This space was primarily educational. Designed and built to replicate a real life Smithsonian, this space displayed artifacts produced by the Latino community. Segways were made available to visitors, in order to allow for faster movement throughout the large space. Visitors could "touch" objects on display, in order to obtain pertinent information about its authorship and significance. Automated guides provided maps of the space along with tours to help visitors more easily navigate throughout the museum.
The Latino museum was, like Sarah said, educational. I think it functioned pretty well as a virtual space targeted at acting like an extension of the Smithsonian. I also think the interactive nature of the pieces that I encountered while I was there added to it so that it became more interesting to view the displays. The space was also made more interactive with the addition of the segways to help navigate through the large space, and it almost makes me wish they had these available at the actual Smithsonian museums since I found it to give me a slightly different perspective on the space than just walking around. -Julia
I am really fascinated by Second Life however, this museum lacked imagination I have come to expect with this new virtual world we are experiencing. I did enjoy the segways but that was all I really enjoyed in this space. I do think that it pertained a likeness to real museums in reality, possibly making it easier for viewers to understand the experience but I feel like there could have been more to it.
The Smithsonian Latino Museum is the most professional space that I have visited in SL, in that it appears the way a Smithsonian would look in RL. The space is comprehensive and staffed by people that may direct a visitor. The space encourages exploration via different modes of travel (i.e. segway, walking, flying).
The museum uses SL to its advantage in its section for Latino music. It is a challenge to incorporate music in a museum, where the visual is stressed over any other sense of experience.
The Smithsonian does not need to copy RL to be a legitimate museum, however. No one goes to SL to sit in chairs or ride elevators; likewise, no one goes to SL for the traditional, predictable hallways of museums.
It was a disappointment to view some objects and find that they were only high-definition one-dimensional images. There was, however, a reproduction in three-dimensions of a large-scale sculpture.
My guess is that other museums will follow the Smithsonian's lead and attempt to copy RL museums. In time, however, people will break away from the crutch that is copying RL and discover how qualities that are unique to SL can make for an engaging alternative to RL museums.
I liked this museum. I liked how they took the idea of the smithsonian and related it to a culture that is often under (or mis)represented. This space was functional, a really good learning tool and educational. It could be used by various schools, and universities to study Latino History. I liked the fact that this space had guides, and maps to easily direct you to and from differentlocations in the region. Being able to easily navigate around SL has been a problem for me, and I am glad that this particular space allowed some ease in that area.
I found that the Smithsonian Museum was a good attempt at a museum, and a nice way for people who may not be able to make it to the RL museum. I believe this works particularly well for a museum centering on cultural and social exhibits, however, it would not work as well for some of the other Smithsonian Museums.
For example, the Museum of Natural History in DC would not be as impressive when translated into SL - because the bones, stones, and animals are completely digital - and man made - not the natural wonders which makes them so fascinating. Anyone can have the Hope Diamond - or something bigger - in SL, but in RL, only one Hope Diamond exists.
I found the segways to be distracting and hard to use -and in fact made it more difficult to navigate the space than walking alone. They were a neat thing to play with, but I found that they added nothing to the experience of the exhibit.
I agree with Cally that many museums may attempt to re-create their RL edifices in SL - however - the impact of some will be lessened, because of the frivolous and fleeting nature of digital works. The Smithsonian did nothing to lessen this feeling, as their inclusions of segways made this less a museum, and more a bumper car track that happened to have stuff on the walls.
I found this space to be a bit of a disappointment. It looked like the museums we've all visited in real life. It was an interesting aspect of the interaction with the space to find that what I had thought would be comforting(the fact that it looked like real life) actually grew boring quite quickly. The only innovative thing that seemed to stay true to the 'usual' sl experiences we've seen were that through one of the halls there was a replication of one of the ancient temples. The majority of the other art was all flat and not particularly interactive, past giving you information on the artist.
I did enjoy the segways, but I feel that I have to agree with Cally and Felix in that it made the space more conducive to experimenting with the new mode of transportation than looking at the art.
I truly enjoyed the visual aspect of this installation. It wasn't the easiest thing to navigate through but it was interesting and it replicated the real Smithsonian. I'm not sure if I liked the idea that it was merely a replication, I felt like that the creators could have done more to utilize SL as a median for their installation.
Like some of the other students have noted earlier, this was no impressive. It was an interesting combination of virtual works from multiple Smithsonian museums. But like the Smithsonian buildings, its just a museum setting, nothing more from a virtual space with unlimited possibilities. An educational experience yes, but only mildly appealing in comparison to seeing them in RL. The segways however were a great addition.
