We are pleased to announce that we will be adding a second sim region on the Second Life main grid!  This will be happening over the next month or so. The Tech Virtual is increasing the space for collaborative exhibit design in a big way. In keeping with our "open source" initiative, we've opened up the design and layout of the new sim too. 

If you fancy yourself a designer, landscaper, architect or urban planner, this project is for you.

You can get started by creating an account at: http://thetechvirtual.org/createMember

Then, just join this project: http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/ucantu-projects/dept-of-building-and-grounds/

This is a project that nearly anyone can contribute to because there are many ways to contribute this content in 2D or 3D. Sketch a building that exemplifies The Tech Virtual. Make a square map of the building spaces using the design guide at:
http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/ucantu-projects/dept-of-building-and-grounds/wiki/design-guide

Build a model in Second Life with our free kit available at http://tinyurl.com/ParksideHall. Draw some sim layouts on the back of an envelope and scan it in! Write a piece describing your favorite aspects about social and work spaces in Second Life! Contribute some photos of your favorite spaces in real life.

With so many ways to add to this, I'm looking forward to some great ideas - after all, this sim is for YOU Exhibit Designers to work. It's a real opportunity to be able to contribute to the very first project of this kind in the design and museum world.

So drop in at one of our meetings or classes. All the events are posted on the right column of http://thetechvirtual.org as "Upcoming Events".

Who knows, you could be the next Frank Lloyd Avatar!
See you @ The Tech Virtual
Bob Ketner aka. Agent Heliosense

(Teen Grid - we haven't forgotten about you and check back here as future plans for Teen Grid become available!)

The UcanTu exhibition will highlight a handful of technologies that benefit humanity on a global scale.  The gallery is scheduled to open officially in Feb. 2009, with a "soft opening" this December.  The UcanTu exhibition was launched in Adult Second Life on May 6, and on July 9 in Teen Second Life.  The prize competition was announced on July 9 also, in both the Main and Teen grids.

The judges, all staff or volunteers at the Tech Museum, were:

• Tina Blaine, Curator, UcanTu Exhibition, The Tech Museum
• Matteo Bittanti, Curator, Art Film & Music Exhibition, The Tech Museum
• Bob Ketner, Virtual Community Manager, The Tech Museum
• Rob Stephenson, Curator, The Tech Virtual, The Tech Museum
• Amanda Riley, Manager, Tech Awards Program, The Tech Museum
• Kyle Walker, Intern and Teen Grid Volunteer Coordinator, The Tech Museum
• Amparo Leyman Pino, Education Consultant, Papalote Museo del Niño, México and volunteer, The Tech Museum
  

The challenge for UcanTu competition participants was to showcase one of these technologies in a way that makes it meaningful to museum visitors, and makes them realize that the tools to build 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!").  In spite of this difficult challenge and the short timeline (especially for the Teen Grid contestants), 18 exhibit designs were completed by the deadline (nine in the Adult Grid and nine in the Teen Grid).  The quality of the exhibits was outstanding, and the judges had a hard time deciding among them.

And the winners are (opening the envelope):

for Exhibit Concepts incorporated into the real museum exhibition (prize of 250,000 linden per team member)

Terran Solar Boat	An interactive display, based on the Solar Sailor project, showing how Solar Power and Renewable Energy sources can be used.
click for larger view	Tristan Watts-Willis  (avatar: Tdub Dowler) Ben Newton             (avatar: Wally Oyen) Andrew Brown         (avatar: Bubby Boucher) Maxwell Strog          (avatar: Aran Trefoil)
KickStart our Economy	Step into the shoes of a KickStart farmer and see how much 'water' you can pump, enough for one stalk of corn? Enough for a family? Enough to feed the whole village?
click for larger view	Marie Crandell (avatar: Lydia Milner) Stina Cooke     (avatar: Alisa Cleanslate)                         (avatar: Mars Voyager)

Best in Teen Grid (50,000 linden prize)

Take a Bath in the Fog	This exhibit demonstrates the FogQuest fog collection technology and shows how it could be put to sensible use in arid countries.
click for larger view	Isaac Wagner (avatar: Totem Guffler)

