Our involvement in Museum display development grew out of many frustrating museum experiences. Often displays did not explain the context or historical importance of the object on display.

More often than not an interactive display would call attention to a detail and the user was left trying to figure out what they were talking about while the speaker was moving on to another point. Even more frustrating, were instances were the speaker referenced not be present in the display.

Punching in a code, dialing a phone number, or trying to navigate a poorly designed interface at each exhibit was clumsy at best and detracted from the overall experience.

We felt that given some effort, we could develop something better. This led to the creation of the Hutmacher Museum App.

This interactive display allows visitors to experience the Hutmacher farmstead in its natural state while having access to information that would typically be part of a museum display.

The app covers the historical context of the site by including information on the impact of the homestead act and the reasons why the ethnic group Germans from Russia came to North Dakota.

It also explains the historic importance of techniques used to construct the buildings as well as first person accounts of what it was like to grow up on this unique farmstead.

The Hutmacher App