Oakland, California
Peralta Hacienda Historical Park in Oakland’s Fruitvale district has opened a new touchscreen video kiosk in its Ohlone room, giving visitors a choice of five short films on Ohlone life and history, including Who Did the Work? Native Americans on the Peralta Rancho, The Art of Ohlone Ceremonial Basketry by Ohlone basketweaver Linda Yamane, Beyond Recognition, on Corrina Gould’s fight for the Ohlone shellmounds, Shellmound (2005), and a school field-trip program on Ohlone daily life.
The park approached Wicked Code after seeing the Chochenyo language exhibit the studio built for the Richmond Museum of History and Culture. The brief: a touchscreen large enough that a film can be watched from across the room, good sound, and a cabinet that could stand up to a public setting.
Wicked Code built the kiosk software, which runs on a laptop housed inside the cabinet. Local custom woodworker, David Parker, designed and built the cabinet in solid cherry with no exposed screws. A keyed lock on the side releases the front panel, which folds down into a small work desk for servicing the laptop; the screen mounts are bonded to internal supports, and the whole cabinet is anchored to the window sill from below. The speaker grilles are cut in the Ohlone symbol for lightning.
Peralta Hacienda Historical Park is at 2465 34th Avenue, Oakland.