Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Fashion Forward: The Museum at FIT Online Collections

I love fashion.  A lot.  What I love even more is historical fashion:  hoop skirts, flapper dresses, those gorgeous A-line gowns from the 50s, and on and on.  I've always heard that New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) has a wonderful museum, but I've never had a chance to go in person.  So you can imagine that when I stumbled across FIT's online collections, I had to fight the urge to swoon.  I'll try to be objective in reviewing these collections, but it's going to be difficult.

The best feature of FIT's online presence is the sheer number of objects on display.  You can view hundreds of objects, from the 18th century to the present day, in highly detailed photographs.  For many objects there are multiple images available, each showing a different view, that can be viewed in higher resolutions.  All objects are labeled with the materials they're made of, their date and country of origin, and what designer they come from (if known).  I especially like the descriptions that accompany each object, because for the most part they are short enough to keep your attention, yet still contain some interesting information - like how Vogue likened Chanel's first little black dress to a Ford.

Besides learning about clothes and accessories, there are also detailed biographies of every designer whose work is featured in the online collections.  These biographies are informative but a little lengthy and dry.  I wasn't too interested in reading more than a few, so I can imagine that someone less fashion-oriented might not care too much for this feature.

Although I really enjoy these collections, if I put myself in the shoes of someone who's not so keen on fashion I can see that FIT needs to add more features if it wants to attract a wider audience.  Beyond enlarging the images, there's nothing that's really interactive about the content.  There's also not a lot of variety - it's all clicking and looking - and no real connections between the objects.  It would be worthwhile to create exhibits highlighting how earlier eras influenced later styles and how designers drew on those who came before them.  3D views and interviews with living designers would also add a change of pace to what's already here.

Not that I'm complaining - I could easily spend a few hours or more combing through these collections in wonder.  But I realize that I'm a special case, and that the collections' current format seems designed to appeal to researchers and those of us who are already fashion converts.  It's my feeling that caring about clothes doesn't have to be a snobbish, elite pastime, but can be enjoyed by anyone who like colors and textures and the way they look on the human body.  The Museum at FIT Online Collections need to be spruced up a little bit if they want to convey that message.


The Museum at FIT - Online Collections
Website:  fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Visiting the President: The White House Museum

Twenty years ago I got to tour the White House, but since I was only five years old I remember absolutely nothing.  Nowadays, because of increased security, it's difficult for an average citizen to be able to visit the President's home.  But if you're curious about the layout of this famous building and its grounds, and you don't mind wading through some dense information, the White House Museum is a pretty good resource.

The museum can seem a little intimidating at first, because when you enter the museum you're greeted with a page full of text and numbers (seriously - the square footage of the White House is listed, along with the number of bedrooms and bathrooms).  The museum's creator must have realized how boring this page looks, because helpfully included are links on the side to some of the building's more popular rooms.  If you scroll to the middle of the page, you can find interactive maps of all White House's wings.  There you can click to arrive on a layout of each floor, which provides a much more interesting museum experience.

The layouts are labeled with all the rooms in the White House, and each room has its own page.  Some of these pages are text-heavy, but most present just enough information.  Included with each room's page are a good number of photographs with brief, informative captions.  Many of the photographs are from the past decade, but there are quite a few historical images, some dating back to the nineteenth century.  The White House grounds are presented in a similar manner, and they're definitely worth a look, if only so you can realize just how many amenities the President has at his residence.

Aside from those two sections, the museum has only one other part, and it turned out to be my favorite.  There is a small gallery of art and furnishing in the White House, and the images of these artifacts are excellent.  A short description of accompanies the objects, as well as a link to the room where each is located.  It's quite interesting to see and learn about a few of the historical pieces that surround the President.

This museum is not connected to the government in any way, but is instead a private effort.  It's pretty amazing, then, to have all these images and information at your fingertips and laid out in an appealing way.  The text definitely needs to be whittled down, but aside from being too wordy this museum is really worth a look.  If you can't make it down to Washington, D.C., this might just be the next best thing.


The White House Musuem
Mission:  To provide a place to explore the history and heritage of the home of the president of the United State of America.
Website:  www.whitehousemuseum.org

Monday, October 15, 2012

FRABOOM Goes the Dynamite

An online children's museum sounds intriguing, doesn't it?  After all, children are becoming more and more adapt at navigating technology, and some would argue that they need to be computer literate as early as possible in order to succeed.  So it would make sense to introduce an online museum to children - they could learn to navigate around the internet and engage with content at the same time.  It sounds good, in theory.  It's just too bad that FRABOOM Online Children's museum doesn't deliver in practice.

The opening screen of FRABOOM shows a cartoonish exterior of a Grecian-style museum building, with five different sections to choose from.  You'll find, though, that you can only navigate to two of them - the games and a "Play Now!" link that asks you to become a paying member.  I'm guessing that all the other parts of the museum would become available as soon as you purchase a membership, but it seems a little dishonest to put for-pay content on the homepage.

I'm not sure I would even want to become a member, because the quality of the exhibits in FRABOOM leaves a little to be desired.  Although I would be interested to see what the U.S. Presidents and Dinosaurs sections look like, I can't really say the same for Talk With a Tooth Fairy Live! or an entire exhibit devoted to the mouth.  Although the topics featured on the museum's map are all pretty standard kid-friendly topics, they seem a little generic and bland.  There are thousands of places on the web where kids can learn about insects or the ocean for free, so if parents are going to be paying for content it had better be pretty spectacular.

Aside from the exhibits, the bonus features aren't too compelling.  There is a section of interactive books that are animated as they're read aloud, which is a cool feature, but there are only four shown on the virtual bookshelves (and only one is available for free).  The museum's games are intended to be educational, but in playing them I found it hard to discern just what I was supposed to be learning.  There's also a selection of so-so cartoons, but do children really need more television to watch?


As you can tell, FRABOOM leaves a lot to be desired.  The potential is there, in the form of some of the exhibits' content, but the momentum is lost in rehashing topics that have been done to death for kids and pushing too much flashy, minimally educational content to the fore.  The need to pay for most of the museum's content is also a huge drawback.  If you're going to shell out cash to see exhibits, you might as well purchase a membership to your local, physical children's museum and go as many times as you like.  I can guarantee there will be more creativity and less gimmickry on display.


FRABOOM - Online Children's Museum
Website:  www.fraboom.com