The Dickinson Research Center at The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum contains a series of archival collections. It contains photographs, books, letters, and other media items exploring Western history and the contemporary West. Ideum collaborated with The Cowboy to create a series of interactive displays that provide access to the museum's rich collections, as well as information about many Halls of Fame & Awards the museum presents each year.
The Cowboy Museum has been constructing a new home for the Dickinson Research Center near the museum's entrance. In addition, the museum has recently accelerated the digitization of many of its collections. The interactive exhibits are currently on a temporary wall; they will have a new permanent home in the research center's entryway when the research center is complete.
The temporary exhibit provides access to the collections and includes some information about the new center. The five displays that make up the installation allow visitors to access a variety of collections and other information about the museum. Along with archival materials, visitors can access information about the Halls of Fame found at the Cowboy and their annual awards. In addition, a database of the original “founders cards” from the 1950s and 60s are accessible, providing a glimpse into the early supporters of the museum.
The large center screen features photographic collections from Dickinson Research Center. The images are presented as subsets of collections or as “exhibits” where text and images tell short stories. A straightforward user interface makes it easy to select a topic or a collection of images. The images can be viewed in high resolution, and one can even compare multiple images on the large display.
A full-featured CMS allows museum curators to easily create or modify collections or exhibits. The web-based CMS provides content for the Unity-based application on the center display. All of the displays are Ideum Presenter touch screens. The center one is an 86” Presenter, the four others are vertically hung 49” displays.
The installation’s location near the entrance allows visitors to easily access the materials. In addition, new collections or exhibits can be added as programming around the museum changes, making more relevant content available for visitors.
The four 49” vertical displays display information about upcoming awards and Hall of Fame events. Ideum worked closely with The Cowboy and modified their Website to better present the information about these awards. The awards are an important part of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s mission. As they state, through these halls of fame, the museum “honors and memorializes the men and women who have, through their exemplary lives, careers, and achievements, embodied and perpetuated the heritage of the American West.”
The Cowboy can feature different awards on these displays at different times of the year, so that the most relevant awards and Halls of Fame are presented. In addition to these four displays, Prix de West, the Rodeo Gallery, and the Western Performers exhibitions have additional displays showcasing the awards specific to those galleries. Finally, a database of early museum supporters was developed, featuring their donor cards, providing a unique connection to the museum's past.
As a company deeply rooted in the West, we are very proud of the work that we’ve done with The Cowboy, and we are currently working on their renovation of the American Rodeo Gallery. This gallery also houses the Rodeo Hall of Fame. We will be sharing more information about this exciting exhibition space and its new exhibits later this year.
