I'm surprised by the Peabody Essex installation. We've certainly mounted many iPads in galleries, but always rigidly. When I think tether, I picture a pendulum, and whatever is on the end of the tether will be whacking the wall with force. There are some pretty robust "shock-proof" cases out there, but they generally have the aesthetics of a tonka truck. We expect cases for publicly accessible iPads to be lockable, and shield a power cable (because there's no way staff has the time to plug dying iPads into a charger every time the battery indicator turns red). It's also often helpful if the home button can be hidden away from visitors' fingers. I don't know of an iPad case that checks all of these boxes, much less one that provides high-level protection and gives art gallery vibes as opposed to Robot Wars vibes. But maybe it's out there!
We've also built a few custom housings, but this, of course, eats into precious budgets. A robust but positionable iPad housing would be very cool - and pretty darn expensive.
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Jason Jay Stevens
Exhibit Designer/Principal
Flutter & Wow Museum Projects
Ann Arbor MI
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