bugs are cool.

I decided to review the American Museum of Natural History’s website, mostly because there was a picture of a ladybug on the homepage, and I like ladybugs. At first glance the home page seemed well organized and not too overwhelming, like most museum websites are. My eye was caught by the slideshow at the top of the screen that advertised for the current exhibits and special shows happening at the museum. I easily found the mission statement of the museum, which is: “to discover, interpret, and disseminate- through scientific research and education- knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe.” Like most other museums, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) strives to conduct research and then educate others about the subject matter it specializes in. The mission statement, like the website was simple, yet purposeful.

As I continued to explore the website, it just kept getting better and better. I could probably spend hours on this website- the home page is misleadingly minimal because the rest of the website has so much exciting and interesting information. Not only does the website describe the exhibits on display, it describes them in detail, with interactive animation, videos, and alternative information sources. The page about the butterfly exhibit even had a live webcam! There were also separate tabs for science and education, where both went into great detail about what AMNH scientists are doing and also how students, teachers, and parents can get even more involved. The AMNH website also does an outstanding job of advertising without being too “in your face” about it. They had a page devoted to helping guests plan their visit, with details about pricing, food, and downloadable maps. Also on almost every single page on the website is a prominent link to the visitor info and ticket page. The AMNH website also had an online store where you can purchase keepsakes, souvenirs, and memorabilia from anywhere at anytime. Another aspect of the website I really liked was their news portion. It was almost like a web blog where the museum updates almost daily on events. Overall, the AMNH website was outstanding.

Initially I was not sure if the AMNH website would be a good one because the front page was nothing extraordinary, but once I started to search through the pages, I knew that the website was a good one. Also, throughout the entire website the creators stuck to the mission of the museum. Almost all of the information was about educating and displaying what the museum has done and is doing today. I think that the AMNH website is extremely effective, because it draws in its audience, has efficient advertising, and does not stray from its mission.

http://www.amnh.org/

WSU Museum of Anthropology

I visited the Museum of Anthropology today, for the second time, after visiting it the previous week in class. Even though Anthropology is my minor, I have never even been inside the museum because I made the assumption that it was not going to be interesting or at all intriguing. After visiting the museum and analyzing its displays and objects my opinion of the museum has not changed much, but the museum has a great deal of potential. The museum has all of the objects and most of the hardware to become a first class exhibit, it just need a lot of reworking and redesigning.

When I first walked into the exhibit area I noticed how empty it was, I next noticed the gigantic pair of horse statutes, and I then was able to deduce the overall flow of the exhibit. The exhibit is basically a large square with display cases inserted in the walls, and the most obvious place to start observing the displays is to start with the display closest to the entrance. The architecture of the room is pretty nice, with shiny, patterned wood floors, wooden display cases, and windows. Once I started to actually look inside the display cases what met my eyes was a jumble of confused and unrelated topics. It was like the designer of the exhibit designed each display case as separate, small exhibits, because the display cases did not relate to one another and there was no cohesion to the exhibit at large. I was also pretty disappointed with the way in which some photography was displayed. These three large, and really the most interesting, photographs were shoved into a back corner that was not at all lit and there were also no labels on the photographs. They could have been pictures of the curator’s kids for all I know. Although there were so many poor qualities to this exhibit, I do believe that the exhibit has potential. I thought the 3-dimensional cubes were an outstanding way to display objects and I also thought the color posters were very eye catching and intriguing. The Museum of Anthropology exhibit looks like it was put together by students, haphazardly, and not updated for many years. The exhibit needs a serious modernization, facelift, and also needs to be more cohesive and it has the potential to do so.

The museum of Anthropology has a lot of materials, objects, and information. The exhibit, may, in fact, have too much information. The subject matter of the display cases are: the evolution of humans, hominid fossils, the evolution of stone tools, Clovis points, the Cascade Indians, the Marmes archeological site, Inuit toys, the Aka foragers, the people of the Lower Snake River, and a cordage collection. There was a fair amount of stone objects, diagrams, and models. The display cases that I thought were the best were the ones that had 3-dimensional appeal and interesting artistic work like the evolution of stone tools, Inuit toys, and cordage collection displays. The displays that I thought were the worst were those that were incomplete and dated like the Aka foragers and Clovis points displays. The best display was the people of the Lower Snake River display; it had texture, excitement, and cohesion. This was the only display where I actually wanted to read the text associated with the objects.

The WSU Museum of Anthropology has the right objects, the right location, but does not have the right design or use of space. In order for the museum and exhibit to be more effective it needs to appeal to those visitors who do not have a background in Anthropology. The curators should appeal more to the visitors by introducing more interactivity and also attracting the eye with visuals. The museum needs more photography, more replicas, and new labels. Once the displays are more cohesive the museum will start to look less like an 8th grade science fair and more like an academic museum at a prestigious university. Right now the exhibit is 2-dimensional, drab, and downright boring. But I do not believe the field of anthropology is boring, so the museum that tries to define the study of anthropology should be exciting, intriguing, and adventurous.