Innovative Applications of Technology with Public Anthropology Collections

About the Program

Category: Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

In 2019, the San Bernardino County Museum’s Anthropology Department embarked on a project to apply innovative technological solutions including GIS, photogrammetry, and virtual reality technologies to more effectively connect the public to the Museum’s indigenous cultural material. The Museum’s Curator of Anthropology developed an internship program to engage students in highly specialized fields to apply (1) GIS technology for effective collections stewardship and data retrieval, (2) photogrammetry techniques for interactive exhibits, and (3) the use of virtual reality for hands-on public programming. GIS technology supported the compiling of large amounts of location data from the museum’s numerous archaeological collections, a means of more effectively understanding the ancestral territory served. With this information, museum, tribes, and federal agencies can appropriately affiliate these collections and treat them within the cultural contexts in which they belong. The data compiled is a necessary component of the interpretation of these same collections. The photogrammetry technology was employed to better interpret collections and to create an audio, visual, and tactile way of engaging with objects traditionally silent and untouchable. Photogrammetry was also the tool to create an archaeology video game for the museum, in which guests apply a headset and become an archaeologist through virtual reality. The various innovative applications of technology proactively engaged the museum visitor and tribal partners to produce a more impactful, intentional, and insightful experience.