Description: The Adler Planetarium (the first planetarium built in the Western Hemisphere) & Astronomy Museum in Chicago includes visitors' information, an online store, historical details, and the latest astronomy news. Additionally, there are real-time Sky Eye Cams, e-postcards, and updates on the newest exhibits.

Great site because:

• The site includes an extensive section on educational guides, lesson plans, and programs, so instructors or parents can learn how to integrate the Planetarium into learning activities either in Chicago or online.
• The site's header is simple, classy, and works perfectly with the topic of the site; it appears to be exactly what a planetarium and museum's site should include.

Ancient Egypt

Description: The Trustees of the British Museum's online exhibit on Ancient Egypt includes information about ancient life, pyramids, geography, mummification, and writing. Each section includes background information, a story, a chance for individual exploration, and a challenge (many of which incorporate Shockwave).

Great site because:

• The main menu page is minimal yet innovative. It includes a listing of ten main links and a stone slab with small carvings that correspond to each link and light up when rolled over; simple, but a nice touch to get visitors to interact.
• The homepage uses a small Flash animation that draws the Nile River and a flower that opens. The element is a wonderful reminder that Flash can be used very sparingly but still be effective.

The Astonishing World of Musical Instruments

Description: The Astonishing World of Musical Instruments, presented by Canada's Virtual Museum, invites visitors to learn about organology (the study of musical instruments) or one of three themes: a talking, exalting, or diverted world. The site presents unique aspects of music, which would make it a great companion to other learning activities.

Great site because:

• The site has a simple white layout with large, bold photos that help visitors get a feeling for each theme. The minimalism makes the site seem like a typical museum exhibit.
• The Astonishing World of Musical Instruments is interactive without the use of Flash; it includes language that embraces the audience and a Shockwave quiz that tests learning.

Exploratorium

Description: The Exploratorium ("the museum of science, art, and human perception") in San Francisco has a wonderful site that keeps potential visitors apprised of location and event information, but it also has a section devoted entirely to those people who want to learn online. Additionally, there are webcasts, news articles, and an online magazine.

Great site because:

• Unlike many museums that only post images and information about on-site events, the Exploratorium created a wonderful area that lets people learn online. It made an effort to include both people who can and cannot visit the museum, which is a good way to encourage learning.
• The design of the site is wonderful; the homepage and navigation are well organized, simple but effective images and text highlight featured areas, and interior sections are color-coded to enhance users' ability to recognize their current location.

Indianapolis Museum of Art

Description: The Indianapolis Museum of Art's site is used mainly as a way of letting online visitors find out about the Museum; its focus is not on online exhibits or learning. In addition to listings of collections and exhibitions, the site features information about shopping and education.

Great site because:

• The Indianapolis Museum of Art recognizes how important repeat in-person and online visitors are, so the site includes a prominent, frequently updated feature of a happening in the museum.
• The design and colors of the site are understated but effective, illustrating that even the simplest site can deliver the correct impression and good content.

Labor Arts

Description: The Labor Arts online museum is a collection of all types of art that symbolize working people throughout the decades. Collections, forums, and recent exhibits are easy to locate, and the site uses short, meaningful descriptions to increase readability.

Great site because:

• The site has an extremely simple layout, which contrasts with the use of bright, bold colors (red, gold, green, and light blue). This distinction is not common but works well.
• The Labor Arts online museum is Flash-based, yet it loads surprisingly quickly. A simple but straightforward sound-integrated animation on the homepage lets visitors easily identify the subject of the site.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Description: The site of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has a classical design, which fits perfectly with the topic that it represents. The site focuses both on online exhibitions and on informing potential museum visitors, so it includes easy-to-locate links to collections (online and in-person), the store, visitor information, and featured exhibitions.

Great site because:

• The design of the site manages to be concurrently classy and unusual; soft colors and simple lettering abound, but interesting touches like a small image of a hippopotamus make the content familiar and amusing.
• The colors, background, and featured work of art on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's homepage change frequently (perhaps as often as daily), so the site always has a fresh yet consistent look.

Museum of Science & Industry

Description: The site for Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry emphasizes in-person museum visits rather than online learning, so there are prominent links to visitor information, exhibitions, the Omnimax Theatre, and the museum store. The homepage also includes a large section devoted to current events and features.

Great site because:

• Individual features, such as the Great Train Story, have their own feel but also manage to make it clear that the interior site is part of the main Museum resource through the use of an understated linked header.
• The site includes an extensive section devoted to helping parents and instructors work the Museum's resources in with other learning methods through things like field trips and hands-on experiences.

Powerhouse Museum

Description: The Powerhouse Museum, located in Australia, focuses on science and design, and the site is geared mainly toward individuals wanting to visit the Museum. Included are prominent links to visitor information, exhibitions, special programs, and the Sydney Observatory, but an online web projects section is also available.

Great site because:

• The Powerhouse Museum's site is image-based and loads somewhat slowly, but the large, eye-catching image on the homepage is updated frequently to reflect the newest programs and exhibitions; this feature makes it more likely that online visitors will return to the site to see what is new.
• The online web projects section of the site is mainly focused on presenting the Museum's exhibitions online through photos and text, but features such as a live webcam and online games encourage user interaction.

Seattle Art Museum

Description: The Seattle Art Museum, which also includes the Seattle Asian Art Museum and the Olympic Structure Park, hosts a comprehensive homepage that emphasizes all three buildings plus visitor information, ways to get involved, and new features. Each section retains the overall design but includes elements that make it unique.

Great site because:

• The clean layout of each page allows visitors to focus on the content at hand rather than being distracted by links and superfluous images.
• While the color schemes (oranges, greens, and blues) are rather offbeat, they create the feeling that despite the wide variety of collections housed in the Museum, the facilities are trendy and modern.

Smithsonian Institution

Description: The site for Washington, D.C.'s, Smithsonian Institution covers more ground than other museum sites, since the organization includes about 15 facilities. The site acts as a portal that emphasizes each individual resource but also highlights in-person and online features and exhibitions.

Great site because:

• The Smithsonian Institution's site includes an incredibly large amount of content, and while the homepage encompasses dozens of links, it is done in a way that makes it relatively easy to locate desired information.
• The large amount of information included on the site creates a potential problem: making all of the images and text work together. The site has done a great job of handling several themes without emphasizing one more than the others.

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