Recently, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (TCM) began work to implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking of their collection. After visiting the Walker Art Museum in Minneapolis and seeing first hand how the staff at the Walker use RFID technology to track locations of artefacts, conduct inventories and efficiently download data into their database, TCM decided to test the technology on a 300 piece collection of two and three-dimensional artwork. 

Collections Management staff are working closely with Northern Apex, providers of the equipment, software and tags; IT staff are focussing on database compatibility; and Conservation staff are determining the safest tagging methods. After tagging the test collection and running inventory reports using the new equipment, future plans include wider application for upcoming exhibits and possible use of interactive technology by visitors.

Following the 2006 North American EMu Users Conference, TCM identified opportunities for using the Narratives module and RFID in conjunction with hand-held technology such as PDAs. IT staff, who have described the project as "one of the coolest projects we’ve been involved with here", particularly appreciate the flexibility of the EMu database to coordinate with the outside software.

For more information about the implementation of RFID technology at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .