I've always thought that the Tate have done this the best:
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/explore/

Their map is all the more impressive because it shows the internal walls
(whereas the Science Museum one pretends that the whole museum is open plan,
making it useless for navigating anything on the first floor upwards).

That said, the Tate map has a big blank gap where the special exhibitions
should be, so it's clearly not all that updateable (admittedly their job is
made harder by frequent internal wall changes).

A good map can be a really important part of a museum website.
Unfortunately, you often get nothing more than a PDF copy of the printed map
(which is often bigger than A4 and requires elaborate folding to make sense
of).

Maps online have a different job to do from maps you hand out to visitors
though - printed maps are useful for wayfinding, whereas website maps are
used more to give potential visitors a sense of the space and 'what's there
to see'. So whilst there should be some similarities, they shouldn't usually
be identical.

Theme Parks have always been good at using their maps online as a marketing
tool (see http://visit.disneylandparis.co.uk/interactive-map/index.xhtml or
http://www.legoland.com/park/parkoverview/interactive_park_map.htm) - though
they have the advantage of more of an outdoor, two-dimensional type of
terrain.

Note though how their maps aren't in plan view but more of an isometric
style viewpoint, and how they use 3D style drawings of the key attractions
to make it more visual. Scale is thrown out of the window too - the paths
and rides are far bigger than they should be (just as roads are on an A-Z) -
so it's really more of a diagram (like the tube map) than a real map.

That's how I think museum maps should look - with big, detailed drawings of
your "flagship" permanent objects, interactives and other exhibits. You
could even draw in some visitors (kids running around, couples smooching,
tourists taking photos). Think 'Where's Wally' meets DK Cross-sections (do
they still publish those?).

So, ignore the technology (for now), and spend most of your budget on an
illustrator instead... :-D

Frankie

2009/9/2 Mike Ellis <[log in to unmask]>

> Hi Rhiannon
>
> I'd go for Flash, unless you can do it with Ajax or similar. You're likely
> to get best possible combination of functionality, stability and plugin
> penetration. Make sure you keep the data outside the Flash, though, so that
> you can change content without getting stuffed by design agencies...
>
> We did this at the Science Museum - content in the CMS is used to drive the
> location of various exhibitions on the gallery map:
>
> http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/museummap
>
> At least, that's the theory. It actually looks like it is currently broken
> :-)
>
> * cough *...Mia...?
>
>
> Mike
>
>
> Mike Ellis
> Professional Services Group
>
> Eduserv
> [log in to unmask]
> tel:   01225 470522
> mob: 07017 031522
> fax:   01225 474301
> www.eduserv.org.uk
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> Looseley, Rhiannon
> Sent: 02 September 2009 14:03
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: interactive gallery maps
>
> Hi all
>
> Does anyone know of any good examples of/have any experience of
> producing interactive gallery plans?  I know the National Gallery have
> something like it... any other thoughts?
>
> Thanks
> Rhiannon
>
>
> Rhiannon Looseley
> e-Learning Officer (Web), Learning
> Museum of London
> 150 London Wall
> London. EC2Y 5HN
> Tel: 020 7814 5774
> Fax: 020 7600 1058
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> www.museumoflondon.org.uk
>
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>
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-- 
Frankie Roberto
Experience Designer, Rattle
0114 2706977
http://www.rattlecentral.com

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