Runner Up (5,000 linden prize)

Solar Sailing: the Future of Eco-Green	This project, also based on Solar Sailor, demonstrates the practicality of solar travel and how it can be used to make a better future.
click for larger view	Dan H.              (avatar: Ubuntu Houston) Jeffrey Francus (avatar: Steven Fermi)                          (avatar: Merridew Andel)                          (avatar: Jay Closterman)

Best in Main Grid (50,000 linden prize)

Barefoot Brilliance!	Experience some of the skills and products of Barefoot College graduates and test yourself against their skills.
click for larger view	Marie Crandell (avatar: Lydia Milner)                         (avatar: Mars Voyager)

Runner Up (5,000 linden prize)

Cool Vaccines	Heat-sensitive labels can monitor the viability of life-saving vaccines during a power outage or for vaccination programs in the field
click for larger view	Eileen Moy           (avatar: Chara Clawtooth) Thomas Warsaw (avatar: Jayson Zimermann) Kai Chu               (avatar: Purplewolf Destiny) Jennifer Rand      (avatar: Sarna Sideways) Larry McGrail Victor Wang

Most Inspiring Exhibit (50,000 linden prize)

Create a Universal Language	Cameras, satellites, and the Internet enable people to document and share stories from around the world, bringing attention to ways of respecting or violating human rights
click for larger view	Kara Bennett   (avatar: Dancers Yao) Stina Cooke    (avatar: Alisa Cleanslate) Susan Patrice (avatar: Kasuko Magic)

UcanTu Prize Ceremonies Aug. 8, 2008

Main Grid: onstage are Stephe Roux, Agent Heliosense and Shakini Parnass (all Tech staff), and winners Lydia Milner, Mars Voyager, Chara Clawtooth and Dancers Yao	Teen Grid: onstage are winners Tdub Dowler, Wally Oyen, Bobby Boucher, En Bergbaum (Volunteeer Coordinator), Copernic Heliosense (Tech staff) and winner Ubuntu Houston.

We're extending our reach at The Tech Virtual!

We now have a Flickr photo stream, which you can view at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetechvirtual/

If you have a Facebook account, please join our group at:
http://www.facebook.com/group

If you have a Linked-In account, please join our group at:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation


(These groups are not required of course but you may wish to add them to your profiles!)

For participating in the open source exhibit design, you only need an account at: http://thetechvirtual.org/createMember

If you have a website related to design or museums, please let me know at rketner [at] thetech.org and in coming months
we will have even more ways to connect.

Thanks again and as we approach our next competition (Art-Film-Music-Games) we will still be holding classes and meetings
as scheduled. 

See you @ The Tech!
- Bob Ketner

Hello Tech Virtual Exhibit Designers!
As you may know the UcanTu exhibit judging will take place on Thursday, Aug. 7.
The following day the winners will be announced in both Teen and Main Second Life (tm) grids.
If you are developing your exhibit outside Parkside Hall at The Tech sim (http://tinyurl.com/ParksideHall) just be sure to move your exhibit into the hall no later than Wednesday Aug. 6 so that we can document it for judging.

Archiving next week
Please keep your exhibits in the hall, and we will arrange for archiving next week.  The way we will archive is by transferring a full permissions copy of the whole exhibit to a Tech staff avatar. We will cover the steps to do this in a class or individually as needed.  Later, some exhibits may be on display at The Tech Virtual as decided by the curator.  There may also be some archiving left to do from the previous Art - Film - Music as well.

   

Agent's first week
This first week has been about getting to meet you and learn about your interests and history.   I've been really impressed by how passionate the UcanTu exhibits are and it really shows a deep care about their impact. These are such amazing projects that are so rarely heard about elsewhere, it's like a seminar in itself on these technologies.  There's definitely a class-like camaraderie that really lends itself not only to learning but to creating as well.

It truly is a unique time in history and participating in this design process is really one of the best examples of leveraging the virtual world tools we have. Thanks for being part of it!  Later this week we will probably have some news about what's next after UcanTu.  Lots of exciting things coming up!

Please contact me anytime at rketner@thetech.org or as avatar "Agent Heliosense" in Second Life. 
See you @ The Tech!