Web 2.0 and Museums 

This page contains examples of web 2.0 in museums. For each entry, please include a URL and a brief description of the example.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)-http://www.sfmoma.org/espace/espace_overview.html

This website not only highlights information about current exhibits at the museum, it also contains an interesting link to an E-Space site.  E-SPACE was created to explore new art forms using the Web.  Six different artists were commissioned to create storytelling experiences you can interact with.

Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture-- http://nmaahc.si.edu - This is a great example of a web 2.0 museum site. The memory book allows people to share stories and thoughts and even a photograph and the StoryCorps Griot allows you to listen to stories of African American Families from across the U.S. Memories, recordings, and museum exhibits are connected through the use of tags and threads. It is a great site full of information that will keep you engaged.

Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, California-- http://www.baykidsmuseum.org/home/ - This children's museum is unique in that it is located in a national park.  The museum is dedicated to providing young children with exploration activities that encourages children to learn about their envirnoment.  The web page uses a blog, RSS, and makes use of Facebook.  The site provides parents with plenty of information and tools for planning a trip to the museum. 

Ohio Historical Society Collections Blog-- http://ohiohistory.wordpress.com/ --This feature allows the staff to quickly and easily provide updated information about the Ohio Historical Society. Virtual tours of the building, information about changes to the collection and services that are offered to the public are presented here. They also use the blog to broadcast pictures that need identifying to reach a potentially huge audience to help identify "Who are they?" Tags are included for each post to help users locate similar blog entries. In addition, the blog links to email or RSS updates. I found the use of Flickr to post images from their collection a good use of another Web 2.0 tool.

Children's Museum in Easton - ****http://www.childrensmuseumineaston.blogspot.com/****- This is the blog for the Children's Museum in Easton, Massachusetts. The museum is located in a historic old fire station. The blog allows the museum to post entries about programs, news, and other information as well as pictures. Also on the blog are links to great online web resources for children. It is geared to children ages 1-8. Viewers can post comments and will benefit from the great programming ideas.

Center Of Science and Industry (COSI)--http://www.cosi.org/community/blogs/ - This is one of COSI's community pages where the museum invites commentary from and interaction with its users. Currently there are three blogs: one from the CEO of COSI, David Chesebrough, a second featuring their upcoming exhibit, Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science, and a third concerning issues Kevin, their IT guru, encounters while maintaining COSI's website. The Egyptian blog even features a tag cloud to transport users to past blogs relating to the word they select, as well as links throughout the blog to connect to additional websites that offer more information on the subjects covered. All three blogs encourage feedback on their posts, COSI's exhibits, and questions, comments, and opinions of their users! Patrons are invited to insert a bookmark for COSI's blog page in several popular sites including del.icoi.us, Google, and Facebook to name a few. The E-mail link allows you to sign up for up to 6 different COSI e-News Lists. Users can choose to peruse the podcast page under community and listen to brief presentations showcasing COSI Academy and other science news from COSI or link to other sites and enjoy podcasts from 60-second Science and NPR: Science Friday. Shortly, users will have the ability to subscribe to these podcasts. Not surprisingly, COSI's community pages are just as interactive and enjoyable as their in-house exhibits.

National Inventors' Hall of Fame, Akron, OH--http://www.inventnow.org and http://www.invent.org--The official websites of the National Inventors' Hall of Fame in Akron contain some awefully neat opportunities for kids (the former link) and adults (the latter link) alike. There are discussion boards, activities, and lots of other helpful guides and resources for you to explore.

The Field Museum-- http://www.fieldmuseum.org/ --The official website for the Field Museum in Chicago. This website has almost as much to see and do on it as the actual physical museum. They have links to their Facebook, Flickr, and MySpace pages that allow you to leave comments, subscribe to their blogs and, of course, interact with other museum goers. You can tour all of their exhibits and sign up for their e-newsletter. They have online family adventure tours, online activities for kids, online interactive learning and some cool databases to explore. You can also download the audio tours before you go to the real museum to use on your iPod!

Wexner Center for the Arts -- http://wexarts.org/wexblog/?cat=39-- The Wexner Center for the Arts is part of The Ohio State University. It is a contemporary art center. It has many exhibitions showcasing emerging and established artists. There is a blog as well as podcasts about current shows and other activities at the museum, including movie retrospectives. It's one of the best places to go for the latest information on the contemporary art scene.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center -- http://www.freedomcenter.org/- The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum dedicated to the history of slavery in the United States, and freedom issues around the world. It is located in Cincinnati Ohio. The museum's web page is an excellent interactive tool, as well as a good example of a web 2.0 site. In addition to important links such as “about us,” “plan a visit,” and “exhibitions,” The Freedom Center has a blog that discusses the museum, freedom issues, and current African American and race issues. Users may subscribe to the blog and sign up for a blog RSS feed. Users may make comments about certain portions of the museum website as well as make comments about the the blog. Users can also tag blog entries, and link blog entries to Facebook or other social networks.

