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A multi-lingual (English and Persian) archive of Iranian women’s history documents, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (among others) and produced on behalf of Harvard University. The site utilized Rails 3.0 and mySQL. It contains over 10,000 images and facsimiles. Visit www.qajarwomen.org.
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In collaboration with the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Historicus, Inc. developed this in depth tour and gallery of the works of Hudson River School founder, Thomas Cole. We brought together a team of design, Ruby on Rails, and database experts (Charles Forcey, Liza Cunningham, and Matthew Latkiewicz) to bring to life the vision of the scholars and curators at the Thomas Cole House. This National Endowment for Humanities funded project is an ongoing effort to educate the public about the works, ideas, and artistic process of Thomas Cole. Behind the site is a content management system allowing the Thomas Cole staff to edit and manage hundreds of artworks and the text and relationships behind the site’s visual tools. Visit www.explorethomascole.org and tell us what you think. UPDATE: Explore Thomas Cole has won an Honorable Mention at the 2010 Webby Awards!
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The University of New Hampshire (with funding from the National Science Foundation) partnered with Historicus, Inc. to produce this novel, open-ended archive of primary sources related to the History of Science in Latin America and the Caribbean. The site combines a drupal open-source content management system front-end and a rich internet application programmed in Flash, with a mySQL database backend for primary-source viewing. The site will launch officially in August of 2009, but can be viewed now at www.hoslac.org. Tell us what you think!
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Working with Dominique Jando and the Big Apple Circus, Historicus, Inc. produced Circopedia, a free, international encyclopedia of the circus. The Rubin Foundation (www.sdrubin.org) provided seed funding for the project. We developed the site using the open-source MediaWiki server platform and collaborated with the design firm Raka Interactive on a custom skin. Visit the site now at www.circopedia.org.
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In 2005, Historicus, Inc. teamed with Mingei International Museum to create an interactive kiosk for display at the museum’s premises in San Diego, California. “Mingei,” a Japanese word meaning “arts of the people,” refers to objects that, though everyday, functional items in their respective cultures of origin, can be appreciated for their beauty and artistic value. The museum envisioned a clean yet appealing interface in which to display digitized photographs of its collection and to provide a bibliography for additional reference. Using mySQL and Macromedia Flash 8, Historicus, Inc. developed an interactive world map, with links to different regions within which the end user can explore art objects separated by medium type. In 2008, Historicus, Inc. revisited the Mingei project and brought See Mingei to the web, developing a mySQL-backed interface capable of displaying, at high resolution, over 5,000 folklore objects sorted by region and media type. Visit the site now at www.see-mingei.org and tell us what you think! Update: See Mingei has won an Honorable Mention at the 2009 Webby Awards and a Silver at the 2009 Horizon Interactive Awards.
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After the success of the Primary Source Investigator (PSI) CD-ROM, Historicus, Inc. launched, in 2005, the redesigned, updated, web-based Primary Source Investigator Version 3.0. Version 3.0 offers a wide variety of tools to facilitate student engagement with primary sources, including: an interactive atlas, interactive glossary and quiz modules, and research guides with related books, websites, movies, and events. In 2006, the PSI won a Horizon Interactive Gold Award. Included in the United States History editions are eleven of the popular mini-documentaries from our original Primary Source Investigator, along with the new mini-documentary “Tulsa Race Riot of 1921,” which explores the causes and repercussions of one of the deadliest race-related conflicts in U.S. history. Eight more PSI titles were released in 2007, 2008, and 2009 — proof of the popularity and expandability of this valuable educational learning tool. Visit the site at psi.mcgraw-hill.com and tell us what you think!
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Historicus, Inc. developed the curatorial database and an Adobe Flash based virtual gallery prototype for Arts of the Islamic World. The mission of this organization is to replace the perception of Islamic culture as unknowable and therefore alien with a widely accessible medium for the appreciation of Islamic culture. Building on best-of-breed technologies for online presentation of material culture, AIW’s virtual museum delivers an enhanced understanding of the Islamic world with a comprehensive online resource that aggregates multiple collections of Islamic art (both public and private) in one place, presents context and perspective on the whole of the collection, and enables easy interaction with the art and the ideas it represents. Visit the prototype at www.artsoftheislamicworld.org and let us know what you think.
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McGraw-Hill asked Historicus, Inc. to develop the content modules for their new Political Science portal, PoliCentral. Using Adobe Flash and a mySQL content database, Historicus developed over thirty different interactive modules for the site, including a number of novel interactive simulations, policy-brief makers, and debate interfaces. Unlike many Flash-based learning objects, these interactive modules can be updated easily through the database. As a result, their content remains fresh semester after semester. Visit the site at policentral.mcgraw-hill.com and let us know what you think!
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With VIVA2, Historicus, Inc. created an interactive interface in which a series of complex animated views of the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center were combined with relevant items from the Skyscraper Museum image archive. Features in the module include: timelines showing images from different stages of construction, the ability to sort for images relevant to certain areas of each building, and a set of subject headings and subcategories that allow images to be grouped together in highly flexible ways. The interface was programmed in Flash MX 2004 (and later, Flash 8) and is driven by a mySQL database that allows for hassle-free updating of information. Because VIVA2 uses static XML, end users are able to conduct database searches, retrieve images, and print and e-mail using only local resources. That means VIVA2 can be placed on a CD-ROM, a USB memory stick, an iPod, or any sufficiently large storage device. It does not require a connection to the Internet (though it does contain links to other websites for additional information) and can thus be used in a safe and flexible way in the classroom, on scholar’s desktops, or in standalone kiosks. Visit the project at www.skyscraper.org. (There, you can also see VIVA, a project we completed in 2001.)
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