Culturama at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
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The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is introducing Culturama to the public visiting the Library. Culturama, a panoramic show, is an innovative blend between a wealth of cultural and natural heritage information, a very informative and attractive multimedia program and latest display technology. It was developed by Dr. Fathy Saleh, Director of the Egyptian Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT), who obtained a patent for this remarkable project. CULTNAT is affiliated to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
Culturama has proven to be an excellent tool for delivering information to both children and adults. It has also enabled the display of information that could never have been displayed clearly using regular computer display systems. The key factor for Culturama’s success is the amount and type of information it contains, together with the methodology used to introduce this information, which make it both simple and clear.
The hardware consists of a huge 180 degrees panoramic interactive computer screen with a diameter of 10 meters that is made up of nine separate flat screens arranged in a semicircle and nine video projectors controlled by a single computer.
Culturama presents three different periods of the Egyptian history: the Ancient Egyptian Period, Highlights of Islamic Civilization and Modern Egypt. In the first period, the ancient times are introduced by displaying the timeline of the Pharaonic period, from 3000 B.C. up till the start of the Gregorian calendar. The Culturama screen enables the display of such a timeline on a single screen. All the well-known kings are presented chronologically. Basic information is displayed by pointing to any of those kings. If the user wants to know more about a specific king, he can click on that particular king and more information is displayed.
Culturama also includes the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, one of the most famous papyri from the time of the Pharaohs. The Rhind Papyrus is five meters long and contains 86 different mathematical problems and their solutions. Culturama enabled the display of the Rhind Papyrus and its threefold magnification on one screen. Users can interact with the papyrus, enlarge any of the problems and see the English translation of the hieroglyphic text.
Another key feature is the display of panoramic scenes of some sites, specifically in the period of Modern Egypt. Users can interact with the panorama to navigate or select some of the components in the view and see more information about this component. For instance, in the Cairo panorama you can click on one of the old bridges of the Nile to see a movie clip of that bridge filmed by the brothers Lumiere in 1895.
Culturama is a new presentation attracting different groups of audiences. Both appealing and educational, it can be applied to pass on information in the field of heritage and many other subjects.
Come view Culturama in Meeting Room D at B1 in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina!
