Custom «Virtual Museum» Essay Paper Sample

Summary of the items and materials available in the Virtual Museum.

            This website has a wide variety of Items totaling to 118 items and some of them include; a salt horn (for carrying precious salt), 1746 Map of New England, New France and Nova Scotia, American Halberd, 1762 Pennsylvania Gazette, American Pocketbook, American Pennsylvania Long Rifle, American Rifle, American Sword, American Saber, British Heavy Dragoon Pistol, Life Mask of Benjamin Franklin, British Hunting Sword, British Officer's Sword, Cartridge Box, Coffee Grinder, Clay Pipe - Bamboo Stem, Horn of Daniel Carter, Drinking Vessels made of Horn, Delaware River Boat, Hook and Drum, Eliot's 1758 Horn.

            Others include foreign coins used in Colonial America, New York Powder Horn, General Daniel Morgan Medal, French Model 1766 Musket, George Washington’s Bronze Medal, Hessian Musket, Great Seal of The United States, Hessian Rifle Captured at Saratoga in 1777, Holster Pistol, Historic Pocket Knife, Livingston Sword, Military Spyglass, Military pass for an ill officer, New Jersey Oath of Allegiance in 1777, Pocket Knives of Revolutionary War, Pair of Pistol Holsters, Prelude to Independence,  Silver Pocket Watch, Salt Horn, Tithing Stick and Wooden Dishes Weapons of Warfare (1775-1783) among others.

What is the website about?

            The website is displaying a virtual museum online where people from all walks of life can get to explore the American history as well as the artifacts that were used during the revolution period. The intention is to provide knowledge to people concerning the American Revolution. The items are owned by the Swan Historical Foundation.

Is this Museum Voluntary, Privately Funded, Affiliated with an Organization…?

            From the website, we are only told that Swan Historical Foundation (owner of the items in the Virtual Museum) is a Non Profit Making Organization whose goal is educating the public about the momentous occurrences in the history of the world. Therefore the museum is voluntary.

Do The Editorial Team/Curators Have A Background In The Subject Of The Website?

            Yes, there is background information given about the National Museum of the American Revolution website on the purpose of the website, the materials they have and their owner (Swan Historical Foundation) as well as the physical address of the place where the artifacts are accessible to the public currently.

How can we know if the information provided it accurate and up to date?

            The statement, “Copyright © 2004-2011 National Museum of the American Revolution. All Rights Reserved” appears at the bottom of the website’s homepage.  This is an indication that the website and its contents are legally owned by National Museum of the American Revolution and content is relevant between the period of 2004 to 2011, meaning that its applicable even to date. We can know that the information given in this website is accurate because of the consistency of what they have written. For instance, when you click at the icon on homepage or about us, one thing stands out; the aim of the website is to display historical artifacts so that people can be able to explore the history of the American Revolution.

Does it appear that we need to be careful and double check information found here?

NO, I do not think so, because of the consistent manner in which they give their information.

Who is the intended audience for this website?

            This website is intended for anyone who is interested in knowing about the American history as well as the American Revolution. Seeing the numerous different artifacts displayed in the virtual museum makes whatever is written in the books concerning American Revolution to be more real.

Is there a functioning contact form?

            There is no contact form but they have provided their current mailing address on how they can be reached. The address is The National Museum of the American Revolution, Washington Crossing State Park, 355 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville, NJ 08560. It is also stated that they are located in Washington Crossing State Park next to Titusville, New Jersey, right on the Delaware River. This information is important for those who want to visit them personally, and even there is a map giving direction on their location.

Does the content of the museum have a clearly stated purpose or objective?

            Yes. The purpose of The National Museum of the American Revolution is stated clearly; that of telling the story of the occurrences during the period of the American Revolution to the public.

Is the content informative?

            Yes. The content is very informative; other than stating the objective of the website, there is also information on how the American Revolution came into being, from the era of tyranny to the surrender of the British field Army in the battleground in Virginia (1781), as well as how the American nation was born.

Usability/ Website Navigation?

            There is a map provided on the website to offer direction on how to get to the actual museum which is located in Washington Crossing State Park, in New Jersey.

Appearance

            Generally the website is very attractive with different pictures including a picture of the real museum, a life mask of Benjamin Franklin as well as the pictures of the various artifacts displayed in the virtual museum. This makes the info given in the website even more real to the reader. Their choice of the background color is just perfect. The light brown color used at the background is not too dull and not too bright to prevent the reader from reading their information. According to Hamit (2004), brown color is natural and associated with the soil, making it even more appealing to the readers.

            The green landscape shown in the picture of the real museum is very attractive, thus can make someone want to visit the place. The font size is a bit small making someone to strain a little to be able to read them properly. In addition, the spaces between the lines in the paragraphs are small; hence the paragraphs are too close together. This also makes it difficult for one to read the information easily without looking so closely.

            The information on the website is generally flowing and very informative. There is no contradiction of information. The website is visually appealing to the reader; it can make someone wants to visit the real museum to get to see the real artifacts. The website is also unique in its own way, visually, it only contains information that are useful in knowing more about American History and revolution, there are no animations or even adverts that can distract the attention of the reader from reading the information on the website. The cool colors used both on the background as well as on the different artifacts, plus the concise and clear information, makes the site very appealing to the reader; in fact, when one is logged on to the website, there is this desire that one feels of wanting to know more about what is in the real museum. In addition, one feels comfortable reading the contents of the website.

Overall Experience

            My overall experience as the reader of the contents of the website was pleasant and informative. With the right choice of color and very enriching and enlightening information on the history of America and the American Revolution, the reader is not only educated, but is also kept attracted to the website. The display of the life mask of Benjamin Franklin, as well as other pictures of the different artifacts, makes the information on the website very real and believable.

What would you do differently to make this website better and more interesting?

            Most of the contents of the website are great. However, the spacing of the sentence as well as the font size used is vey small. I would recommend that the font size be increased to size 14 to enable the reader to be able to read easily without straining. In addition, the spacing between the sentences should be increased to two (double spacing) for easier reading.

How is this information useful to the study of US History?

            It is instrumental in understanding the history of the United States of America and in specific, the happenings during the American Revolution.

Does your article fill in a missing piece of information?

            This article can be very useful to those who need information about the American Revolution but are not in a position to personally visit the real museum; for instance, those staying outside the US. The pictures of the artifacts used are as good as seeing the real artifacts in the real museum; they are very clear and informative.

How would you use this article to teach a class in US History?

            For instance, the pictures of the artifacts such as the American sword, American riffle etc., when used in class, will help students to better understand the weapons used during the American Revolution..

Would you use it in a class or would you scrap it and start over?

            The information on this website is very important to be used in learning. I would use it to teach my students about the American history.