It was great to be at the #moorlife “Bringing life back to the moors” conference this week to hear about the important role the “Be Fire Aware” products have played in raising public awareness of wildfire risk.

We were able to demonstrate some of the products on CD Rom which are also available online and on location at the Edale and Upper Derwent visitor centres in the Peak District.

Our time-lapse photography project at St Martin’s Church in Bilborough is coming along nicely.

We have two cameras in place. One looks down from the eaves, eight metres up, onto the floor of the church and will record the restoration activity in the Grade II* listed building, including the laying of a stone floor.

The second is focused on the restoration some precious wall paintings by mid-20th century artist Evelyn Gibbs, believed to be the last surviving examples of her large scale work.

This Heritage Lottery funded project sees local champion of the church, Hilary Wheat,  realising her vision to restore the church to its former vibrant condition establlishing it as a focal point where the local community can address its own challenges such as poor education and health, and low employment.

Moors for the Future’s Fire Aware project will be featured on the agenda at the Upland Biodiversity Conference in March.

Key people from Moors for the Future will be using Fire Aware as a case study in a session on conservation communication. Phil Smith from Wide Sky Design will be supporting them.

We worked on this project to create a suite of interactive exhibits including games and interactive maps to illustrate historical and real-time wildfire risk. These are now available online as well as on site and on CD Rom.

Find out more about the Upland Biodiversity Conference.

This development is part of the MoorLIFE project, details of which can be found at www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/moorlife

We are installing a camera at Newhaven Fort for six months to capture timelapse photography of a project that they are undertaking between March and September this year.

A resident artist will be creating a World War II street scene around the theme of VE Day with help from local school children who will help build models to populate the project.

Our current timelapse photography project at St. Martin’s Church in Nottinghamshire gives a flavour of how this project will work. Take a look…

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Our interactive photosystem was installed at The World of Beatrix Potter at the beginning of 2014 so, a year on, we are acting on the lessons we have learned from this project to make the system even more attractive to visitors as well as more secure and robust in its operation.

During peak visitor times we found that the quantity of photos that could be processed was being hampered by traffic on the local wireless network. We have now installed a wired network to improve the speed and reliability of the whole system.

The system uses a number of flashlights to achieve the optimum lighting conditions but we found that on occasions the remote flash triggers could lose power due to local conditions. We have upgraded the power supplies for the flashes to overcome this issue.

As part of our ongoing performance management we are now using the data from the first year to measure how changing the images affects sales performance. Additional graphics now give visitors the opportunity to appear with some favourite Beatrix Potter characters in their charming original illustrated form.

Back in September 2008 a metal detectorist working alone in a field just outside Leeds made a unique and exciting discovery – a small hoard of jewellery and precious items dating way back to between the 7^th and 11^th centuries and yet excellent condition.

Now housed in the Leeds City Museum, these pieces have been named as one of the most important archaeological finds of the past 20 years. Despite their exceptional condition, of course, they are far too valuable and delicate to withstand handling by the public but wouldn’t it be fantastic to get an up-close look at these items?

Our answer to that is to use 3D modelling to allow visitors the closest look into the fine detail and decoration of these special exhibits. Keep an eye on our blog for a sneak preview.

With a new project for the Pontypool Townscape Heritage Initiative we are taking educational interpretation online.

We will be developing a range of online games and activities for use in schools to support Key Stage 2. The games will help children learn more about the history of Pontypool, its architecture and its traditional trades.

They will include a jigsaw puzzle style game, a timeline of the town’s history, and an activity to design a piece of Japanware, a style of finish that imitates the lacquered effect of oriental items and for which Pontypool is renowned.

Watch this space for more details as this project develops.

We’re pleased to be working on a range of interactive exhibits for the new “Wild Explorers” project at Marwell Zoo near Winchester.

The project marks the beginning of a £17m investment over the next 10 years, to provide improved habitats for the animals and more immersive experiences for visitors.

Opening in summer 2015, “Wild Explorers” will provide a range of activities and exhibitions focusing on the white rhino, the zebra and the scimitar-horned oryx, three species that Marwell Zoo is actively involved in conserving.

We’re looking forward to working on interactive exhibits that will help enhance the experiences of visitors of all ages using a range of digital approaches including the increasingly popular gesture technology. We’ll keep you posted as these develop.