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AMNH and Brookwood Middle School Partnership

During the fall semester of 2016, Brookwood Middle School students partnered with four University of Alabama museums: Alabama Museum of Natural History, Gorgas HouseMoundville Archaeological Park, and the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum to bring physical web and beacon technology to selected exhibits to enrich museum visitor’s experiences.

Like most museums, The University of Alabama Museums have amazing exhibits but are limited to the story they can tell based on space within the exhibit areas. The physical web and beacon technology allows visitors to access additional information and media through their phones and tablets based on the proximity to the exhibit.

Over 100 Brookwood Middle School students created a real-time connection between something physical, an exhibit, and its digital counterpart, media and information they researched and uploaded to webpage’s designated for each assigned exhibit, based on proximity. This project grouped students to work collaboratively through research and technology.

This new model for museums allows visitors to walk up to an exhibit and watch a video, see pictures, read additional text information, access historical records, or just about anything the museum wants visitors to experience to tell a deeper, richer story.