Zeum
Encyclopedia
Yerba Buena Gardens
Yerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in downtown San Francisco, California. The first block bordered by Mission and Howard Streets was opened in 1993. The second block, between Howard and Folsom Streets was...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. It aims to nurture the "3Cs of 21st-century literacy - Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication - in all youth and families" http://zeum.org/about/index.html. Zeum: San Francisco's Children's Museum is well-known for its technology-based exhibits which allow youth to produce their own media through various interactive, creative processes: animation, digital art, live performance, and music production. Zeum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), community-based organization.
History
Zeum opened to the public on October 31, 1998 as part of a major 87 acres (352,076.8 m²) urban renewal project in the South of Market area by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency.Exhibits
In the Animators Studio, children can mold clay characters and make their own stop-motion animation movie. In this exhibit, Zeum's Educators and ZeumMasters introduce film making concepts: making a storyboard, building the characters, and producing a stop-motion animation. Afterward, they can visit one of four stop-motion animation stations, choose different set backdrops to set the scene, and capture their footage frame by frame using a video camera. Once the movie is complete, children can take their movies home on DVD or share it through an online video platform.In the Digital Workshop, children are shown how to use the basics of Adobe Creative Suite products. There are twelve computers in the Digital Workshop, each with a digital camera. The Zeum Educators and ZeumMasters guide the visitors for picture taking and show them the different applications of Photoshop, such as ‘filters’, which enable the children to morph and manipulate their pictures and make them look interesting and different. The visitors can print their photos and take them home.
In the Main Gallery, children can explore a sampling of traditional and hi-tech art. They can make masks, arts and crafts, play with puppets, or dress up in costume. They can play with soft blocks in Lil Z's Play Lab or slide down the green screen Special FX Slide to play with special background effects. There is a News Production Stage, where can take on the roles as newscasters, weather person, or international correspondent. The News Production Stage includes a teleprompter and green screen technology so children can pick from a variety of backgrounds. Zeum's Educators and ZeumMasters explain to the visitors what they can do and offer suggestions in order for the children to be encouraged to get in front of the camera and create their own media. If the visitors would like to take home their projects, a ZeumMaster can burn their performance onto a DVD.
In the Music Production Lab, children can pick from a diverse array of songs, and perform on-stage, where the lyrics pop up, like Karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
. The ZeumMasters explain to the visitors what they can do, such as offer them costumes to try on and show them the different backgrounds they can feature in their video. Zeum's Educators and ZeumMasters records the visitors singing, and plays back their performance in the “Screening Area”. If the visitors want to take their performance home, the ZeumMasters can burn their performance onto a DVD.
In Studio Z, children can choose music and visual effects to dance against a green screen wall. Z-Dance, an interactive experience developed by John Craford, associate professor of Dance and Media Arts at the University of California at Irvine http://dance.arts.uci.edu/faculty/bio/crawford/, demonstrates how body movements can affect real-time motion tracking using visuals and sounds.
ZeumMaster program
The ZeumMaster program is a "youth development internship that combines an integral job experience with a rich mentoring environment for teens." http://zeum.org/education/zeumMasters.htmlThe ZeumMaster program is paid internship for teens ages fourteen through seventeen who are interested in developing advanced creative and technical skills in a museum environment. Every year, teens are selected as ZeumMasters. They are responsible for guiding children and their families through different exhibits, such as the Digital Workshop, Animators Studio, Main Gallery, Music Production Lab, and Studio Z.
Under the guidance of Zeum's Educators and the Youth Program Manager, ZeumMasters act as facilitators to visitors in the different exhibits.
External links
- ZeumMaster blog
- Disney Family Fun Magazine 5 Great Indoor Escapes in the Bay Area (2010)
- San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
Bay Area Clinging on its Classic Carousels (2009) - Via Magazine: San Francisco's Yerba Buena: Best City Scene (2009)
- ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
: Top Travel Spots For Game Fans (2008 - SF WeeklySF WeeklySF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los...
: Best Place for Kids (2005)