Imperial War Museum

Their Past Your Future

The brief
The Imperial War Museum asked Rufus Leonard to design a website to make Their Past Your Future touring exhibition available to a worldwide audience to inspire a lasting interest in the war in people of all ages, from Second World War enthusiasts to school children.

Our approach
We took the physical aspects of Their Past Your Future exhibition that recounted historical events and personal stories, such as artefacts, letters, diaries and, photographs and made them digitally interactive. This meant creating interactive displays and image galleries and timelines with information on key regional dates and events and using specially commissioned films to mix modern day interviews with archive footage. Much of the content is downloadable and suitable as learning aids in schools and other educational forums.

The value
The site is an educational tool that extends far beyond the classroom, which makes the touring exhibition available to anyone with an internet connection. This is the first site of its kind to be developed by the Imperial War Museum and has been praised for pushing digital boundaries within British museums.

Awards
Y-Design Awards 2006
- Their Past Your Future won the People's Choice award.

www.theirpast-yourfuture.org.uk/