Fwd: [MCN-L] Pathfinder on the Web

[James William Yoon]

Art Institute of Chicago put up a pretty sophisticated interactive map
on their website. Pretty awesome stuff. We should keep an eye on this
when we get to the meat of designing ours.

James

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sam Quigley <squigley at artic.edu>
Date: Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 1:51 PM
Subject: [MCN-L] Pathfinder on the Web
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv <mcn-l at mcn.edu>


[apologies for any formating problems]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2009
MEDIA CONTACTS:                  Erin
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ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO LAUNCHES LANDMARK VIRTUAL GALLERY TOUR ON
MUSEUM WEBSITE
First Art Museum to Combine Panoramic Gallery Images with Wayfinding
System

Today the Art Institute of Chicago launched Pathfinder,
www.artic.edu/pathfinder/
, the museum’s new interactive floor plan and virtual gallery tour
system on its website. The first art museum in the world to
dynamically combine its floor plan with fully up-to-date high-
definition and panoramic views of its galleries, the Art Institute now
offers web surfers and visitors planning a trip to the museum a
completely unique experience of the galleries. Pathfinder features not
only the interactive floor plan, which is part of the wayfinding
system installed throughout the museum for the opening of the Modern
Wing, but also the ability to zoom in and out of the panoramic views
for closer looks at works of art, direct links to the available
catalog information for individual works, and Spanish-language prompts
and on-screen navigation tools. The initial launch of Pathfinder
includes views of nearly a third of the museum’s permanent collection
galleries, with images of the remaining galleries to be added
throughout the year.

“The Modern Wing has really been the impetus for numerous wide-spread
changes in the ways the museum makes itself accessible to all
visitors, both virtual and real,” said James Cuno, President and
Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute. “We have a new
building, with its fresh approach to our collections, to the city, and
to the landscape around us. And now, with our new interactive
pathfinder on the web, we are bringing these fresh approaches to the
hundreds of thousands of people who come to our website seeking
information about our museum and collections. This pioneering
development is a testament to the efforts of our information
technology department and our constant quest to serve our visitors to
the best of our abilities.”

Led by Sam Quigley, museum Vice President for Collections Management,
Imaging, and Information Technology, the Art Institute team worked
with Slate Roof Studio, designers of interactive media, and AvantLogic
Corporation, the creators of the interactive mapping software
MapsAlive. The web version of Pathfinder is based on the new
interactive digital wayfinding system which was installed in the
museum on touch screens in May for the opening of the Modern Wing.
Taking the wayfinding system to the museum’s website offered the
museum the opportunity to link it to other web-based resources, such
as the online collection catalog and information about daily programs
and current exhibitions. Now web visitors are able to view the
complete floor plans, click an icon for gallery shots, and virtually
“wander” through specific galleries via high-definition digital images
that have been stitched together to create 360-degree views of the
galleries. Viewers now also have the ability to navigate within the
“virtual” galleries by zooming in on individual works of art for a
better look or seeing them with other works displayed nearby, the way
the curators arranged the galleries. Web surfers can also click on the
images to access full information and often descriptive label text
about the work using the online collection catalog.

Pathfinder additionally offers information about daily programming and
gallery tours, all current exhibitions, special activities in the new
Ryan Education Center, and visitor amenities such as restaurants and
shops. The site is available in an English language version as well as
a Spanish language version. The museum will continue the ongoing
process of photographing all the permanent collection galleries
throughout the summer, fall, and winter, with the goal of making
available every Modern Wing gallery by December. The remainder of the
permanent collection galleries will be available online as they are
reinstalled as part of the museum-wide renovation project.

#  #  #  #



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