Rachael Burns: Freelance developer and programmer of interactive media, digital exhibits, installations and touchscreen projects for galleries, museums and global visitor attractions. Museum exhibitions are my speciality, and although based in Manchester I often work internationally. Please get in touch to discuss your museum/exhibition needs.

Scarborough Art Gallery

Rachael Burns — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:32:23 +0000

The gallery houses Scarborough’s permanent fine art collection which reflects the eclectic mix of the community and the cultural heritage of the area. The gallery also has a lively, regularly changing, exhibition space.

The exhibition “Fears, Foes and Faeries” looks at the history behind superstition, charms and bygone British folklore.

It is the culmination of a three year project that is part of the Precious Cargos, Stories of the World – one of the key projects of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. It has involved Scarborough Museums Trust working with young people from its youth engagement group Cultiv8; Scarborough Maritime Association and students from Hull University.

At the heart of the exhibition is the intriguing collection of charms and amulets collected by one of Scarborough’s curators William James Clarke.

ROLE:
Working in collaboration with Hive Manchester, my role was to program and animate three unique touchscreen exhibits, each exploring a different theme relating to the charm collections. Each exhibit gave the visitor important information about the charms through engaging gameplay and informative puzzles.

Heartlands

Rachael Burns — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:29:29 +0000

The Heartlands Project is a new visitor attraction in Cornwall based at the site of the Robinson’s Shaft. The derelict tin mining area has been brought back to life with a huge multi million pound grant from the Big lottery fund, it’s part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site and is of great historic significance.

The project is a community led scheme to transform the cultural landscape and create an inspirational hub in the heart of the area.

ROLE:
The two interactive exhibits produced for the site concentrate on teaching the visitors about the history of the once thriving mining industry. One touch screen piece elaborates on the different pumping engines used at the site and compares them with others from the same era.

The second exhibit focuses on physical objects housed in the exhibition space. Each object has an on screen option allowing the user to interact and learn more about its personal story and how it was used.

Catalyst Primary Science DVD

Rachael Burns — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:43:26 +0000

Catalyst Science Discovery Centre has collaborated with The Royal Society of Chemistry North West Trust and Chemistry with Cabbage to create a DVD of simple science experiments for primary school teachers to use as a resource. This was then distributed to schools UK wide with the intention of awakening the fascination and fun of Chemistry teaching to primary school students.

ROLE:
I developed the interactive dvd and linked together visual resources.

Laing Gallery

Rachael Burns — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:33:35 +0000

The Laing is home to an impressive collection of art and sculpture and its exhibition programme is renowned for bringing the biggest names in historic, modern and contemporary art to the North East. The Northern Spirit, is part of a major new £1.06 million development in the gallery. The permanent exhibition celebrates the achievements of artists, manufacturers and makers from the North East of England.

ROLE:
I created three touchscreen programs which pull in information about the works and the artists from a database. This database was also fully updateable. The display also showcases local people’s films and stories.

A fourth exhibit on a 52″ touchscreen table allows the visitor to zoom into a map to see photographs, submitted by locals, associated with the various locations, also updateable with new submissions.

The Cardiff Story

Rachael Burns — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:26:03 +0000

This new multicultural and diverse museum in Cardiff was created to help tell the story of how the varying communities have helped shaped the Cardiff we now know today. Interactive exhibits help teach visitors of all ages about how they can research their past and help them to delve into Cardiff’s rich history.

ROLE:
I created three different multilingual touchscreen exhibits detailing how the visitor can research their family, community and local area’s history. They provide information in two languages, alongside audio and visual content.

A fourth exhibit, also multilingual, challenges the visitor to a game of memory and knowledge. Users watch video clips from which multiple choice questions are later asked. The user then recalls the information and answers questions about the local festivals which communities still hold in the area.

Museum of Liverpool

Rachael Burns — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:54:14 +0000

This new museum located on the waterfront tells the story of Liverpool with diverse exhibits housed in a stunning building. The museum demonstrates Liverpool’s unique contribution to the world and showcases popular culture while tackling social, historical and contemporary issues.

ROLE:
For Phase 3 of the museum opening, I created 4 multimedia exhibits, one of which contains 4 sub games. Two of these programs were also created as web versions to be used on the Museum of Liverpool’s website.

Chopin Museum

Rachael Burns — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:47:14 +0000

This interactive multimedia museum is located in the center of Warsaw and is dedicated to the life and works of the composer Frederik Chopin. Each of the four floors of the palace is devoted to life and work of the composer from a different perspective.
RFID cards allow users explore a personalised museum experience in one of 8 languages.

ROLE:
I programmed the front end interaction of 17 different exhibits which linked to a pre-built CMS which handled the changing of languages and insertion of content.

Little Company of Mary Heritage Centre

Rachael Burns — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:46:34 +0000

The Little Company of Mary was founded by Venerable Mary Potter in Nottingham on the 2nd July 1877.

Recently a visitor centre to celebrate the life and works of Mary Potter opened in Nottingham.

ROLE:
For this permanent exhibition I programmed two pieces of touchscreen software. One based around audio and video content from various members of the Little Company of Mary around the world. The second concentrating more on the history of the company.

Hong Kong Wetlands Park

Rachael Burns — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:12:19 +0000

The Hong Kong Wetland Park comprises a 10,000 square meter large visitor centre, Wetland Interactive World, and a 60-hectare Wetland Reserve.

Each piece of software was designed to draw the user into learning through mixed media in a visually interesting way. These interactive media includes gameplay scenarios, audio and video files. All are translated into four languages which could be changed by the user at any point.

ROLE:
I was solely responsible for programming ten different kiosk interactives for this world class tourism, educational and conservation facility.

Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum

Rachael Burns — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:08:41 +0000

At Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum you can explore the game’s evolution from a garden party pastime to a multimillion dollar professional sport played world-wide: with exciting interactives, and films. This state of the art museum has touch screen consoles for visitors to interact with to find out more about the players and the tournament itself.

These programs give a broad range of easily accessible information to the user based on various subjects. Some interface with external hardware to give a more physically interactive experience and a selection generate statistics based on user input. The majority include audio and video integration for a rich media experience.

Subjects of the interactives range from information about players over the years, the fashion, even facts and figures about where tennis balls are manufactured.

The museum has won London Attraction of the Year, and achieved a Special Commendation in the 2008 European Museum of the Year Award.

ROLE:
I was sole programmer of all fifteen completely bespoke kiosk interactives situated in the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.