For Immediate Release

Arlington, VA —Twenty-seven organizations have gained accolades in the 22nd annual Media & Technology MUSE Awards, presented by the Media & Technology Professional Network of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).

MUSE awards recognize outstanding achievement in Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) media. The Media & Technology Professional Network’s annual awards are presented to institutions that enhance the GLAM experience and engage audiences with useful and innovative digital programs and services. The MUSE awards celebrate scholarship, community, innovation, creativity, education, accessibility, and inclusiveness.

Awardees include:

AR, VR, Mixed Reality

Augmented, virtual, and mixed reality experiences for onsite or offsite use, including as a contribution to visitor experience, marketing, outreach, or educational use on any platform including kiosks, mobile, headsets, etc.

Thank you to our jurors Jane Alexander (Jury Chair), Kellian Adams and Courtney O’Callaghan.

Gold

Reinventing Reality: Explore the Science of Virtual Reality
Virtual Science Center
“The jury felt that this experience was a great use of VR and use of technology to make the concept understandable in an innovative way.”

Silver

Ray Harryhausen NGS: A multi-platform experience with Playdead and Smartify
Smartify

Bronze

The National Palace Museum Children’s Gallery 2.0
National Palace Museum

Developing A Revolutionary Audio Guide For The Hyde Park Barracks Museum
Local Projects

Digital Campaign

Projects and campaigns with a digital marketing focus or innovative viral element, which may include social media, email newsletters, public relations, videos, blogs, and/or online advertising.

Thank you to our jurors Susan Hazan (Jury Chair), Robert Davies, Andrea Stern, Leonard Steinbach and Anna Lobovikov Katz.

Gold

As Shedd Aquarium Closed, Penguins Waddled into the Limelight
Shedd Aquarium
“What can you say when an Aquarium Penguin attains worldwide adoration and attention, and whose name recognition suddenly leaves that of a great city, eponymous beef dish and a forgotten general in his waddley wake. Igniting massive publicity and international and loving emulation Wellington “Shedd” a light on his institution’s creativity, sense of fun, and passionate caring about its community. At a time of universal despair, the joy of watching Wellington was something everyone could agree on.”

Silver

#GettyMuseumChallenge
The Getty

Bronze

Women’s Suffrage Stories You May Not Know
Smithsonian Institution

Mobile Experience

Mobile, tablet, or other handheld device-based experiences designed for onsite or offsite use including but not limited to mobile or web apps, educational resources, audio guides, location-based technology, bots, and digital labels.

Thank you to our jurors Bruce Wyman (Jury Chair), Erika Kiessner, Kevin Von Appen and Bryan Kennedy.

Gold

Taipei Fine Arts Museum – App
Taipei Fine Arts Museum
“This app is a wonderful assembly of different interactive components, broadly appealing to a set of diverse audiences and needs. The app is simple and straightforward with multiple moments of engagement that both surprise and delight the visitor.”

Silver

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza – Dealey Plaza Interactive Guide
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Bronze

Whitney Plantation
Acoustiguide

Honorable Mention

CoboFun: cyclical learning for everywhere and everyone
National Museum of Natural Science

Online Experience

Online experiences and resources designed for any form of web-based outreach and engagement including websites, portals, microsites, badging, online exhibitions, online collections, image databases, and open data projects.

Thank you to our jurors Tim Schwartz (Jury Chair), Xin Xin, Liz Neely, Kristine Genevive Khouri and Mara Gladstone.

Gold

Muslims in Brooklyn website
Howes Studio Inc
“The jury deeply appreciates the socially engaged methodologies that were employed in the building of this collection, as well as the emphasis on participation and collectivity. There are multiple entry points to understand the narrative as well as options to dig deeper and further explore the collections.”

Silver

Duty to Country: America’s Broken Promise to the Philippines
Night Kitchen Interactive

Bronze

“Finding Freedom” Online Interactive Application ID
Museum of the American Revolution

Honorable Mention

YIVO Bruce and Francesca Cernia Slovin Online Museum | Beba Epstein
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

Podcasts

Serialized, non-site-specific audio programs via any mode of delivery for documentary, interview, news, informational, and entertainment purposes.

Thank you to our jurors Marielle van Tilburg (Jury Chair), Ann Blokland, Eva Wesemann, Diana Pereira and Christine Murray.

