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The National Museum

of Funeral History

Business is dying - but that's not a bad thing
when the client is the National Museum of
Funeral History (NMFH) in Houston, TX! We
recently had a chance to work with the
museum to upgrade the technology for many
of their exhibitions.

The museum holds America's largest collection
of authentic, historical funeral service items
and visitors can learn about caskets and
coffins, hearses through history, plus the
funerals of Presidents, Popes, celebrities and
more, while witnessing the cultural heritage of
the funeral service industry and its time-
honored tradition of compassion.

The National Museum of Funeral History was founded
in 1992 in concert with the Commonwealth Institute of
Funeral Service mortuary school, located on the same
campus. The museum began with a collection of
vintage hearses. This original exhibition has remained
and expanded to present day. Over time the museum
has grown to 30,500 square feet of exhibition space,
houses 16 permanent exhibitions, periodic special
exhibitions, and the largest educational center for
funerary practices and customs in the United States.

NETSIAN's AV Division Manager, Jason Rowley has
worked with NMFH since 2008 for the opening of the
museum's papal exhibition, Celebrating the Lives and
Deaths of the Popes. Popes features a unique
collection of authentic items for display and is the only
Vatican-sanctioned exhibition of its kind outside of
Vatican City. Jason designed and installed the
exhibition's state-of-the-art sound and multi-media
presentation system. The museum now looks to
NETSIAN for all their audio-video and control needs.

As with all technology, what was state of the art in
2008 was beginning to show signs of its age. We
consulted with the museum about their problems,
desires, and donor-driven budget. We designed a
system that was able to replace the existing
centralized media player with more flexible, networked
local players that utilizes the client's existing media
content. Their new updated system allows for
seamless future expansion as well as simplified and
consolidated control of the individual exhibitions from
an iPad or staff cell phones.

We look forward to returning to Houston to continue
updating the museum's technology and providing
continued support. If you're ever in the Houston area,
be sure to drop by and check out this unique gem.