New ‘Get Smart’ Exhibition Opening Soon

New ‘Get Smart’ Exhibition Opening Soon

Have you ever found yourself marvelling at the rapid advancements of technology and connectivity in the world around you? Then be prepared to be enthralled by MOTAT’s new interactive exhibition,Get Smart – NZ Wired in the Digital World | Kia Atamai – Aotearoa Mamati, opening on Monday 20 July 2015.

Get Smart takes visitors on an immersive journey of discovery and nostalgia as it explores the origins of the smart devices that surround us today. It describes how networks and computing have come together to provide instant connectivity and takes a closer look at the Kiwi innovators and entrepreneurs who have contributed to this thrilling digital age. Get Smart investigates the growth of computing, gaming and communications to illustrate how the powerful machines now carried in pockets and purses have become faster, cheaper, and smarter.

MOTAT CEO Michael Frawley says “Get Smart is another milestone in the Museum’s journey to become a ‘light bulb’ institution where we focus on Kiwi ingenuity in a way that inspires our visitors. It follows Welcome to the Machine - Nau mai ki te Mīhini which recently received top honours for the Most Innovative Use of Te Reo Māori at the 2015 NZ Museum Awards. We plan to build on this success and find other creative ways to incorporate Te Reo into the exhibition content.”

“Just one of the great stories from the exhibition is that of Peter Beck, founder and CEO of aerospace company Rocket Lab. The company has kindly gifted the Museum with a real-life rocket fuselage to put on display in Get Smart” says Mr Frawley. “Peter is a local entrepreneur whose ingenuity has led him to the forefront of rocket technology putting satellites into space. As Rocket Lab seeks to make space accessible and enable the development of global wireless networks, their work exhibited in Get Smart is an inspiration for future generations of innovators to reach for the stars.”

Central to the Get Smart exhibition is an impressive 10m column of moving lights leading to a large suspended screen, emulating the continuous stream of data flowing between our every-day modern lives and The Cloud. A moment in the special photo booth will see visitors scanning themselves and uploading images to this screen to create a rolling projection of captured snaps. This striking experiential exhibit is bound to be a focal point.

Some of the interactive activities from Get Smart include popular arcade machines where adults can relive their youth and show the next generation how to play legendary games such as Pacman and Donkey Kong. Gamers of all ages will be delighted to play Tetris® on an iPad to see how fast they can clear lines of Tetriminos in the deceptively simple yet seemingly unbeatable game, which is just as popular today as when it was launched over 31 years ago. Children get to experience using dial up phones and watch the telephone exchange mechanically connect their calls in real time. Visitors can calculate their age in binary digits by using a simple binary age calculator or experiment with a giant abacus and slide-rule. On a telegraph set in the same style as the one from the ‘Titanic’ they can send and receive mayday Morse code messages to seek help for the survivors of that doomed ship.

Get Smart showcases many different forms of the computer including New Zealand’s first analogue computer, The Differential Analyser, built back in 1935 mostly from Meccano and the massive early business computer, the IBM 360. Other models demonstrate the miniaturisation of computers and how gaming’s continual quest for faster graphic and sound cards has spurred on better design and componentry. There’s a great example of the New Zealand designed Poly computer which was used widely in education before Apple stepped in and dominated that market. Not to be missed is the first mobile computer, the Osborne, which weighs in at a mere 10.7 kg and was advertised as the first computer to fit under an aeroplane seat!

Adults will have the rare opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane as they recognise the cutting edge technology of their youth exhibited in the ‘Wonder Wall’. The objects on display range from record players, transistor radios and cassettes to Walkman, Kodak cameras and home movie projectors. Get Smart demonstrates the evolution of phones, iPods and MP3 players as they become hybrid devices fulfilling a number of functions. Visitors can see examples of the early Motorola ‘brick’ cell phone and Palm Pilot amongst many others and finally, the iPhone 2G which was heralded as the first true smart device.

“The exhibition provides a new level of experience for visitors with its mixture of informative and fun elements. It reveals how expanding networks and faster computers have enabled the highly connected digital age we live in and how Kiwis are enthusiastically engaged in this technology. While children will particularly enjoy the hands-on approach of Get Smart | Kia Atamai, the exhibition will surprise and delight visitors of all ages” says Mr Frawley.

Get Smart opens 20 July from 10am – 5.00pm daily. Admission to the exhibition is included as part of MOTAT general admission.

ENDS

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