DK Multimedia's Virtual Reality products are intuitively easy to navigate. The cursor changes to an eye when there is something to be seen and an arrow when there is a direction to travel. The navigator and map appear with a click on an icon. The program's excellent help facilities seem scarcely necessary.
Your visit starts at the lobby of the museum. Here you can click on the tour guide for a guided tour, click on the index, call up a map, or simply enter the museum and wander around where your fancy takes you. The index, catalog, and museum map are available at the click of a mouse anywhere in the museum.
The tours are prearranged trips through the museum. They consist of a selection of exhibits arranged around a theme, such as conservation, and include narration. You also can create your own tour, viewing exhibits you select, and save your tour for others to enjoy.
A guide needs a good index and the Virtual Reality products do not disappoint. There are actually three indexes: a topic index by key word, an index of the over 30 videos and animations, and a visual catalog. The visual catalog is divided into topics, including an interactive section with videos and animations, a cultural section including art and artifacts relating to the animal, a section on the life of the animal, and a section showing various members of the animal family.
The museum map shows the overall layout of the museum. A small icon in the corner of the screen shows where in the museum you are at any given time. A click on this brings up a large map of the museum and as the mouse pointer passes over exhibit locations a description and picture pop up. Clicking on any exhibit transports you there--a feature that would be welcome in many physical museums!
Probably the most spectacular exhibit in the museums is Inside the Animal. There you find a view of the various body systems of the animal, including the exterior, muscles, internal organs, and skeleton. It is also possible, and fun, to get a partial x-ray view of the animal, showing a different view of the animal in a movable window.
No museum visit would be complete without a visit to the museum store. The Virtual Reality museum is no exception. The Museum Store allows the browser to select from a wide variety of images, sounds, and stationery that can be used in other applications. There's no extra charge.
Rob Rittenhouse is Associate Professor of Computer Science at McMurry University in Abilene, TX.
©1996, ProMotion, inc.