SL Internship, month one

I am now officially one month into my internship with The Tech, and I think things are going well. I am teaching building classes twice a week, and leading tours on weekends. People always say that you learn better when you teach someone else, and I think that holds true here. I continue to feel more and more comfortable with simple building, navigating, and explaining just what the heck we are doing here.

My first class was - less than great. Had 2 people show up 30 minutes late, and neither one really needed a basic class. That prompted me to add a description of just how basic - basic was. Its like, make a cube. Change its size. Change its color. Voila! Simple stuff. I dont want people to come in thinking I am going to teach them how to create buildings and steampunk engines, etc. Nope, just boxes and balls. But...look what we did with boxes and balls!

Tonight, between 4 of us, we experimented our way to a greater understanding of some of the intricacies of prim building. And this, I think, is a point in favor of SL.

Even on the most cohesive exhibit team, not everyone gets to be part of every step. The developer spends a great deal of time coming up with the ideas, while the curator combs the archives. The designer locks herself away to sketch and draw, while the production team asks you to stay out of their hair while they build. Its necessary to have specific skills on the team, and you cannot expect every team member to be able to contribute to every step along the way.

Imagine a team building an exhibit - they all go into a room that is filled with every substance imaginable. They can all build, as very few skills are required. They take time to experiment with wild ideas. They play. Imagine what kind of exhibit could come from that? I dont see SL as an analogue of the RL design process, but rather as a tool for building creativity.

In RL I am currently working on a new exhibit. Our exhibit process is very open and creative, and we spend lots of time brainstorming, refining ideas, etc. What we dont get lots of time to do is play around with the physical. I can suggest changes, but those need to go to the developer, then to the designer, then to the CAD designer, then to the production engineer and graphics designer, then back to me for approval. Whew! And what if I dont like it after all? It becomes like the classic comedy scene - move the couch over here. No maybe here. No maybe back there after all.

But in SL - I can be working away and suddenly think - Hm, would this look better with a curved surface? Or, what if it were stone? And I can change it in a flash, and change it back. No harm, no foul. And everyone on the team could have their say. And, as the budget manager in me has to say it, you havent spent a dime.

Could museums use SL as a brainstorming lab? A place where they could go to play with ideas?

Internship, week 2

So, today marks the start of week 2 in my internship. I think I am starting to get the hang of this.

Last week I mentioned that some very helpful friends taught me how to navigate better. If you want to know, here is how!

Hit Ctrl+Alt+D to open up the client and server menus. Click the "Client" menu (up top) and go down to "UI". Then click on "Double Click Auto Pilot." When that is clicked, you just need to double click the terrain in front of you, and your avatar walks there - with minimal stumbling.

I helped my first people this week! In my RL I was an interpretation manager for years, which meant lots of public interaction - but it seems that I am a bit shy about approaching avatars! I'm getting braver, and I am sure by next week I'll be down right outgoing. I've also had a chance to meet some more Tech staffers, all of whom have been very helpful!

Tonight I got some great building and scripting sites, which I plan to explore this week. More posts soon!

Virtual Museums in SL

In September, Jim Spadaccini over at Exhibit Files wrote a review of the Dresden Museum's Old Masters Picture Gallery in Second Life. His review is fantastic, and points out some important things to consider when creating a virtual museum.

The Dresden has done an admirable job of recreating a real life (thats RL) place in a virtual environment. I cannot begin to imagine how much time it must have taken.

Here is the real museum.
<------









And here is the recreation in SL --->


Beautiful. And not just the outside. The interior is just as amazing, complete with parquet work, moulded ceilings, the works. The big problem is - it takes forever to load on screen.

And, like many grand old museums, its easy to get lost. (Of course, in RL you can't just teleport out)

The idea is great - a virtual recreation of a real space, featuring recreations of the artifacts, in this case art. The chances of my visiting this museum in RL are slim, but I can hop on SL and at least see something, right?

Wrong. The images of the art are far too small to provide any sense of what the real art might be like. Add to that the time it takes to load, and the art becomes secondary. Now, for architecture buffs and those who just love beautiful buildings, the site is well worth the visit. But this is a nice example of how what works in RL doesn't always translate to SL.


Next: An update on the internship, a review of some papers from Museums and the Web, and a visit to Virtual Starry Night.

Helpful neighbors!

Wow! Big thanks to Lucid Snook and Troy McLuhan (avatars) in SL!! And some others, I am sure. They taught me the wonderful trick of navigating by mouse. I'll look up the sequence and write it down to share, but basically it gives you the ability to just double click where you want to go (on the ground) and your avatar walks there. BRILLIANT!

Also, a picture of me, relaxing at The Tech.

Day One in Second Life

When I first tell people about the Tech project in SL, reaction is mixed. From those who say "cool!" the major questions are about how they can get involved. But an equally vocal group responds negatively - "That's not a real internship" "So you just play a computer game?" and "SL seems like a waste of time."

