The Tech Virtual Museum Workshop, a project of The Tech Museum of Innovation, is a place to design and prototype exhibits online, using the web and Second Life. You can propose an idea, and develop it with other creative thinkers and experts from around the world. Anyone can join and all contributions are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

The best projects will be eligible for prizes and will be co-developed as physical exhibits at The Tech Museum in conjunction with its upcoming Art, Film and Music exhibition that will open June 4, 2008. Here is a list of all of the projects already underway, and two musical ones:

Wikisonic — by Jon Brouchoud (aka Keystone Bouchard) — consists of a round room, in both the virtual and real museum (see Second Life prototype here). The interior wall contains a musical staff, with rows of notes in the key of C. Each note ‘bulb’ can be turned on or off. A trigger revolves constantly around the space, playing only those notes which have been activated. An identical installation in Second Life mirrors the real installation, such that avatars can also turn notes on and off. The result is a collaborative musical composition, made up of asynchronous decisions made by visitors to the museum. In this way, visitors are engaged as an active and dynamic part of the composition, instead of passive and static, as is most often the case in musical experience. Additionally, if viable, proximity sensors also trigger translucent wall panels, indicating the location of each Wikisonic composer. Visitors both real and virtual will have a visual indication of a presence on ‘the other side’ - further bridging the perceived gap between the real and the virtual.

Wikisonic, Experiment #1 Machinima

Interactive music composition. Architecture Island, November 2007 - Concept by Keystone Bouchard, Scripted by Dirty McLean. Wikitune composed by Bettina Tizzy, Theory Shaw and Keystone Bouchard. Also see Musical Architecture

Music Orbits - by Ron Blechner — will explore how 3-D space can act as a medium for users to interact and create music. This interaction is being prototyped in Second Life using its internal building and scripting system. The musical arrangement will physically take up virtual space; the objects will be arrayed as either a constellation, galaxy, solar system, or atomic compound. Thus, as the user interacts with the objects, it would change their position and relative location within this structure. Not only would the position change the music element, but the positions of elements relative to one another could affect each other. See the wiki pages for this project for daily details. Also, see Ron’s blog for summary updates.

Here’s an introduction to the The Tech Virtual Museum Workshop:

There are a number of events planned, including Intro to Exhibit Building in SL, February 14 at 5 pm.

The Tech Museum of Innovation engages people of all ages and backgrounds in exploring and experiencing the technologies affecting their lives, and aims to inspire the innovator in everyone. An expansive variety of interactive exhibits and unique floor programs showcase not just how technology works, but how it affects who we are and how we live, work, play and learn. The Tech’s 132,000 square feet are divided among themed galleries focused on innovation, the internet, the human body, and exploration. In addition, The Tech also features the Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater (Northern California’s only domed IMAX screen), an educational center for workshops and labs, an up scale cafe, and a retail store featuring books, gifts, and only-in-Silicon Valley items. [Thanks to Michael DiTullio for the tip.]