Expolab

First Expolab design round wraps up!
As you may have read,  the Expolab exhibit designing round for their first exhibition ended on April 8. 
The team has a blog post about the results at  http://expolab.net/eng/?p=550

The team determined to offer one prize which went for the Connexions project concept by Maria Bobes (http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/expolab/expolab-projects/connections).   This concept was developed at one of their original in-person workshops, and developed into a Second Life model which you can view at
http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Tech%202/143/211/33

      

This exhibit really stood out from the begining.  It has a great concept of simple activity involving string and some configuration with a laptop in the middle which tracks connections and degrees of separation online. It incorporates a computer and a screen without relying either for interactivity.

Online voting and in-person event April 8
The appeal of the exhibits was determined by an online voting period that coincided with an in-person event at Citilab itself in Barcelona.  You can see the results at http://expolab.net/local   You can see second life running on some of their computers at Citlab, and people were able to look at the exhbits using avatars logged on at these stations. Wish I could have been there!

Another whole batch of photos are available at http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/expolab/images

Six exhibits to be developed at Citilab
Expolab team reports that they will work to develop  Expolab Introduction Cube, Connexions, Photography, Digital Skies, Idea Bank, and Point of View.  The plan is to build these out into real exhibits over the next few months.   I'd like to invite everyone to continue to refine these ideas and take these exhibits to the next stage where they can be more detailed and implemented.   If we can make these plans even more detailed, it will make them more usable for other museums as well.

Overall the team reported that the exercise of using The Tech Virtual was really instrumental in developing better ideas, and refining the overall approach.  The Expolab group (Irene, Ramon, Astrid) )utilized the feedback from our Second Life design review meetings to get valuable insight into shaping this project.  These weekly walk-throughs were crucial in developing momentum and cohesiveness in all the projects.  Some ideas were tossed out, some were developed further, and that was the whole point!  If you missed these, be sure to join us for the next round of designs.

Next steps - details and fabrication
There were some great entries.   I'm looking forward to seeing how these develop into something that is built in the actual center. Meanwhile I'll be looking to reconnect with Expolab to see what their next steps are, and will post updates here.  Expolab is an ongoing experimental project that will have another exhibition topic after these exhibits are built. 

Next up for Tech Virtual... "Water" in conjunction with Science Center Singapore (http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/water).  Jump in and experience designing with this international team.  Weekly meetings start next week, with dates and times to be announced in the Second Life group and on the project page. 

See you there,
Bob Ketner

Avatar Kaznats Oh has kindly donated a warehouse for the Expolab Project. 

We'll start here, and we have the option to make it larger, which will probably be required.

Dive in and take a look at:

Click here to download the full design brief

Expolab held their kickoff event at Citilab on Thursday January 14.

The full account is at http://expolab.net/eng/?p=338

Citilab is kicking Expolab off strong with their event last week. 
Mix 31 people, a batch of images and raw materials and a batch of questions about technology and it's impace and what do you get? Expolab!

Facilitators  Ramon Sanguesa, Astrid Lubsen and Irene Lapuente led the group through some interesting prototyping sessions in which otherwise inert objects became infused with meaning and context.  The concepts seem incredibly alive and relevant....

* the evolution from analog to digital.
* the change from hanging pictures on a wall to hanging them on platforms such as Flickr
* an analogy between a football team and the possibilities of working together that Internet gives you.
* senior citizens sending mobile messages that were even more extremely abbreviated than those of their
    grandchildren
* a debate on the advantages and disadvantages of e-books
* the dangers of immersion when you leave the pot boling
* is exploration still exploration with GPS?
* “Today we need to measure everything”
* advocates of chaos, people who were at ease with it and find it a positive force being more vocal.
* which senses do you lose in online environments?  Which do you gain?

Click here to download the full design brief
- Bob Ketner

On January 13, Irene Lapuente and the Expolab team arranged a "a warm-up" for their January 14 workshop launching Expolab.  They've posted a very thourough account at http://expolab.net/eng/?p=333 and some photos at http://boc.citilabblog.com/?p=642  (English)

 
Photos by Citilab

Participants sat at tables and put together objects to begin thinking about exhibitions. This was tied into discussion about ways the internet as changed society and interacting with exhibitions and artifacts.  "Learning by doing", and "real time" and the idea of enabling visitors to work with the entire layout of Expolab.

