WABASH COUNTY, Ind. – The Wabash County Historical Museum has partnered with local firms to introduce a new experience within the Museum. Over the past several weeks, the Museum has installed eleven digital displays that are placed in a variety of exhibit spaces and will engage guests with a new delivery of local history and oral stories.
“We are continually investigating how we can share more local history with our guests of all ages and there is no better way to share history than through first person stories,” said Mitch Figert, Executive Director of the Museum.
After visiting other larger institutions, the Museum’s leadership team worked with local technology firm, Skyline Business Technologies owned by Shayne Balding, to find a solution that would complement the Museum’s current exhibit design.
“The Museum is a unique treasure in Downtown Wabash and I am excited to work with their team to introduce new technology to enhance their exhibits and expand their educational programming,” Shayne Balding, Skyline Business Technologies.
The digital displays will serve a variety of purposes from sharing upcoming events throughout the community, guiding guests through the Museum, and, most exciting, the ability to share video-based oral history stories from local individuals.
To debut this project, the Museum recently recorded several stories of local veterans about their service, thanks to local videographer Katie Stouffer with Thirteen4 Studios. These stories will be displayed on a digital display in the Museum’s newly refreshed military exhibit. Once on display, guests will be able to listen and view these stories and connect them with the artifacts on display.
“With a limited footprint and over 95 exhibits we have to get creative in ways to expand our current offerings and this use of technology will add an exciting and important element to our key exhibits,” said Figert.
The video interviews will also be stored in the Richard E. Ford Archives and Research Center, located in the Museum, and will be made available for research purposes for current and future generations. As this program continues, additional oral history will be collected on topics such as agriculture, local sports history, and architecture.
Pictured are Jim Ridenour, founding board member of the Museum and veteran, Shayne Balding, Skyline Business Technologies, and Katie Stouffer, Thirteen4 Studios.