How hot is your neighborhood compared to the one on the next block? Phoenix-area residents can find out with a new interactive exhibit at the Tempe History Museum.

The museum got a complete face-lift in February, 2010. Among the new exhibits there is a touch-screen display that lets users access different kinds of information about Tempe and the Phoenix metro area. The information includes neighborhood heat data provided by ASU researchers.

The display features a Google-style map that users can zoom in on to see temperature and population data for different neighborhoods. They can also see photos of the area pulled from the Panoramio web site. Anyone can upload photos to Panoramio, so anyone can contribute to the exhibit.

“The thing I really like about the exhibit is that it’s participatory in nature,” says Dan Collins, an ASU art professor who created the display with design partner Gene Cooper. “It’s meant to reflect people’s views of place. The citizen photographer can find a way to participate.”

In fact, as Collins surfs the photos on the site, he stumbles upon a surprise. “Hey! That’s my house!” he exclaims happily.

The exhibit also includes oral histories of local residents recorded by students in ASU’s Public History program. Visitors can hear stories from people like Josie Sanchez, who recalls the bloomers her mother made out of flour sacks from the Hayden Flour Mill during the Great Depression.

Collins’ work bridges traditional art with digital media. He is co-director of the PRISM lab at ASU, a 3D modeling and prototyping facility. He got involved with the Tempe History Museum when Dan Miller, the museum’s exhibits coordinator, visited ASU and toured the PRISM lab. Miller invited Collins to submit a proposal for a display in the museum.

Originally, the museum staff planned to display a physical model of Tempe. “But Tempe’s so flat it’s not really worth doing a model. I said, ‘That’s probably not the best way to spend your money,’” recalls Collins.

Instead, Collins dreamed up an interactive display that can reveal a lot more information than a physical model. Cooper, an ASU graduate who has worked with Collins for years, handled the programming.

Collins says one nice feature of the exhibit is that it can be expanded easily. He already has plans to incorporate historical photos from ASU photography professor Mark Klett. He will also add historical temperature data so that visitors can see how the heat island has increased over time.

“I think there could be a lot of things added to each of the categories,” he says. “It’s not a static thing at all. Also, since it’s connected to the Internet we can update the content very easily.”