From Sea to Shining Sea: National Park Service Virtual Museum Exhibits

I grew up in a family that loves the U.S. National Park system, so I've had the chance to visit many parks, monuments,  and historic sites.  These places are interesting and definitely teach you a lot about American history and the natural wonders of the United States, but they can also be very remote.  Luckily, if you want to visit one of these sites but don't have time to travel, the Park Service's Virtual Museum Exhibits can bring the parks to your computer.

So far, only a handful of sites have any sort of online exhibit presence, so you might not get to learn about a site you're most interested in.  The sites that are online display pictures of artifacts they have, along with interpretive texts and maps.  All pictures can be viewed in detail, and in some cases the site provides links for you to request a copy of the image.  A few sites, mostly ones based around outdoor scenery and natural formations, also offer video.

But while it's certainly interesting to see historical artifacts and learn about, say, civil war battles and Native American culture, it can quickly get boring just reading and looking.  This format might hold up for really engaging sites like Alcatraz, but I'm convinced that only the most die-hard presidential history buff wants to scroll through pages and pages of text on Harry Truman.

Dinosaur National Monument is the only site to offer truly interactive features in its virtual exhibits.  On their website you can see a movie about the monument, view a 3D dinosaur skull from different angles, and take a virtual tour of an artist's depiction of the prehistoric West.  Features like these help keep a visitor's interest, and it would be great if other sites could incorporate something similar into their online exhibits.

It's definitely worthwhile for these few sites to have an online presence where they can display artifacts, images and information.  The Park Service is a treasure, in my opinion, and is unknown and underutilized by too many people.  But virtual exhibits don't have to be so static - after all, what's contained at these sites is pretty amazing, and visitors should be able to grasp that.  I wish that more sites would display exhibits online - exhibits that are fun and engaging for all kinds of visitors.


National Park Service Virtual Museum Exhibits
Website:  www.nps.gov/museum