Exploring the Moon with Alan Bean

Fifty years ago we landed on the Moon—where will we be fifty years from now? Opened in June 2019, Launchpad follows the journey of Fort Worth native Alan Bean as he trains to be astronaut, walks on the Moon, lives in space, and becomes an artist. As exhibition curator, I selected dozens of Space Race artifacts, designed interactive demonstrations, and created an innovative new digital display system with built-in accessibility features. Launchpad bridges the gap between families with young children and adults who lived through our thrilling first steps in space, providing experiences that connect with every generation.

Discovering adaptations for a changing world

Our world is changing—what will you do? Climate change can feel like an intimidating, impersonal subject. Project Planet, opened in August 2020, aims to bring things down to a more personal level. As project leader, I defined the exhibition’s scope, worked with corporate and governmental partners to secure artifacts, and managed the design and fabrication process. This exhibition was the featured attraction during the Museum’s first pandemic-related reopening; With much still unknown about COVID-19, we developed a series of touch-less interactives that maintained the spirit of our hands-on institution, while protecting our visitors.

This exhibit can be anything

There’s new science happening every day—this gallery keeps up. With the pace of change in the world today, it’s easy for museums to feel five, ten, or twenty years out of date.That’s where Current Science Studio comes in. This unique space is the physical manifestation of the digital world. NOAA’s Science on a Sphere enables the display of maps, planets, and satellite views. 4k and 6k screens take the place of text panels and wall graphics. And three holographic displays bring 3D models of artifacts into the story, too. But here’s where it gets really cool: at the press of a button, everything can transform. One moment the gallery can be all about space exploration. The next, it can be tracking the progress of the latest hurricane, or mapping the spread of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. With Current Science Studio, every visit connects guests with the science behind what’s happening in the news—right now.

See the museum you want to see

We all enter museums with different interests and needs. I'm leading development of InfoGlass, a computer vision-based digital gallery guide. Each user selects their preferred language, reading level, and text size, then cutting-edge computer vision algorithms identify objects within a gallery and present information appropriate to their selections. So, whether you’re a kid who speaks Spanish or an adult with trouble seeing, you get information in the way that’s best for you. The tool is currently in user testing, but our future plans include a large-scale rollout and different content paths depending on a user’s interests.

Museum exhibits should be easy to set up and manage

Every modern museum includes myriad technology. Unfortunately, digital experiences are often built with tools that are custom-made, proprietary, and difficult to use. I’m creating open-source tools that bring modern, digital interaction within the reach of every museum. Constellation is a free and open-source toolkit that leverages hardware you already own to enable easy-to-create, easier-to-manage new digital elements. Based on Python and Javascript, Constellation runs on every platform from Raspberry Pi to Windows 11.