The Ontario Science Center-- http://www.redshiftnow.ca/   --This site is linked off the main Ontario Science Center page and is an amazing Web 2.0 resource for education and fun. The site includes news updated daily, podcasts, polls, and field diaries (blogs). There are some really fun and interactive areas to explore, such as the Wetland Watch, where a user can view realtime photos and video of a protected wetland area near the museum. Follow the wetland watch link to a fun experiement called Be a Biologist, that allows users to hypothetically add or subtract man-made products from the wetland to see how it helps or hurts the environment. Users can also become an IDea account member to post their own videos and experiments. I urge you to explore this site more when you have a chance.

Exploratorium-- http://www.exploratorium.edu/ -- The website for San Francisco's Exploratorium is a museum unto itself.  It features a number Web 2.0 features that cultivate community, inspire communication and the sense of "shared experiences" online.  One of the current online exhibits surrounds the total solar eclipse of August 1, 2008.  Visitors can view Photos from the Field- a blog from the Exploratorium/ NASA China Eclipse Team, complete with tags and the opportunity to comment, another blog where people can share eclipse stories and an Exploratorium Eclipse Flickr group where visitors can contribute eclipse and solar images.  In addition to a webcast of the eclipse as viewed from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China, there are eclipse related exhibits on Exploratorium Island in Second Life.  Exploratorium in Second Life is dazzling.  Visitors can place their avatar in the umbra of an eclipse or teleport to the destination Mars viewing area.  Explo.tv offers podcasts and webcasts of current and past programs and exhibits.

Cleveland Botanical Gardens-- http://www.cbgarden.org -- This is the website for the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. The website features a blog offers RSS feeds. The blog is written by staff members from various departments and highlights different plants in the garden, garden activities, and garden activities for families to do together at home. The website also offers virtual tours of their gardens. I recommend checking out the Hershey Children's Garden!

National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, OH --http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/-- This website offers a Museum Blog, an interactive Opinion Poll, options to subscribe to E-Newsletters, RSS feeds and Podcasts.  It also has a section where you can share photos of your visit by submitting them online to the site.  There is an education page that provides resources and schedules of Family and Homeschool days coming up and a list of other opportunities that are available and suitable for a younger audience.

National Museum of American History, Washington D.C. -- http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/ --  The National Museum of American History is one of the Smithsonian Institiution Museums located in Washington D.C. The website features blogs, RSS feeds, email sign-ups, access to facebook, and flickr. This website also has an excellent interactive education page for both adults and children.

Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio -- http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org -- This is the official website of the Cincinnati Art Museum, which houses a collection of over 60,000 works, and hosts traveling national and international exhibitions. The website features video podcasts created by the art museum staff, which can be accessed through iTunes and YouTube.  The RSS feed provides subscribers with links for updated information on current exhibitions and news releases; both links can be added to Google. Also, blog listings can be found under three different subject headings. The website takes full advantage of 2.0 technology, and popular electronic resources.   

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis -- http://www.childrensmuseum.org/ -- This is the official website of the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana. From now until May 2009, the museum is featuring an exhibit called "Comic Book Heroes." The exhibit has it's own special page, http://www.childrensmuseum.org/special_exhibits/comics/index-entry.html that provides tabs for extra information and learning tools such as "Games and Activities," "For Teachers," "Family Activities," and "Our Collection." The main page offers information on other exhibits, planning a visit, directions, etc. The museum is also featuring an exhibit called "Animation" from now until January 4 which provides hands-on learning experiences for childre in the world of cartoon animation.  

The First Ladies National Historic Site -- http://firstladies.org-- This is the web site for the First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton, Ohio.  The site consists of the First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley Home and the seven story City National Bank Building.  The website offers photos of exhibits and events, as well as educational information and media updates.  This website is in contrast to the fairly static http://nps.gov/fila/ site relating to the library. 

The Great Lakes Historical Society-- http://www.inlandseas.org/index.html-- This is the web site for The Great Lakes Historical Society in Vermilion, Ohio.  The site includes a tab for the Inland Seas Maritime Museum.  The Web site offers a virtual tour of some of the exhibits in the museum and online shopping at the museum store. The site also includes information about hours, directions, staff, news, events, and publications. The museum also has a research library called the Clarence S. Metcalf Great Lakes Maritime Research Library, where they are preserving and exploring the history of the Great Lakes.