At tower, start-up nation is ‘storytelling nation’

The inside of the Kishle, a structure erected in 1834 by Ibrahim Pasha, who governed the land of Israel from Egypt, is cold and dark. When the Ottoman Turks regained the area in 1841, it served as a military compound. During the British Mandate, it was used as a police station and prison where some members of the Jewish underground were incarcerated.

The stories of the Kishle are endless. If only its walls could talk.

Actually, soon, the stone walls of the Kishle—and other areas of the adjacent Citadel and Tower of David Museum complex in Jerusalem—might virtually speak, thanks to the work of 100 computer programmers and other tech-savvy individuals who spent 30 hours last week creating augmented reality, virtual reality, and gaming solutions to enhance museum visitors’ experiences as well as to bring the stories, places and people of ancient Jerusalem to life. Jerusalem’s “Hacking the Walls” event was the first museum-sponsored “hackathon” in Israel.

The event’s first prize went to participants Royi Elbag and Yaara Ilan of ARCH, a company that deals with applications for archaeological sites, and three whizz kids— 12th grader Malachi Shneor and 9th graders Ofer Stolev and Yuval Goldshmidt. 

“Archaeology is just stones, but where are the people? Where is the story? Technology can help us imagine,” said Eilat Lieber, director of the Tower of David Museum.

 “Hacking the Walls” drew some prominent sponsors, including the Epson electronics giant, whose representative brought the company’s new BT200 transparent smart glasses in hopes of encouraging participants to find new ways to use that technology in the museum world.