The Pacific Science Center in Seattle has a successful and popular VR
station.  It is placed within their TechZone permanent exhibit.  They also
have (had?) a virtual basketball game where the visitor played one on one
basketball with the computer.  Try contacting Ken Williams
([log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ) or Paul Beck
([log in to unmask]) <mailto:[log in to unmask])>  for more information.

Alan Miller
Photo Archivist/
Rights and Permissions Coordinator
Seattle Art Museum
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>

The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Seattle Art Museum.


        -----Original Message-----
        From:   Karl Zinn [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
        Sent:   Wednesday, April 01, 1998 8:49 AM
        To:     [log in to unmask]
        Subject:        VR (Virtural Reality) station as visitor draw for
science museum

        What do you think of a small science museum using an inexpensive VR
        station to draw in visitors?  More than that, do you know of
situations
        in which such a station seems to accomplish some education?

        I have seen some portable VR setups used for demonstrations at
        conferences.  One person wears the viewing helmet and sees the
virtual
        world respond to head motion, etc.  Others in the group only see the
        view on the monitors and talk with the one person afterwards about
his
        or her experience.  (I have also walked through a "cave" with the
images
        projected on the walls responding to just one of us in the group.)

        In a university town the museum might get some help obtaining
somewhat
        out of date equipment at modest prices and using software and
        applications from the university without additional cost.  The
station
        probably needs to be staffed, and one needs a way to deal with
visitors
        waiting to try the experience first hand.

        The applications might be left over from reearch and student
projects at
        the university, and include walking through buldings or parks not
yet
        constructed (or inferred from archeological explorations), flying
over
        distant terrain photographed by earth satellite or space voyager,
        traveling through a subsystem of the human body, exploring DNA and
RNA,
        or whatever models are available for educational purposes.

        A changing program would give the science museum something to
advertise
        which might draw in new visitors, and increase repeat visits.  I
assume
        the large screen theaters common in larger science museums serve a
        similar function but with much larger capital and space
requirements.

        What do you think?  Anyone know of specific instances of something
like
        VR serving the educationl purposes of a science museum?