Viewspace
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: I
want ViewSpace/SkyWatch for my museum! How can I get it?
- A: Just
contact us and we’ll get you
set up.
- Q: I
think I may want ViewSpace/SkyWatch. Can I preview a CD?
- A: Sure!
Just contact us and we’ll
send you a CD.
- Q: Is
ViewSpace/SkyWatch really free? What’s the catch?
- A: The
production and delivery of ViewSpace/SkyWatch is offered at no cost to
museums, planetariums, nature centers, and other venues of “informal
science education” in the USA. (A very modest annual subscription
fee covers our pass-through costs for the networked presentation
software used at your site.) International requests are handled
on a case-by-case basis. We ask only that you sign a simple form
agreeing to honor the copyright of images and music in the program,
and to send us a picture of ViewSpace/SkyWatch running in your facility.
- Q: Can
I get ViewSpace/SkyWatch on DVD or videotape?
- A: No.
ViewSpace/SkyWatch is not a video. For it’s audience impact, ViewSpace/SkyWatch
depends on both the immediacy of fresh astronomy, delivered daily,
and on high-resolution images that simply degrade when reduced
to video resolution. For the same reason, we strongly discourage
users from showing ViewSpace/SkyWatch on TV monitors fed by the “TV
out” connector available on some PC video cards.
- Q: How
do you make sure the science is accurate?
- A: As
one of the world’s top astronomical research institutions,
we care about science! All ViewSpace/SkyWatch presentations are created
in consultation with active research scientists,
both within and beyond the Space Telescope Science Institute.
- Q: Is
ViewSpace/SkyWatch Interactive?
- A: Not
in the limited sense of kids pushing buttons or manipulating mechanisms.
ViewSpace/SkyWatch is primarily a means for conveying the amazing fruits
of cutting-edge astronomical research. Because ViewSpace/SkyWatch has a
slow, meditative pace, there’s time to soak in the views
and consider the meaning. This is just what people do when they
watch it: They interact with the message. Coming soon for those
who wish to use ViewSpace/SkyWatch as a live speaker support system: A
Selectable Segment feature that can be invoked when desired.
- Q: How
long does ViewSpace/SkyWatch last?
- A: ViewSpace/SkyWatch
consists of a long, repeating loop of individual story segments.
Each segment ranges from five or six to as much as 15 minutes.
The whole loop takes well over an hour before repeating. The segments
are designed so that people with time- or interest-constraints
can wander in and out, and still enjoy the experience. Some people
will stay for extended periods and watch the whole thing.
- Q: The
hardware for ViewSpace/SkyWatch will cost from $1,000 to $7,000. Isn’t
that a lot for a small exhibit?
- A: Depending
on your budget, it could be — initially. But you’ll
have an exhibit that doesn’t go out of date, and one
that holds an audience’s
attention. Visitors churn through exhibit spaces at 300 square
feet per minute, on average. For small museums with limited exhibit
space, ViewSpace/SkyWatch can really extend and enhance the visitor experience.
- Q: Is
ViewSpace/SkyWatch accessible to the hearing impaired?
- A: Uniquely
so. Because ViewSpace/SkyWatch doesn’t use spoken narration, all
of the content is conveyed visually, via images and captions.
In this sense, ViewSpace/SkyWatch has much more in common with traditional
exhibit panels (images and text) than it does with videos.
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