Portfolio: What's the Story?

Background

In 2013, the National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Institution, was interested in putting on an exhibit showcasing the history of the interactions of the government of the United States with the tribes of Native Americans, both as documented in the treaties between the two nations and, later, how the United States refused to abide by the terms it itself dictated.

Interface Media Group is well-known in DC for its expertise on storytelling, both in the political arena and in the realm of museums. Having offered several multimedia exhibits for NMAI previously, including a long-lived video wall in the museum's entrance when it opened a decade previous, NMAI counted on Interface Media to deliver an immersive, high-quality experience. Interface Media.

What's the Story? asks guests to classify several artifacts according to the time period they are associated with, and doing so offers an explanation of additional context. Matching all the artifacts plays a video that expands on the history connecting the artifacts. Guests drag the artifacts from a pile in the middle of the screen to labeled specimen folders at the bottom.

My Role

What's the Story? was initially developed by another member of the IMG team. As I had been successful with the other kiosks in this exhibit, and as he became saturated with other assignments, I was asked to review and assist with optimization, mainly by switching custom solutions to official WPF paradigms the other employee wasn't aware of and closing race conditions. Later, I took on full responsibility for break-fix, installation, maintenance, and other areas.

Fate

What's the Story? is at the end of the exhibit hall, conveniently located to be a diversion for guests while waiting for other members of their party to catch up. It is scheduled to be decommissioned sometime in late 2021.