor is certainly impressive.  It really shows the possibilities of realizing exhibits through this process and proves one thing solidly - the process works. 

Another thing that I've noticed right away is that we're just in the beginning stages of building this collaborative group.  You have the distinct advantage here of working with talented designers from all over the world on some of the most fascinating and relevant topics today.  Not only that, you will be using the most advanced collaborative methods available - working literally years ahead of other methods used in industry and business.

* Breaking News *
The deadline for UcanTu exhibits has been extended to August 7!
That means you have 9 more days to finish (or even start) a UcanTu exhibit.
If you haven't done so already, please create a profile (http://thetechvirtual.org/createMember) on the website. 

Then, take a look at the list of projects on which you can base your exhibit at:http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/ucantu/

After you've created a profile please feel free to introduce yourself and mention any specific interests you may have.  Short on ideas?  Just drop in to Parkside Hall (http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Tech/65/130/37/) and let's brainstorm some!   You can reach me at rketner [at] thetech.org or in Second Life as "Agent Heliosense".

We're all in for an exciting time and I'm really honored to be able to have this opportunity to work with you.   I can't wait to see what you develop and contribute in this highly interactive space.  Let's go!

Parkside Hall Exhibit Workshop

Probably the most popular exhibit in the Virtual Test Zone gallery is called Mashup Masterpiece.

Mashup Masterpiece exhibit and its author, Marie Crandell

The exhibit project now called Mashup Masterpiece  began with the following “big idea” on the project’s Webpage:

To enable the audience to experience the role of the painter - through visual aids, animation and audio stream - to step into the shoes of the painter and 'paint' an existing painting by a real painter.

The idea then went through the following evolution from design sketch (left) to Second Life prototype (center) to finished exhibit (right).

         

(click on any image for a larger view)

The notion of audio narration was dropped during the SL prototyping stage as the exhibit was quite full already.   In moving from SL to the gallery, the surrounding studio “with a dusty wooden floor with paint splattered over it, …quiet and enclosed, but with a peaceful feeling” was dropped for lack of space.   In SL the finished painting was stripped down through nine color stages and the images loaded in reverse so that the painting 'appeared' before your eyes.The finished exhibit achieved this effect by adding a spin browser to dial through the stages of the painting and a Photoshop-like palette of tools and colors  for visitors to “paint” their own version.

The author of Mashup Masterpiece, Marie Crandell of Plymouth, England is an accountant who has formerly worked as a professional classical dancer and journalist.  She had been in Second Life since December, 2006, and it took her about 100 hours over a four week period to build her prototype.  This profile is quite typical for  our award winners: talented professionals with a year’s  prior SL experience who spent a month building their virtual exhibit.

You Can, Too!
You can create a museum exhibit.  You can inspire others.  You can make a difference.  You can win fame and fortune (well, perhaps a little anyway).

The Tech Museum in San Jose, CA (RL) will award  prizes of up to one million lindens for the best interactive exhibits designed in Second Life for our upcoming exhibition called "UcanTu." 

UcanTu

The UcanTu exhibition showcases 12 award-winning examples of "technology benefiting humanity" (for more details and a complete list of the technologies, see http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/ucantu/ ).  Each of these technologies benefits health, education, environment, economic development or equality on a global scale. 

THE CHALLENGE

Your challenge is to develop an interactive exhibit that highlights one or more of these award-winning innovations in a way that explains its importance, makes it relevant to the lives of museum visitors, and makes it understandable how it works.  The purpose of your exhibit is to inspire visitors to realize they can make a difference ("You can, too") in their community and the world, either by supporting these particular innovations or by coming up with ideas of their own.

PRIZES

- For exhibits selected to be part of the RL UcanTu exhibition:
L$250,000 per team member, up to a max of L$1M.

Note: Only exhibits that are truly engaging and novel will be considered for adoption.  Be sure to discuss your concept with Rob or Bean by email, or talk in-world to Stephe, Shakini or Lydia on the Main Grid, or to En or Copernic on the Teen Grid to make sure it is not one we are already considering.

There will be five additional prizes, awarded independently of the prize above:
- Most Inspiring Exhibit: L$50,000 per exhibit

- Best in Show (Adult): L$50,000 per exhibit
- runner up: L$5,000 per exhibit

- Best in Show (Teen): L$50,000 per exhibit
- runner up: L$5,000 per exhibit

For more details, see http://thetechvirtual.org/help/faq/prizes

DEADLINE

Hurry, the judging will take place on August 7.  Winning exhibits will be selected by senior exhibit designers from The Tech Museum. 

HOW TO ENTER

To enter the contest, you must:
- submit your exhibit idea in text as a project at
http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/ucantu-projects.
- create a virtual prototype here inside an exhibit frame.

Once you have your idea and are ready to build, get a frame for your exhibit.  Create a sign that gives the basic info on your exhibit (title, idea, your name) and any help you are looking for.  If you have not already described your project on
http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/ucantu-projects, please do so.  This is a collaborative effort and we encourage you to find other partners and build exhibits as teams.  You can join the team for an existing project by going to its Web page and clicking on 'join this project' (just make the exhibit is located on the same grid as you).  Please be respectful of others and their exhibits - if you would like to contribute to someone else's exhibit, contact them and ask to join their team through the Website first.

GUIDELINES

First of all, read the Introduction to the UcanTu exhibition at
http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/ucantu/ucantu 
Then observe the following guidelines:

   1. The exhibit should highlight one or more of the Tech Award-winning technologies listed here, in a way that makes them meaningful and accessible.
   2. The exhibit should be inspiring.  It should make visitors realize that the tools to make a better world are not out of reach, but all around us.  It should make them want to get involved in their own communities and in the world ("You can, too!").
   3. The exhibit must be interactive, and it should not rely on docent explanations or a lot of documentation for visitors to understand it.
   4. It should be educational.  It should convey an understanding of a) how the featured technology actually works, b) what global problem it addresses, and c) how it provides a solution.
   5. If there is a connection that can be made with Silicon Valley (companies, local uses for the technology, individuals involved, etc.), that is a plus.
   6. It must be feasible to build the exhibit in real life.
   7. The exhibit concept must be licensed under Creative Commons (you agreed to this when you joined the Website) and the virtual exhibit should be full-perm.
   8. If you need to contact one of the Tech Award laureates, talk to Rob or Bean first.  We may already have what you need.

MORE INFO

For more information,
consult http://thetechvirtual.org/help/faq/ucantu-faq or
email rstephenson@thetech.org, or tblaine@thetech.org.