App Watch: Museum Looks at 9/11 Through Photos, Stories
When we at Digits saw the Explore 9/11 app in the iPhone App Store, we were initially taken aback. There’s a tendency to associate apps with fun, such that apps and 9/11 seem as though they should be diametrically opposed.
Although it’s anything but fun, Explore 9/11 is a fascinating look at how technology is changing the way historians find and share information. The app is offered by the National September 11 Memorial and Museum — and even before the museum is complete, it provides a look at history through the eyes of people touched by the event.
“We understand it takes thousands of people to make history, and we are building a museum that acknowledges that,” said Jake Barton, founder of the media design firm Local Projects, which made the iPhone app and is a lead exhibition designer for the museum. “This is one thing that digital technology does exceptionally well, and it’s literally something you could not have approached 20 years ago, 50 years ago.”
The app, which is free, was released Aug. 26 and has been downloaded 100,000 times, Barton said.
