News

Are kiosks just a box? Not at the University of Nebraska

November 23, 2003

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Beadle Center for Genetics and Biomaterials Research has installed an information kiosk designed in the shape of an 11-foot tall DNA helix.

The "living" interactive sculpture, located in the lobby's three-story atrium, showcases the many programs and accomplishments of the faculty, staff, and students who work and study at the Beadle Center, according to a news release.

Dr. Sally Mackenzie, professor and project leader for the Beadle Center's Plant Sciences Initiative, who led the kiosk-development project, saw the opportunity to fuse art and information to better communicate the work being done at the university.

"We wanted a device with a `wow factor' to stop people and encourage them to find out more about what's going on here," Mackenzie said. "Too many information kiosks are simply a computer in a box. We wanted this project to reflect the people and science here - powerful, exciting, dynamic."

The Beadle Center houses some of UNL's most prominent and productive research programs including the Nebraska Center for Virology, the Redox Biology Center, the Plant Genomics Center and the Plant Sciences Initiative.

The steel structure, envisioned by Nanonation and created by local artist/sculptor Todd Miller, houses multiple mini-monitors that display a variety of media loops that constantly change the look and feel of the sculpture. A 22-inch touchscreen enables users to interact with various information sources, from video clips to Internet resources to maps of the University campus.

Nanonation, a developer of interactive software, developed the software and kiosk systems and provided the technical and project management.

Another unique aspect of the kiosk is that the sculpture housing the hardware is based on the work of the 1958 Nobel Prize-winning geneticist and NU alumnus George W. Beadle, the center's namesake, according to the release.