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The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History faces the curse of all museums: limited exhibit space. With less than five percent of its collection on display at the Behring Center, the Smithsonian decided to create on online exhibit featuring a selection of other artifacts.
HistoryWireduses a treemap interface based on SmartMoney.com’s Map of the Market. Users can select a date range and broad topic (e.g., daily life, machines, people), then highlight artifacts based on a number of sub-themes. Selecting the highlighted box provides a thumbnail image and allows viewers to learn more.
While staff members at the National History Museum selected the artifacts, viewers shape the interface to some extent. The sizes of the squares representing the artifacts change in relation to one another based on comments by visitors, giving some indication of current interests.
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. Historian Shae Davidson's research interests include public policy and the relationship between culture and civil society. His publications range from articles on industrial history to absurdist poetry.
