The first place I would like to highlight is the Smithsonian’s History of African American History and culture.
http://nmaahc.si.edu/
The interface is accessible and easy to navigate. However, my favourite component of the layout was the web/map that floats at the top of the site. I thought it was a cool way to organize the various pieces of the museum and to show all the different connection points. Right away I was struck by this nonlinear approach; because it invites the visitor to enter at any point and in a sense it allows the viewer to begin to author his/her own experience. It also reminds me that our stories are connected to each other in often complex and fascinating ways. It would be interesting to watch the shape of this graphic change and grow as more contributions are added.
I really like the ability for anyone to upload material. The museum encourages contributions and stories from all who visit. I like the idea that a museum space invites a diverse, democratic community.
The museum’s “Folksway Recording Project” is a simple collection of oral stories. Still, very powerful.
I also checked out “The Tech Virtual Museum of Innovation” in Second Life. Again, what appealed to me was the invitation by the museum creators for contributions. I also thought it was interesting that the real “Tech Museum of Innovation” mirrors the virtual one.
In the end I left a little disappointed and I am not sure why. The experience was not a rich one for me as I could not get a sense of the place and its culture(?). Something was missing. Still, worth checking out at:
http://world.secondlife.com/place/ea813e92-6ae2-aa83-0d97-95e6e013fa7e
Or read about it at...
http://www.thetech.org/testzone/