New ‘Get Smart’ Interactive Exhibition Now Open

New ‘Get Smart’ Interactive Exhibition Now Open

If you’ve ever found yourself marvelling at the rapid advancements of modern technology then you’re bound to be enthralled by MOTAT’s new interactive exhibition, Get Smart – NZ Wired in the Digital World | Kia Atamai – Aotearoa Mamati, which opened at MOTAT last week.

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 have built on this success and found other creative ways to incorporate Te Reo into the exhibition content.”

Central to the Get Smart exhibition is an impressive 10m column of moving lights leading to a large suspended screen. A moment in the special photo area will see visitors scanning themselves and uploading images to this ‘selfie tower’ to create a rolling projection of captured snaps. The striking experiential exhibit is already a highlight of the exhibition.

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, Tetris and Donkey Kong. 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. Adults 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. 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 is open from 10am – 5.00pm daily and entry to the exhibition is included as part of MOTAT general admission.

ENDS

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