The Museum of the Moving Image has introduced a new tool on its website that allows its users to create their own political advertisements.
The museum, at 35th Avenue and 37th Street in Astoria, has introduced a new educational component known as AdMaker to the Living Room Candidate, a Moving Image-operated site that includes more than 500 commercials from every presidential campaign between 1952 and 2008.
The program enables the site’s users to learn about political ads by creating their own, said Chris Wisniewski, the museum’s deputy director for education.
“AdMaker leverages young people’s interest in media remixes and mash-ups — an interest many of them already pursue on their own outside the classroom — and puts it in the service of learning about history and civics,” Wisniewski said.
The addition to the website was created through the Verizon Foundation.
The Moving Image debuted the tool during a recent workshop in Flushing, during which 16 teachers from city schools learned how to make political ads.
The museum has recently undergone a massive expansion and renovation, including a new 264-seat theater, a 68-seat screening room, new galleries and a multi-classroom education center. It will open to the public Jan. 15.
— Nathan Duke
