The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. It has the reach and the resources to lead the way when it comes to emerging technologies, sustainability, and accessibility. Today, let’s look at the digital transformation of the Smithsonian Institution, more specifically how it uses digital technologies to enhance visitor experience, increase access to collections, and streamline operations. Cherry pick from the ideas below and think about potential applications within your own museum.
What is digital transformation?
Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers. It’s also a cultural change that requires organizations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure. (Source: The Enterprisers Project)
Digital Transformation at the Smithsonian
Digital Access to Collections
Digitization
To give a sense of scope to the Smithsonian’s digitizing process: Less than 1% of the Smithsonian collections are on display at any given time; every other object, specimen, and volume is in storage. The sheer scale and diversity of the collections presents a huge challenge that the Smithsonian first addressed by creating the Digitization Program Office. Extensive digitization projects, including hi-res images, 3D scans, and detailed descriptions of artifacts, make its vast collections accessible to a global audience.
Smithsonian Open Access
Launched in 2020, this initiative allows the public to download, share, and reuse millions of images and data from the collections without restrictions, advancing the Smithsonian’s mission of increasing and diffusing knowledge by supporting education, research, and creativity.
Enhanced Visitor Experience
Virtual Tours
The Smithsonian offers virtual tours of its museums and exhibits, allowing visitors to explore its collections from anywhere in the world. Here’s an example of the virtual tour programming at the National Museum of Natural History. This, of course, became especially important during the pandemic and has continued as a key aspect of inclusion and accessibility initiatives.
Mobile Apps and Digital Guides
You can find a host of Smithsonian mobile apps, from educational games to digital guides that provide visitors with interactive maps, additional content, and personalized tour options.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
The Smithsonian embraces AR and VR technologies to create immersive experiences, such as exploring historical events or interacting with exhibits in new ways. Some particularly noteworthy examples:
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- The National Museum of African American History & Culture app includes AR features to enhance your visit.
- Wonder 360 allows you to experience immersive and awe-inspiring installations from the Smithsonian American Art Museum through VR technology.
- Doorways into Open Access is an AR experience that transports users back to 1912 Paris to explore artifacts of “La Belle Epoque” in a gorgeous virtual space.
Social Media and Digital Engagement
Social Media
The Smithsonian actively engages with the public through social media platforms, sharing stories, behind-the-scenes content, and updates on exhibits and events. For those interested, here are policies for management of the official Smithsonian social media accounts.
Interactive Campaigns
Digital campaigns and interactive projects encourage public participation and creativity using the Smithsonian’s digital resources. A recent example is the digital co-creation campaign launched by the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum to gather stories from the public that will help shape the future of the museum.
Educational Outreach
Smithsonian Learning Lab
A free, interactive online platform that provides educators, students, and lifelong learners with access to digital resources, including lesson plans, activities, and multimedia content from the Smithsonian’s collections.
Online Events and Programs
The Smithsonian offers a wide range of online events and educational programs, including webinars, live-streamed events, and interactive workshops.
Research and Collaboration
Smithsonian Research Online
The Smithsonian uses digital platforms to facilitate research and collaboration among scholars, scientists, and the public. You can learn about and explore the active, ongoing research in the Smithsonian world.
Smithsonian Digital Volunteers
The public can collaborate with the Smithsonian on transcription projects to enhance accessibility of the digital collections.
Smithsonian Institution Archives
The Archives captures, preserves, and shares access to digitized archival materials from the institution itself — regarding its people, programs, research, and stories — to help researchers and historians explore the institution’s history and contributions to American history, scientific exploration, and international cultural understanding.
Operational Efficiency
Digital Asset Management
The Office of the Chief Information Officer implements digital asset management systems to organize and streamline access to the institution’s vast collections of digital files. This system is predominantly used in-house, although a few resources are made available for public reference.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Like any business these days, the Smithsonian uses data analytics and digital tools to enhance operational efficiency, visitor services, and strategic planning.
Innovative Projects and Partnerships
Digitization Program Office
As mentioned at the top of the article, the Digitization Program Office is responsible for the institution’s extensive digitizing. It also leads innovative projects to facilitate digitization and develop new technologies, like 3D digitization workflows, for scanning and preserving artifacts.
Partnerships with Tech Companies
The Smithsonian continues to collaborate with technology companies like Google Arts & Culture, Microsoft, and Salesforce to develop cutting-edge technologies in digitization and digital engagement. Here’s a neat rundown of the Smithsonian’s major tech partnerships and projects.
