Project Title:  "Voices for the Lake"

Museum/ Institution: ECHO: Lake Aquarium and Science Center Leahy Center for Lake Champlain 

Technology Category: Mixed Media

Program Created:  2007

Program URL (if available):  

http://voicesforthelake.org/

http://backroom.bostonproductions.com/?page_id=834

Project Image(s) and/or Video

Media Source(s)/Credit(s):

BPI Museum Technology Journal (http://backroom.bostonproductions.com/?page_id=834)

Program Description: (150-250 words)

Voices for the Lake (VFL) was established in response to an urgent need to connect the public with issues concerning the stewardship identified by the LCBP State of the Lake Report. Established by the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center at the Leahy Center and funded by the Institute of the Museum of Library Services, the project aims to build community participation through online, exhibit-based and outreach programming.  VFL uses social media tools to build a virtual community of people with rich, personal stories about Lake Champlain and its rivers and streams. In collaboration with the Vermont Folklife Center, VFL uses storytelling as a means to move individuals to reflect on their personal connections to water and connect to their communities. With support from the Vermont Department of Libraries, VFL works with watershed communities in both Vermont and New York to help build digital storytelling skills. This community-generated archive of stories is also part of an innovative exhibit at ECHO where visitors can interact with existing stories and contribute their own stories to the project. (http://voicesforthelake.org/about)

At the Museum, visitors are invited to sit down at the kiosks and browse or contribute to the Voices for the Lake.

Visitors can contribute: audio, video, links, photos, or stories (stories can also include their own drawings). This content is available to other visitors in real time at the Museum or on the website.

Firsthand or secondary review/critique: (150-250 words) 

Secondary review: voices of the lake image.tiff

I sent time browsing the contributed content online. When you select a thumbnail image, it takes you to another page, (see the tiff) on the left hand side there is a bar that places their story onto a Google map, the body of the window is dedicated to the content and below the content you can add a comment. The project seems like a very integrated way to create community in support of an important natural resource.

Based on the images of the kiosk installation, there are options for people to sit at a traditional computer, to sit at a touch screen, or to stand at a touch screen. It appears from the images that the touch screens are facing a bank of windows; this could create some problems with glare. However, if the bank of windows looks out onto the lake, it could create a greater sense of atmosphere.

Technologies incorporated:

Key Technologies 

Largely based on open source technologies.

Key Technologies

• Adobe AIR
• FFMpeg (Ffmpeg is used by both the kiosk and the website voicesforthelake.org).
• Red5
• Omeka

(Boston Production's Museum Technology Journal)

Internally or externally produced:

Externally Produced

Entry Contributor and Date: 

Erin Narloch 4/10/11

Related projects: