End Point Upgrades Liquid Galaxy at Ann Arbor Hands On Museum
By Dave Jenkins
April 5, 2013
End Point has assisted the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum in upgrading their Liquid Galaxy to the latest version of interactive immersive digital viewing experience. The museum has a mission to inspire children to discover the wonder of science, technology, math, art, and engineering, and to be the leader in imaginative and interactive learning experiences. The Liquid Galaxy plays a central part in that mission.
Googlers provided material support in the form of hardware and technical expertise to assemble a Liquid Galaxy based on the open source project information. Hands On Museum staffers coordinated the Exhibits, IT and Administration teams at the Museum to bring the project together in a few months. The result was an exhibit that beautifully blended Liquid Galaxy into the mission of the museum.
In December 2012 The Ann Arbor hands On Museum announced the addition of a Liquid Galaxy to their roster of exhibits. At End Point, we congratulated them, and we also offered any assistance they might need. The Museum was running into some performance issues, and asked if any upgrades or recommendations were available from End Point.
Working closely with Google, and with the great cooperation of everyone at the museum, End Point replaced the computers and upgraded the system and application software for the Hands On Museum’s Liquid Galaxy. End Point added a new head node and new display nodes for improved performance and reliability.
Additionally, the software upgrades provide a number of advantages:
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Google Street View capability
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constant remote monitoring of all systems
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usage statistics via an online dashboard
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remote system upgrades and troubleshooting from End Point
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a new content management system for the museum administrators.
Mel Drumm, Director for the Hands On Museum, gave a strong review of the Liquid Galaxy and our work:
“I wish to thank everyone for this amazing upgrade. Few exhibits at the Museum have become so popular so fast. Everyone thoroughly enjoys the Liquid Galaxy exhibit. Additionally, the exhibit has become a very important signature exhibit as we work to expand our audience and introduce impressive technologies into our visitor experience. I have enjoyed the opportunity to showcase the exhibit to guests, donors, collaborators and visitors on multiple occasions since the upgrade. It is engaging to everyone and works absolutely flawlessly. We are so grateful for the support from our colleagues at Google and End Point. It is an impressive installation. Thank you!!!”
The Ann Arbor Hands On Museum joins a distinguished group of museums that feature a Liquid Galaxy as one of their exhibits sponsored by Google which End Point has set up: the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian, the Tech Museum in San Jose California, the NOAA Monterrey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center in Santa Cruz, the Pavillon de l’Arsenal in Paris, and the Musée Océanographique in Monaco.
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