Physical and virtual museums need not be mutually exclusive,
as Doug Greenberg points out.  It may well be that the virtual
presence will be conducive to the physical one, for scholars as well
as more casual visitors.  The feeling among libraries seems to be
that online presence (catalogs, etc) increases rather than decreases
the number of physical visitors.
 
[change of direction]
In such science centers as the Franklin Institute, it has for many years
been a point of aggravated discussion as to how much the public's
preference for playing with computers (as opposed to playing with
other interactive modules) should be indulged.  If computers are
removed, is the visitor's attention properly redirected, or is it
lost altogether?
 
I agree with Eric's evaluation of the 'sense of place' -- but that's
something that we need to lead the public to, rather than assuming
that they will prefer it automatically.
 
--bayla (my two cents)