MULTIMEDIA PLAYGROUND
Roadside Attractions Along the Information Highway for Kids and Adults
February 12-March 13
If acronyms like CD-ROM make you wish that the 21st century would never arrive or if you feel intimidated by the explosion of possibilities in the fields of education, communication and entertainment, then the Multimedia Playground at the Exploratorium is the place for you.
The Multimedia Playground is a kind of public access software trade show(with the hardware to try things out). The exhibition includes five sections: Internet, Virtual Reality, "Multimedia Library," Multimedia Production, and Interactive Arts, as well as Special Events.
Internet
Ongoing demonstrations of the Internet are featured, including how to log-on and connect to communities of interest. This is the place to be if you want to get your basic questions about the Internet answered and want to experience it first hand, as well as accessing information via World Wide Web (using Mosaic) and gopher. Presentations also include real time experiences of the ways that different kinds of people have begun experimenting with the Internet, such as:
CitySpace, an interactive program for kids, coordinated by Zane Vella. CitySpace uses the concept of neighborhood as a way of introducing children to the Internet. CitySpace allows kids to create an electronic scrapbook, with words, images, and voice, to communicate the experience of their own neighborhood and exchange similar information with kids from other neighborhoods around the country. The result is an ideal, simulated 3-D neighborhood environment in which they ALL would like to live. In the process, the kids are learning to use Internet technology themselves, communicating and learning about the world around them, and the world beyond the boundaries of their own neighborhoods. Kids are invited to bring their own pictures on March 12 & 13.
Virtual Reality
Experience the latest in immersion technologies. Create your own virtual reality in My World, a virtual world in-progress by artist Jeff Donavan on February 12. Experience two works by artist Jenny Holzer, first exhibited at the Guggenheim-Soho museum in New York last fall. Play with Metaphor Mixer, a virtual stock portfolio constructed by Maxus Systems International, and understand how one dimensional statistics can become three dimensional objects. Also, hear from industry leaders in Virtual Reality about what to expect in this new field.
The Multimedia "Library"
What exactly is multimedia anyway? Browse through over 100 CD-ROM and software titles at 14 workstations to see the spectrum of what is currently evolving. Explainers will be on hand to guide you through the programs. Among the titles available are Kid Pix and Just Grandma and Me, for kids. Also experience Myst, a surrealistic adventure; experience Peter Gabriel's secret world yourself in Xplora: and witness American Visions, documenting the work of 20th century artists.
Multimedia Production
In a kaleidoscope sampling of the field, learn how multimedia titles evolve with continuous demonstrations from the developers that create them. See how photographs, videos, animations, and sounds are combined to create projects using the latest multimedia tools. Bring in photographs of your grandmother on February 26 to create a short digital greeting card of Grandma and You, with a team from "Home Movies". Call (415) 561-0388 to sign up.
Interactive Arts
Demonstrations over the course of the month includes different artists demonstrating their multimedia art forms and products. Among them are:
- Todd Rundgren demonstrating his interactive CD-I, which puts you in control of the music from his latest album.
- Create a flip-book based on the I-Ching with Tim Binkley's Books of Change
- Create your own animations with Spoonimation
- Watch the midi band Bodysynth perform and learn how to create music by using your body as an instrument.
- See works in-progress by artists using new technologies to express their perspectives.
- HSC Software presents Digital Art: this leader in software innovations presents a display of digital artists' work; explore your own digital artistic style at a Macintosh computer; learn about this exciting new medium with an interactive kiosk.
SPECIAL EVENTS: in the Exploratorium's McBean Theater
February 12 & 13:
- Creative Team from Lucas Arts present their work
- Navigating the Internet: introduction to modems, networks, and bulletin board systems. Bring discs for shareware.
- Kids from the Computer Access Center in Los Angeles present their work and demonstrate how to make home-grown multimedia titles that put content first.
- Tim Binkley, from the School of Visual Arts in New York and the creator of Books of Change, discusses his views on multimedia.
February 19, 20 & 21:
- Multimedia on the Internet: Internet talk radio, Mosaic, CU-See-Me, and more.
- PFMajic demonstrates their recent interactive projects.
February 26 & 27:
- Kid Pix jockeys show off the potential of animating with Kid Pix and Kid Pix Companion
- Mark Shlicting, creator of Just Grandma and Me, and his son, the voice of "Little Critter," come talk about creating a multimedia title together.
- MUDS and MUSES: Explore these text-based virtual realities on the Internet.
- See the latest from Children's Television Workshop demonstrated by one of their producers, Rebecca Parker.
March 5 & 6:
- Plugged In: High tech kids from east Palo Alto demonstrate their multimedia projects.
- Internet and the Arts: Tour on-line art galleries and download GIFF files.
- Virtual Reality Presentation: Scott Fisher discusses "Managerie," the world he constructed, where you can fly through a flock of birds and chase animals through a virtual terrain.
March 12 & 13:
- Internet Workshop: The Internet and Education, focus on grades K-12
- Presentation by award-winning QuickTime artist John Sanborn
- Presentation by CitySpace on creating their "virtual neighborhood"
- Navigating the Internet: introduction to modems, networks, and bulletin board systems. Bring discs for shareware.
Call the Multimedia Hotline (415) 561-0423 for further information, and times of events. The Multimedia Playground is free with admission to the museum. This is a rare event, utilizing hands-on experimentation, always fun at the Exploratorium. The Multimedia Playground is a joint presentation of the Exploratorium's Center for Public Exhibition and its Center for Media and Communication.
Press: Please contact Linda Dackman or Reena Jana at (415) 563-7337 or email to: pub.info@exploratorium.edu