2021 MUSE Award Winners

AR, VR, Mixed Reality

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Categories for enterprise technology and onsite visitor experience were not awarded this year.

 

With gratitude to the AAM Media & Technology Professional Network Leadership Team: Angie Judge (Chair), Corey Timpson (Vice Chair), Robert Cecchi, Dan Davis, Jessica Johnson, Julius Jones, Shyam Oberoi, Seema Rao

 

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