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Apple Announces Donation to Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of
Natural History
Visitors will Get Hands-on Museum Experience with Apple's 3-D Animation
Movie Stations and Interactive-multimedia Kiosks in Janet Annenberg
Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals.
CUPERTINO, Calif.--Sept. 16, 1997--At a press conference held this
morning, Apple Computer, Inc. announced that it has made a major
donation to the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and
Minerals located in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of
Natural History. Apple's donation includes the installation of six 3D
animation movie stations and 14 interactive-multimedia kiosks designed
to educate and entertain the Museum's over 6 million annual visitors.
The Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals, which
has undergone a magnificent restoration, opens to the public on
Saturday, Sept. 20, 1997. The 3D animation movie stations and
interactive-multimedia kiosks run by Apple-donated Power Macintosh
systems and multi-scan and AV monitors and will be installed throughout
the Hall--home to the famous Hope Diamond and the finest collection of
gemstones, jewelry, and mineral specimens in the world.
"It is rewarding for us to empower the Museum with the tools to provide
an enriching learning experience for children and adults from around the
world," said Guerrino De Luca, Apple executive vice president of
Marketing. "We are honored the Museum invited Apple to be involved with
this technology-based project. We have always felt strongly about
supporting Education and the Arts and this gives us an ideal vehicle to
display our commitment. "
"We are thrilled to accept this generous donation from Apple and look
forward to a continuing relationship that will educate our visitors
about the wonders of the planet using state-of-the-art technology," said
Ms. T.C. Benson, associate director, National Museum of Public Affairs.
"Our common goal of reaching students of all ages--from 5 to 100--is
evident in the new partnership now forged between Apple and the National
Museum of Natural History and we are very grateful."
Each 3D animation movie station and interactive-multimedia kiosk focuses
on a particular component of the Hall's collection, and was developed
using state-of-the art technology to take visitors on a visual and
interactive, geological tour. The 3D animation movie stations bring the
Hall's physical collection to life, providing the viewer a more complete
viewing experience.
The kiosks will allow visitors to take on the role of geologist and
scientist as they explore the formation of the earth through the
"Crystal Symmetry" kiosk, create volcanoes and observe their eruptions
at the "Build a Volcano" kiosk, witness the formation of the Himalayas
through the "Changing Earth" kiosk, and explore the Milky Way galaxy at
the "Make an Impact" kiosk.
The content for the 3D animation movie stations and
interactive-multimedia kiosks were created by Engineering Animation,
Inc. (EAI) who combined the expertise of renowned geologists, in-house
scientific illustrators, researchers, multimedia artists, and 3D
animators to produce these scientifically-accurate animations.
Apple Computer, Inc. ignited the personal computer revolution in the
1970s with the Apple II, and reinvented the personal computer in the
1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is now recommitted to its original
mission - to bring the best personal computing products and support to
students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons
and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.
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