This space was primarily educational. Designed and built to replicate a real life Smithsonian, this space displayed artifacts produced by the Latino community. Segways were made available to visitors, in order to allow for faster movement throughout the large space. Visitors could "touch" objects on display, in order to obtain pertinent information about its authorship and significance. Automated guides provided maps of the space along with tours to help visitors more easily navigate throughout the museum.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to sign my name on the above post....
ReplyDeleteSarah Ryan
The Latino museum was, like Sarah said, educational. I think it functioned pretty well as a virtual space targeted at acting like an extension of the Smithsonian. I also think the interactive nature of the pieces that I encountered while I was there added to it so that it became more interesting to view the displays. The space was also made more interactive with the addition of the segways to help navigate through the large space, and it almost makes me wish they had these available at the actual Smithsonian museums since I found it to give me a slightly different perspective on the space than just walking around.
ReplyDelete-Julia
I am really fascinated by Second Life however, this museum lacked imagination I have come to expect with this new virtual world we are experiencing. I did enjoy the segways but that was all I really enjoyed in this space. I do think that it pertained a likeness to real museums in reality, possibly making it easier for viewers to understand the experience but I feel like there could have been more to it.
ReplyDeleteThe Smithsonian Latino Museum is the most professional space that I have visited in SL, in that it appears the way a Smithsonian would look in RL. The space is comprehensive and staffed by people that may direct a visitor. The space encourages exploration via different modes of travel (i.e. segway, walking, flying).
ReplyDeleteThe museum uses SL to its advantage in its section for Latino music. It is a challenge to incorporate music in a museum, where the visual is stressed over any other sense of experience.
The Smithsonian does not need to copy RL to be a legitimate museum, however. No one goes to SL to sit in chairs or ride elevators; likewise, no one goes to SL for the traditional, predictable hallways of museums.
It was a disappointment to view some objects and find that they were only high-definition one-dimensional images. There was, however, a reproduction in three-dimensions of a large-scale sculpture.
My guess is that other museums will follow the Smithsonian's lead and attempt to copy RL museums. In time, however, people will break away from the crutch that is copying RL and discover how qualities that are unique to SL can make for an engaging alternative to RL museums.
I liked this museum. I liked how they took the idea of the smithsonian and related it to a culture that is often under (or mis)represented. This space was functional, a really good learning tool and educational. It could be used by various schools, and universities to study Latino History. I liked the fact that this space had guides, and maps to easily direct you to and from differentlocations in the region. Being able to easily navigate around SL has been a problem for me, and I am glad that this particular space allowed some ease in that area.
ReplyDelete- Marquita
I found that the Smithsonian Museum was a good attempt at a museum, and a nice way for people who may not be able to make it to the RL museum. I believe this works particularly well for a museum centering on cultural and social exhibits, however, it would not work as well for some of the other Smithsonian Museums.
ReplyDeleteFor example, the Museum of Natural History in DC would not be as impressive when translated into SL - because the bones, stones, and animals are completely digital - and man made - not the natural wonders which makes them so fascinating. Anyone can have the Hope Diamond - or something bigger - in SL, but in RL, only one Hope Diamond exists.
I found the segways to be distracting and hard to use -and in fact made it more difficult to navigate the space than walking alone. They were a neat thing to play with, but I found that they added nothing to the experience of the exhibit.
I agree with Cally that many museums may attempt to re-create their RL edifices in SL - however - the impact of some will be lessened, because of the frivolous and fleeting nature of digital works. The Smithsonian did nothing to lessen this feeling, as their inclusions of segways made this less a museum, and more a bumper car track that happened to have stuff on the walls.
-Felix
I found this space to be a bit of a disappointment. It looked like the museums we've all visited in real life. It was an interesting aspect of the interaction with the space to find that what I had thought would be comforting(the fact that it looked like real life) actually grew boring quite quickly. The only innovative thing that seemed to stay true to the 'usual' sl experiences we've seen were that through one of the halls there was a replication of one of the ancient temples. The majority of the other art was all flat and not particularly interactive, past giving you information on the artist.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the segways, but I feel that I have to agree with Cally and Felix in that it made the space more conducive to experimenting with the new mode of transportation than looking at the art.
I truly enjoyed the visual aspect of this installation. It wasn't the easiest thing to navigate through but it was interesting and it replicated the real Smithsonian. I'm not sure if I liked the idea that it was merely a replication, I felt like that the creators could have done more to utilize SL as a median for their installation.
ReplyDeleteLike some of the other students have noted earlier, this was no impressive. It was an interesting combination of virtual works from multiple Smithsonian museums. But like the Smithsonian buildings, its just a museum setting, nothing more from a virtual space with unlimited possibilities. An educational experience yes, but only mildly appealing in comparison to seeing them in RL. The segways however were a great addition.
ReplyDelete-Jill