Monday, September 15, 2008

The Smithsonian Website

182 [Samurai in armor], [1860 - ca. 1900]. [graphic].

It never occurred to me that entire museums were just a few clicks away. I was doing a "kid's museum" search to try to find interesting things to explore with my daughter online. She has recently been turned on to mummies, locusts and horseshoe crabs. I was wondering what other natural/scientific wonders I could bestow on her when I found out that the Smithsonian is online! The site is full of juicy works that make this museum great and links to other exhibitions at Smithsonian Institutions (Cooper-Hewitt: National Design Museum, National Museum of African Art, and Freer Gallery of Art / Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to name a few). I know a computer screen can not take the place of seeing certain wonders in person, but this website is such a luxury for those of us who would like to tour these exhibits on our own time, from our own locations. My daughter (soon to be 5 yrs old) loves this site InventionAtPlay that we found through a link in the "Everything Art for Kids" section. I have found a slew of inspiration in the "Art and Design" pages. The above image is a sample of what can be found in my favorite section, "Smithsonian Research Information System: Photographic Image Gallery."

- Shannon Schmalfeldt

No comments: