Without Walls: Building a Virtual Museum

by Bernard K. Means, Director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory

Welcome to the Virtual Curation Museum!  This is a virtual extension of an exhibit opening today (October 22, 2013) in the James Branch Cabell Library. Building a virtual museum certainly does not require that I have any carpentry or masonry skills.  This is fortunate, as I am not the most handy person out there–although I can usually hit a nail with a hammer in fewer than five tries (and a thumb in fewer than three).  Nonetheless, erecting a museum without walls does have some challenges.  These will be evident as we create our virtual exhibit halls over the coming weeks and months. Our basic goal with the Virtual Curation Museum is to make available a selection of the 3D digital models we have scanned from archaeological sites across the world in an online format that parallels the standard conception of a museum. Unlike a brick-and-mortar museum, we have more flexibility in changing our “virtual space” and this site will be quite dynamic as we add new exhibits and new exhibit halls.  And, this is good, as the physical exhibit has proven more problematic to put up than anticipated.  The next post will focus on details of this exhibit, but, in the meantime, feel free to explore this web site.  We will be continuously updating and revising this virtual museum after our tangible expression is finalized.