After spending quite some time trying to find a unique museum that made its map available online, I decided to go with a place that, despite not being officially called a museum, has been a lifelong favorite of mine for learning and exploring topics that I myself was not familiar with the: The Aquarium of the Pacific. The “museum” is comprised of several distinct sections per floor. The first floor is largely dissected into tanks based on the regions in which the animals are native to; for example, there are areas designated for Southern California and Baja, the Northern Pacific, the Tropical Pacific, and so forth. The general progression of the museum on the first floor is an entrance into an area called “The Great Hall of the Pacific,” which features large models of whales and other aquatic creatures in a high ceilinged, open space, that gives a little taste into everything the aquarium has in store. It is then followed by more and more specific exhibits as the visitor works their way to the back of the building. The second floor features a similar collection of categories based on region, such as Southern California and Tropical Pacific, but feature more interactive displays, such as touch tanks and a sanctuary for birds in which visitors can walk through and feed birds.
The layout of the museum, to me, suggests that the mission of this establishment is to educate visitors in an interactive way that embraces the location of the museum and its subject matter, while also celebrating the wealth of ecosystems represented in the Pacific. This mission is accomplished by orchestrating an experience that starts broad, with the entire background on the Pacific, and then seamlessly narrows down into different regions, all while offering interactive opportunities to engage with the animals and gain a sense as to what the various environments are like. In regards to Conn’s statement regarding that having a categorization system helps museums make “rational sense out of the world” is a fair statement in regards to this particular aquarium’s task. The Pacific Ocean is an immensely large object, one in which few will ever get to explore more than a small section of, and one that is intensely rich in its species and diversity. Therefore, it is necessary for the aquarium to segment the amount of information available on the subject in a way that allows visitors to begin to comprehend the subject matter. Otherwise, it is just too vast.
A potential option for an alternate system of categorization for this aquarium could be to have similar species grouped together. This system would allow for direct comparison and contrast between the species of the different ecosystems contained within this one ocean. I think this would shift the aquarium’s outlook by placing less emphasis on the inherent differences of different sections of the ocean, and more emphasis on the common threads that run through the different environments found within this one ocean, and provide perspective on how the long term effects of an environment influence traits found within a species.
I agree that finding some museums maps turned out to be quite a difficult task. Strange considering this seems to be an essential feature of the website and for people to be able to plan their visit. Aquariums have also been a favorite of mine growing up which is why I chose one as my example of a museum as well. I think that both your aquarium and the one I wrote about do a great job of making a “rational sense out of the world” and creating a layout that makes it easier for visitors to learn more information about the ocean.
I liked your analysis of how the aquarium is categorized in a way that brings attention to the diverse type of ecosystems that exist within the Pacific Ocean! I definitely think it is important to highlight how species that actually live together in the same habitat interact, as opposed to mixing and matching species species from different habitats. Not to mention, it would be difficult to house species from different ecosystems in the same tank because of the different environmental conditions each species would need. I agree that housing similar species would be an intriguing way to study similarities and differences between aquatic organisms, but not the most practical. Perhaps an interactive model, or digital display could accomplish the task better!