I'm not going to lie, time is a factor, and the learning curve can be steep.

Setting up the account takes about an hour. For people like myself, who spend many hours online, this time is not a big deal. But many of my colleagues would find this frustrating at best. For better or worse, I had a Sims addiction several years ago, which actually helped my understanding of avatar creation, as well as my comfort in the virtual 3-D animated environment. For users not used to any sort of gaming, I would recommend spending time playing "in world" to acclimate to the environment.

Finding a place to explore is not always easy, and I hope to include some good starting points in my next post. The Tech Museum is a great place to start, as it not only offers fun things to look at, but the "physical" environment is varied enough to allow you to try out a few things.

Walking: I have yet to learn of any way of walking other than using the arrow keys. Anyone who meets me "in world" would likely think that my avatar had been hitting a few SL pubs. I walk into walls, get lost in corners, and, famously, run up the down-escalator. I'm a mess. Part of me wants to blame it on my lack of video game experience, but I think some of it comes from my lack of spatial-thinking ability. That said, with practice, I am improving. Soon (I hope) I'll feel comfortable enough to weave my way around the museum like a pro. Then I can start leading tours.

Sitting: The Tech offers a few options for sitting.
* Sitting at an interactive: There is currently a lovely interactive exhibit on perspective drawing. As you approach the interactive, floating text above the seats tell you to "sit here." Sitting can be accomplished by right clicking the seat and selecting "sit" from the menu that pops up. Suddenly your perspective changes and you can interact in a fairly real way. A button at the bottom of the screen allows you to stand when you are done. (To my amusement, standing up results in your avatar leaping into the air from a seated position. Avatars, it would seem, are far more energetic than their RL counterparts.)
* Relaxing: No, your avatar does not need to relax. However, last night I found myself needing to step away for a short dinner break. Rather than completely leave SL, I headed up to the terrace, sat my avatar down, and set my status to "away." It is possible to merely stand there while away, but given that other avatars see you - it seems creepy to just be looming there, unresponsive.

Teleporting: There are some areas that SL far exceeds RL. Many people like flying (I'll get to that) but I love teleporting. The Tech is set up with large wall maps, like you would see in any museum, but these maps give you the option of teleporting to any area with the click of a mouse. Very handy when traveling with a group. Also handy when, like myself, you are lousy at walking. Now if only someone can develop this in RL, I could avoid my commute.

Flying: The "thing" that people talk about with SL is flying. Yes, your avatar can fly. Its not just a fun trick. Its actually quite helpful for navigating a new space, or getting the lay of the land. You can only fly outdoors, so in areas like the Tech, its not as useful. But for places like the International Spaceflight Museum (slurl) it is quite handy. Also useful for just exploring. Not as tricky as walking, oddly enough.


I spent the majority of the night really exploring the building and also spent time in the Sandbox Dome building and playing with scripting. Linden Scripting Language (the official scripting of SL) is actually easier than most scripting languages. However, it pays to have at least minimal exposure to another scripting language. My experience is with HTML, but it's limited. However, even a slight familiarity with another language can help you understand the "grammar" of LSL.

That's all for now. More updates soon!

Quote of the day

Michael Scott: You don't go to the science museum and get handed a pamphlet on electricity. You go to the science museum, and you put your hand on a metal ball, and your hair sticks up straight...and you know science.

(The Office, Episode 3.19 "Safety Training")

Welcome!

Welcome to Keepers of Stuff, my blog about my museum life. This blog will serve two functions:

1) Primarily, it will serve as a record of my journey through an internship for the spring semester. I am thrilled to be working with Nina from Museum2.0 on what looks to be a very cool and cutting edge project. I have been reading Nina's blog since it started, having met her briefly at a NAME event at AAM Boston several years ago. She's brilliant, so if you aren't reading her blog, go start now! The internship is with The Tech Museum of Innovation, in California. What is particularly cool is that I am in Indiana and will be doing this internship virtually. The Tech has started a fascinating project in Second Life and I will be spending the next semester looking at the question: How can museums use Second Life to enhance their current work? I truly do not believe that virtual museums can ever replace or come close to comparing to a "real life" museum, but I do think that there are things that can be accomplished in virtual environs like SL that can enhance the experience and create more invested audiences.

2) This blog will also function as a place for me to post about my thoughts on museums in general - things in the news, at conferences, from class, or just from discussions with peers. I love museums, and love talking about them, so this will be a great place to do that.

3) Finally, and this will be a small part, this will be a place to talk about the reality of museums - good, bad and ugly. I work in a huge and busy museum, and see lots of all three, so prepare yourself for some good stories every so often.

So, that's me. I'll start posting in earnest soon. If you want to reach me, you can find me in SL as Sera Wrigglesworth (isn't that a great name!) or leave me a message here.

Ta!