Open Forum

 View Only

 Sourcing Museum Display Equipment

Andy Harness's profile image
Andy Harness posted 10-01-2024 01:57 PM

Good afternoon,

I am on the board of a small museum that has only been open for a few years. A lot of our displays are physical artifacts, but I'm trying to get us updated with more interactive exhibits to add an extra "Wow" factor to our existing pieces.

I'm primarily searching for a push button system or systems that could be used for the following purposes.

  1. Trigger lights that could be placed into a premade map of our community.
  2. Trigger several audio clips.

What do you all use or recommend for a museum with a small budget?

Bart Hays's profile image
Bart Hays posted 10-02-2024 04:04 PM

Hi, Andy.

There are not a lot of quick solutions to these questions. However, there may be a few products to consider. The second item is the easiest of the two. There are a few systems out there for push-button audio. 

Signal Innova(Exhibitsalive.com) has a nice player you can buy and configure as needed, or you can have them assemble the whole system with speakers, etc. 
https://exhibitsalive.com/modules/FlashAudio/FlashAudio.html
https://exhibitsalive.com/moreinfo/_Examples/Audio-Station-Examples.html

You can also look at BrightSign players. They are more known for video players but they have an audio-only player that accepts pushbutton inputs. Again you will need speakers and buttons to add to the player.
https://www.brightsign.biz/brightsign-players/series-5/au5/

Pretty much the go to for Buttons is Suzo-Happ

Speakers are specific to your needs. if you got this far and feel intimidated best to go with Signal Innova or find a local AV tech who can help Assemble a system. I am a fan of Drumminhands Design or Eddie Carbin to help with this kind of integration.

As for the lighting system. I don't know of an off-the-shelf solution.
But your average electronics nerd with an Arduino or Raspberry Pi control board could set this up for you. 

Look to the two exhibit designers above for help. 

Feel free to reach out if you want to talk more about semi-custom solutions, happy to help.

Bart

Natasia Gascon's profile image
Natasia Gascon posted 10-05-2024 04:50 PM

Hello Andy,

As Bart had mentioned, there's no quick solution to your situation, as many museum displays are custom made for the specific artifacts or designed to convey a certain story. More than likely you would need a lighting designer or a preparator who can fabricate lighting elements. 

I honestly would suggest the following:

1) Reaching out to your local college/university for Interior Design, Stage Design or Film students who are about to graduate and who need experience for their thesis projects or to add to their portfolios. They can work with you to design something that could work with your budget. 

2) If you are a non-profit you can reach out to contract stage designers, interior designers, electricians, showroom and gallery owners if they would be able to provide services at scale or pro bono.

Related Content