Exploring the Smithsonian: Air and Space Museum
A Virtual Year
We are barely two months in to 2021 and not much has changed from the nightmare of a year 2020 was. Many places are still shut down and that makes it hard to visit some incredible places. However, a knight in shining armor appears to lead us to some of normal in the way of virtual tours through some of the most popular museums and historical locations. This being the case, I thought what better way for me to revisit a place I haven’t been in close to a decade: The Smithsonian: Air and Space Museum. For this tour I will be taking a look through the lens of Google’s Arts & Culture site to take a virtual walk around the Air and Space Museum’s annex building: the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center.
The Virtual Exhibit
Starting Point
The first view you get when you start your virtual tour, is of arguably one of the more popular exhibits in the museum. One way or the other, almost everyone knows of the SR-71 Blackbird. This plane was even featured in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
Interactivity and Design
Now, right off the bat, the view on your screen may look familiar if you have ever used Google Street View before. The technology is the same. The controls feel familiar: drag to look, click to move to the next point, scroll or click the plus or minus button on the screen to zoom in or out, and a compass to show you which direction you are facing. The interactivity is like second nature to us nowadays. The only confusion I encountered while moving around came about when I wanted to go to the second floor. I first tried walking to the stairs and clicking on them, only to be sent through the stairs and to the other side. After a few seconds of scanning the screen, I noticed two buttons stacked on each other labeled “1” and “LL.” Upon clicking “1”, I was teleported to the second floor. This felt a little odd to me and it was not very apparent how to do it at first. However, the screen does not feel cluttered or bogged down by too many buttons or too much information.
Something Is Missing
Despite the simple, yet effective, design of the virtual tour, I felt like I was missing out on some key things. The first being that I was in a random spot in the museum. Now clearly someone chose this as the starting point for the tour. Maybe it had to do with showing one of their best exhibits. However, when doing a virtual tour, I want to start from the beginning. At this point, I don’t know where in the museum I am. I don’t know which direction leads to the exit, and which direction leads to more exhibits. Secondly, this is a virtual tour of a museum. How am I supposed to take pictures to send to friends and family of things I found that are really cool? Okay, maybe that last one isn’t really necessary, but it could be a cool addition to the experience.
Job Well Done
Overall, the experience of visiting this museum virtually was pleasant. It may not be the same as being there in person, but in the time of a pandemic this is as good as we may be able to get. I applaud Google for their simple design, open concept view, and their use of preexisting technology that is both easy to use and familiar.
Typography
Look at that Style
Now let’s take a look at the typography on the plaques. The plaques for each exhibit follow a specific design. They have a title, body, picture, and specs of the plane. The text, at least for the title, is a Sans-serif typeface that is easy to read, large, bold, and a different color. As it is hard to read see the text through virtual means, it appears to be that the body text and specs are Serif typefaces that are significantly smaller than that of the title.
Themes, Systems, & Conventions
As I stated previously, the theme each plaque seems to follow is that the title is much larger, a light blue color, and sans-serif. The way the plaques are laid out is as follows: Title at the top with a left alignment, body text below and left with a left alignment, picture in the middle, and the specs in their own separate box with a grey background on the right.
Decisions, Decisions
The decision to implement this style and design were probably made over the course of a few weeks or months. I believe they made the decisions about the titles in order to make the names pop out to people and have that be the most important part. They made them easier to read and larger than the rest of the text to show importance in the visual hierarchy. The body and specs were made to be serif in order to improve readability because our eyes are able to read longer bits of information easier with serif typefaces. Finally, the specs were probably put in their own box in order to separate the more elaborate backstory of the body from the technical information.
Physical Space
SR-71
When you first walk in the building, you may notice a large hanger filled with tons of planes, some on the ground, some hanging from the rafters. Chances are, though, your gaze will immediately be drawn to, let’s say, the elephant in the room: the SR-71 Blackbird. This is probably the biggest plane in the hangar. It is separated from all the other planes and is one of the few planes in the hangar that is within its own fenced-in area. It also happens to be directly in the center of the room. The “vibe” you get from this, is that it is extremely important and highly advanced. However, the takeaway here is the “extremely important” part. You subconsciously know that the museum wants you to come see this plane.
Discovery
Let’s take a look past the elephant in the room, and take a look at, let’s say, the mammoth in the room, well technically the next room. If you walk all the way to the back of the hangar, just down the hallway behind the SR-71, you will see the largest aircraft in the museum: the Space Shuttle Discovery. It, like the SR-71, is in its own fenced-in area and is the centerpiece of the room. This shows its importance in a unique visual hierarchy. You get “vibes” of importance, advanced technology, and patriotism due to the American flag hanging directly behind it on the wall. You know immediately this is the focal point of the room.
Learn Something
If you couldn’t tell by now, one of my favorite planes is the SR-71 Blackbird. For this reason, I have chosen it as the exhibit I want to share in order to tell you what I have learned on this virtual tour. This exhibit neatly wraps up everything I have gone over so far. It has a clear place in the visual hierarchy of the museum and follows the styles and conventions of all the other exhibits both in terms of the exhibit itself, and the type on the information plaque. It is the first thing you see, both in person and on the virtual tour, and is my favorite part about this museum.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, the virtual experience, while not quite as grand as being there in person, is a pleasant substitute in these times of stress and sickness. The design of the virtual tour is easy to use and clean and allows me to explore the museum at my own pace, letting me go where I want, when I want. This tour has helped me discover unique ways of presenting content in a clear and meaningful way, especially in terms of making sure people understand what is most important. I hope to see these virtual tours improve in the future, but I hope nothing ever beats the feeling of being there in person.
