Do you feel a 3D virtual museum would become a threat to real museums? and what does this mean for different cultures?

[Maggie Basdermadjian]

3D virtual worlds are becoming very popular in the last years. A good example would be Second Life and all the possibilities it presents to the users. A very interesting thing area that i started looking into was the 3d virtual museums inside second life. Some were very pleasant to navigate through however others were a bit frustrating and missing a lot of important information about the art works. The question that comes into mind is the following.
Do you feel a 3D virtual museum would become a threat to real museums? and what does this mean for different cultures?

[Hans Kruit]

I think that 3D museums ar no more threat to museums than Second Life is to Real Life. Is Second Life still around by the way? More insteresting to museums but no threat eighter, are the possibilities that internet gives in the form of information, community building and marketing. Museums don't use this aspect a lot, even though it is technologically not very complex. Simply use present web technology as we are doing here and now. The ideal museum website is often thought to be found in the area of impressing presentation. No wonder, because visual presentation in 3D is the core business of a museum.
A different approach to effective museum presentation is now being built in the Netherlands, which you can follow on http://collectshow.ning.com Here a joint effort is the basis to create a museum community using the content that museums in fact collect with each exhibition they make. But also other institutions such as archives, public spaces and also private companies create content in this way. Presentation is OK, but Content is still King on the internet, as you also noticed in Second Life.

[Maggie Basdermadjian]

Thank you for your reply, do you think there is an actual collaborative museum on the internet, for instance someone being able to go around the artifacts with an avatar ?

[Mary Harrsch]

I have visited the virtual Dresden Museum in Second Life and found the experience very interesting - in fact I blogged about it (http://tinyurl.com/lbdqey) I don't think the real Dresden Museum would suffer from any kind of loss of traffic, though, because of its virtual counterpart. If anything, I think the virtual museum serves to draw attention to the artwork available for viewing in the real museum, just as images of art on Flickr draws attention to individual pieces in a museum's permanent collection. Also, the virtual museum makes it possible for people such as the elderly, the disabled, or simply economically disadvantaged to be able to enjoy and appreciate our shared cultural heritage even if they can't physically travel to the institution itself.

[Maggie Basdermadjian]

yes! the Dreseden museum was beautiful, it was one of my favorites from the SL museums i have visited. Man on fire and star trek exhibits were very interesting as well even though im not a fan of star trek i enjoyed my journey there.

[Nadezhda Ilyina]

Hi Maggie,
We are developing a virtual 3D Museum software.

We have launched a beta version of UNESCO World Heritage objects - www.vizerra.com, not exactly a museum yet (we are making a pilot 3D Museum with one of famous Russian museums as well).

And you know, the most popular feedback sounds like: "Wow! I should go and see it with my own eyes!" :)

And mind also that 3D Museum is a perfect idea for those who due to some weighty reasons can not just come and see... So, this is not a threat. This is a great opportunity! :)

[Maggie Basdermadjian]

Hey i was just checking it out it looks amazing and the concept is amazing as well. I didn't manage to download it because i am a mac user i send a message tho to see if there is a possibility. Other than that i think its amazing. What made you guys decide to take this step and build vizerra?

[asa letourneau]

Wow! This is fantastic. Took a while for me to download the sites (about 14 minutes each) but the result is amazing. Application is mind-boggling. Can't wait to send a link to the Australian Memory of the World Committee tomorrow!!

Cheers
asa

[Sylvain Levy]

hello
dsl collection, a chinese contemporary art collection has been using internet and 3D as a tool to show its collection.
Today we have nearly 300 visitors a a day.
even if it will never replace a physical contact with the artworks it is another kind and complimentary experience
dslcollection.org

[Maggie Basdermadjian]

Very interesting!! this is exactly what i was looking for... are you one of the builders of this site?

[Linda Dobke]

This question raises a topic that over and over again is the core in many aspects of museum work as well as the future of museums - authenticity. In my opinion we need to come a long way technically before a virtual museum can come close to threaten the need and the urge visitors have to experience the real thing. Also, what the virtual museum doesn't have is tactile sensations, which is an important ingredient in many sorts of museum visits. Having worked in an art museum I know that, for many visitors, simply seeing a copy of a painting is not enough, not even seeing the original art piece - it's leaning forward to touch it - even though it's forbidden!
The virtual museum is a helpful tool in many ways, it can provide a great source of information, it can provide a sense of understanding of the place, the ambiance and the collection. The virtual tour presented on the website of the DSL Collection is truly an impressive example of that. In the end, what many visitors actually come to the museum for, is a break from ordinary life, from the computers we all spend so much time in front of, to experience something we recognize as being authentic. The virtual museum will need to come a long way before being paralleled to a stroll in a real museum setting.

[Helen Velikans]

Hi All,

I am a passionate supporter of virtual museums as an extension of museums and galleries. They support these facilities through extending the reach to audiences that are either anable or don't wish to enter the facility itself. Instead of seeing virtual museums as a threat they may be seen as an opportunity to 'capture' a wider
( geographically speaking ) audience, to extend services to other cultural arenas and to people with health issues and disabilities. It's a shame that so many are afraid of technology and the concept of the global audience because it could be a very powerful support for our cultural institutions.
Helen V

[asa letourneau]

Exactly right Helen...the 'either or argument' will always be around as long as people feel they have to close one door to open another. The important thing is to keep the locks off and the handles on so we ensure choice is around for the generations to come:
1) the choice to see an original archival record 'in the flesh'
2) the choice to investigate and contribute to the same record in a fully interactive web2.0 environment
Asa