Gold

Raw Material Mix tape: The Beholder’s Share – Anselm Kiefer
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
“The jury felt that The Beholder’s Share moves podcasting to a whole new place, that of being an artwork in itself.”

Silver

Sparrows Point: An American Steel Story
Baltimore Museum of Industry

Bronze

The Object Podcast
Minneapolis Institute of Art

Honorable Mention

The Vagina Museum Podcast
Vagina Museum

Research and Innovation

Bleeding edge applied research and development, methodologies, innovation programs, investment programs, startup collaborations, or industry initiatives that may be visitor or enterprise-facing.

Thank you to our jurors Sheila Carey (Jury Chair), Ben Fast, Kristy von Moos, David Newbury and Elena Villaspaesa.

Gold

Pieces of Now Project
Greensboro History Museum
“Powerful, impactful project that deals with difficult contemporary subject matter in a sensitive way by ‘stepping aside’ and letting community voices be heard. The platforms and online programming meet audience needs in a great example of co-curation and community collecting best practices.”

Silver

Remains of the Landscape: An Illuminated Historical Map of Chiayi
National Palace Museum

Bronze

Innovation Studio
Relative Scale

Video, Film, Animation, and Live Media

Filmic or live media presentations or performances in any time-based or linear media format including media-based educational programs, live streams, online content repositories (e.g., YouTube channel), and more.

Thank you to our jurors Chiara Bernasconi (Jury Chair), Robin White, David Hart, Anna Chiaretta Lavatelli, Jonathan Munar and Vivian Gill.

Gold

What Color Is a Blue Whale?
American Museum of Natural History
“This project is great in its structure, storytelling, and implementation. The behind-the-scene stories are very effective in drawing audiences. It’s a great example of treating a subject that everyone knows, turn the content into another type of storytelling and then bring it back to the natural world.”

Silver

Museum of Discovery and Science – Wise Bodies
Museum of Discovery and Science

Bronze

Big night (at the Museum)
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Honorable Mention

Alexander von Humboldt and Heart of the Andes: An Immersive Journey and Introducing Alexander von Humboldt
Smithsonian American Art Museum

2020 Response

In the face of the unique social, political, environmental, health, and economic challenges of 2020, any digital or technology innovation or leadership that has embraced disruption, dramatically improved digital literacy or pivoted for the new normal.

Thank you to our jurors Uma Nair (Jury Chair), Cara Franke, Matthew Dunnerstick, Nick Hulea, and Liz McDermott.

Gold

iThrive Sim: Lives in Balance
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum
“iThrive Sim: Lives in Balance turned the 2020 COVID situation into a meaningful learning opportunity in a contemporary, interactive way. By utilizing a live-action role-play-based digital platform they created a unique and empowering civic learning experience for students very relevant for the times.”

Silver

Pieces of Now Project
Greensboro History Museum

Bronze

Astronomy Online
American Museum of Natural History

Honorable Mention

DZS News (Detroit Zoological Society)
Detroit Zoological Society

Please note the categories for enterprise technology and onsite visitor experience were not awarded this year.

“This year’s AAM MUSE Awards are incredibly special because they represent one of the most important and memorable years for the modern history of museums and one of the most rapid periods of change for digital transformation in the world,” said Angie Judge, Chair of the Media & Technology Professional Network. “Congratulations to all our awardees on their achievements and a very heartfelt thank you to the members of our MuseTech community that spent their valuable time reviewing, deliberating, and helping recognize the noteworthy projects listed below. We look very forward to engaging with everyone in person again next year.”

The MuseAwards are organized by the AAM Media & Technology Professional Network Leadership Team includes Angie Judge (Chair), Corey Timpson (Vice Chair), Robert Cecchi, Dan Davis, Jessica Johnson, Julius Jones, Shyam Oberoi, and Seema Rao.

About the Media & Technology Professional Network

The Media & Technology (M&T) Professional Network of the American Alliance of Museums represents museum professionals and others who use technology to serve the field in a broad array of areas, such as the production of media resources for interpretation; defining standards; building databases; and creation, maintenance, and support of growing technologies that museums use to further their missions.

About the American Alliance of Museums 

The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

 

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Press contact:

Natanya Khashan
media@aam-us.org
Director, Marketing & Communications
American Alliance of Museums