The complete post is at http://expolab.net/eng/?p=333

If you'd like to engage with this unique process online, we'll be hosting a version of the entire experiment you can find the project page at http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/expolab

and in Second Life at
http://world.secondlife.com/place/dd8974fe-6c94-56a8-0511-6e1f7b6222e7  just click "Visit this Location".

More to come!
- Bob Ketner

 

Citilab Cornella is launching their experimental participatory project " Expolab" (http://expolab.net/eng) tomorrow.  You can participate in the experiment from anywhere via http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/expolab

This fascinating project will,  "present how digital technologies have changed different aspects of our lives. It will be organized around six areas of interest. For each one a new physical exhibit will be designed and created. On the six areas different ways of exhibition will be developed reflecting different perspectives on the concept of exhibition from contemplative and passive to to participatory and active."  You can read the full description at http://expolab.net/eng/?page_id=105

As they write, Expolab is a laboratory for creating new interactive exhibitions involving technology, innovation, science and design, which form the core of Citilab's activities.  It will portray a general perspective on the evolution of exhibtions from "contemplative" and discursive modes exhibits to participatory ones. Expolab is in itself an experiment in participatory exhibition creation and it will involve user both online and offline.

Perhaps most interesting is that they will be applying design research to exhibition design and creation through Expolab. 

Click here to download the full design brief

"Expolab"  will be created through external developers and designers, using The Tech Virtual as a collaboration tool to collect the entries for the expolab kiosks.  More on this and the submission details at:  http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/expolab

"Exploring interactions between materials, curators, and users in science and technology exhibitions"

 “From contemplation to participation and beyond...”  

Subtopics:
The internet has changed the way we...

1. Share memories

2. Connect

3. Travel through time and space

4. Work

5. Experience safety

Phases for each subtopic:
Expolab will explore 5 steps or phases within each subtopic.
1. Observe (see things, read text)
2. Interact  (communicate/input)
3. Participate (create or build something)
4. Citilab (synthesis of 1-3)
5. Future (what could the future of these look like?)

Each theme will be built around a square thee-walled 'kiosk'. (Photos to be added soon).
Exhibit designs should explore the 5 steps within a subtopic, and around a cube of sized 6.5 feet (2 meters) per side. Within the 'kiosk', the interaction and user experience is important.  How can we show the evolution of these types of interactions?

About the exhibits:
A total of six exhibits stationed in "islands" with five sections each. Three or four will be positioned in a large space at the entrance of Citilab of approximately 130 square feet (40 square meters) and two or three in smaller locations of approximately. 50-65 square feet (15-20 square meters) each in the first and second floor of Citilab.  The intention is to really use the virtual exhibit designs in the physical exhibition. Depending on the feasibility of the winning concept this will be a close translation or an interpretation.

Thinking about interactives:  How does presentation of interactives evolve from artifacts to books and computer manuals, interactive blackboards, possibly connecting to blogs/Flikr, Twitter etc,  possibly a workshop with Second Life and how internet has changed their lives,  maybe make a circuit with wires,  Maybe a question with 3 different ways to solve it.  There can be many ways to explore the evolution of the topics.

More questions to explore in the exhibits:
- What is an exhibition?
- How does the internet change education, communication, audiovisual arts, museums, programming?
- Citilab is interested in the impact of the evolution of technology on peoples' lives, and how it influences their thinking and behavior.

 About Citilab
Citilab-Cornellà is an experimental centre for the convergence between the new Internet generation and the new Knowledge Society.  It is a workspace dedicated to activating, stimulating and expanding creative and innovative capacity in entrepreneurs' technology, companies, and citizens of the Knowledge Society.

Citilab-Cornellà is orientated to the promotion of Social Internet-related projects and pays special attention on the evolution of new places, concepts and methodologies related to the impulse of the Information Society and the new economy of telecentres, living labs and e- learning.

Therefore, Citilab-Cornellà is:
• a centre for spreading and training on the TIC technologies and its organization and knowledge creation paradigms.
• a Research Centre on new technologies and social and managerial innovation that rides on them.
• an entrepreneurial centre for the development of companies arisen from the knowledge generated at Citilab-Cornellà, both technological and organizational.

 
Expolab website
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Start your own Expolab project here: