Every week, I run a short class in the Sandbox Done about building in SL. I have no real experience in building in SL, just what I learned in the Dome. But, like much in life - real or Second - you learn so much more when you teach! That's one of the things that drew me to museum education in the first place - you can share what you know, but you always learn something new with each group.

The class is very simple. We aren't making anything jaw dropping - no Greek Architecture or rocket ships - just simple prims. However, tonight, with just 4 of us, we created a wonderland of shapes, colors and physical properties. This class seemed as enamored as I with making an object "physical." So much fun to create moving teeter-totters and kickable balls!

What made it so engaging was the experimentation. Every time there is more than one person in class, we have some people who go faster than others. Due to the interactive nature of SL, we can all see if Avatar A has created something interesting, or see what Avatar B is struggling with (and maybe its the same things we are, but we are too embarrassed to ask for help). When builders are encouraged to create rather than just build, they get excited. They shout to each other when they learn something new. "Look what happens when I make it glass!" "If you make it phantom you can walk through it!"

If you haven't yet made the leap into SL, come on in, the water is fine. In places like The Tech, newbies outnumber experienced users, so don't feel nervous. We are all learning together. I hope to see more of you at tours and classes in the future! Ta for now!

Today, we had a great meeting in Parkside Exhibit Workshop to discuss progress of The Tech in SL and exhibit projects people are working on.

First, we discussed new and exciting changes to The Tech in SL:

• Open teleporting.  You can now open the map and click to go anywhere on The Tech island.  This is particularly useful if you have an exhibit in Parkside, as you can now create a landmark and SLurl directly to your project, which you can place on your project webpage.
• New classes and teacher.  Sera Wrigglesworth is now teaching intro to exhibit building classes on weekday evenings and on weekends.  Plus, we have added a vehicle workshop.  Contact Nina/Avi with requests for other workshops and or times.
• Teen grid.  We will soon have space on Teen SL with the Eye4You Alliance where teens can build their own exhibit prototypes.

• Help wanted/skills brokerage for Parkside Exhibit Workshop.  I will create free help wanted signs that people can post in front of their exhibit frames to indicate help needed with scripting, building, etc.
• Terms of Service for building in Parkside Hall.  I will draft a TOS that encourages people to share their exhibits with the group, collaborate, be respectful, etc.  We can discuss it next Friday and finalize at the meeting.
• More exhibits for the museum... working on it, trying to get some neat ones from the Gallery of Reflexive Architecture very soon.

• Musical Chairs - Garvie shared her basic concept for chairs that play sounds when you sit on them, and a way for an "audience" to choose the background music and tempo.  She is looking for help with more sound files if anyone wants to share.  Coming soon to Parkside...
• The Painter - Lydia discussed her progress.  This is a wonderful project and Lydia has been using both the web and SL to create an amazing experience.  She is looking for help with scripting animations plus sound clips if anyone wants to help.
• Avatar Mirror - We discussed going back to 01's original idea of a true RL to SL portal, potentially using volunteers to "staff" the portal whenever an RL visitor "calls."

Sarah Cole (Sera Wrigglesworth in Second Life) has joined The Tech Virtual team as a graduate student intern.  Here on the blog, she is posting her observations and learnings as a museum newbie to Second Life, and soon she will be leading tours and classes on The Tech island.

Sarah has years of experience at an extraordinary museum and she brings energy, intelligence, and an honest museum outlook to this experiment in collaborative exhibition design.  In general, you can find her in Second Life on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well as some time on Saturday.  She's a great resource on museum design and someone who can help you navigate the wilds of Second Life.  Say hello when you see her!

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. But, as I always tell my parents - "Just play with it. You can't break it."

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!

-Sarah (Sera Wrigglesworth in SL), virtual intern and SL "newbie"

The Tech Virtual Museum Workshop is an experiment in adaptation.  Institutions need to adapt in response to changes in taste, technology and the zeitgeist, and museums are no exceptions.

This experiment in museum evolution introduces two innovations:

1. It separates exhibit design from exhibit construction.  By introducing Second Life as a rapid prototyping tool for exhibit design, this experiment makes it possible for individuals from around the world to collaborate on the same exhibit project.  Using The Tech Museum in Second Life to showcase these exhibits designs makes it easy for museums to pick and choose what they will build in real life for their visitors. 
   
2. It opens the exhibit creation process up to the world at large.  If you think you have the chops to design a first-class museum exhibit, you have a chance to create one for The Tech Museum of Innovation (and win a $5,000 prize in the process).

Good museums have always copied exhibits from one another.  Together with the Creative Commons license, the first innovation has the potential to create an open source market for museum exhibits, similar to the successful gift economies for open source software, scientific advances and educational courseware.  It liberates the content from the container.

The second innovation has the potential to improve the quality of museums by bringing in new talent, new ideas and new points of view.  As leading computer scientist and Sun Microsystems founder Bill Joy recognized: "the smartest people in this business don't work for my company."  By opening up the design process, it breaks down the visitor-curator dichotomy, replacing it with a continuous spectrum of participation:

VISITOR  <->  VOLUNTEER  <->  EXHIBIT DESIGNER  <->  CURATOR

This experiment proposes one answer to the question posed above: "How will museums enter the Age of Participation?"  Do you think it will succeed?  Is this the future of the museum?