A Visit to the Naturhistorisches Museum April 2004 Directly across from the identical Kunsthistorisches Museum as seen below, Vienna's natural history museum opened in 1889 (around the same time as those in London and New York). Like many of the landmarks on the Ringstrasse, it is big, beautiful, and tidy. E i n g a n g To put the scale into perspective, the actual entry door (with the sign) is the small inset door, the top of which is the top of the first panel. Below are two panoramic images of the interior rotunda. G e m s Many collected by Emperor Franz Stefan. The collection includes the largest known topaz. More impressive to me is the fact that some exhibit cases are over 100 years old; the preservation is amazing. And on to animals... Large specimens are often not displayed spectacularly in the centre of a room, but set on the perimeter, with smaller display cases filling many rooms. This impressive armoured beast is perhaps 7 feet long, 4 feet tall. And this fish, nearly the same size. BIg mammals under glass are crowded into a musty-smelling room. This little piggie, in a children's section, has escaped its diorama and is perhaps on its way to the market. Did someone lose this? "Ach! Das is mein." H u m a n s In the US, human remains are not generally displayed anymore due to pressure from native Americans. That is not the case here. In fact, the Naturhistorisches Museum has some 43,000 humans skulls, the largest collection in the world, with some dating back 40,000 years. At 25,000 years old, this limestone fertility symbol, the "Venus of Willendorf", is the museum's most valuable artefact. T e c h n o l o g y These stereoscopic viewers allow a look at parts of the collection not on display. Sorry for the blurred photo; the close-up of the controls below, thankfully, is not. This "hippolab" is one of the very few introductions of electronic technology. It is very nicely designed, with the sturdy, clean and precise gear mechanism fitting into its 19th century surroundings. This also has a nice oldness. Like the wheel of a steamship, it enables vigorous and engaging interaction. This type of display, in fact, is exactly what I wanted to do for my Continental Drift program. The animation is identical, but turning the wheel is eons better than a touchscreen for interaction.

Kevin Walker