Just yesterday I heard the news that Bob Miller died on Sunday. He was an artist, exhibit developer and educator, and an important part of the Exploratorium experience. Bob developed the inspirational “Sun Painting” exhibit where sunlight goes through a series of mirrors and prisms to create a dynamic “painting.”

Years ago, I was lucky enough to participate in one of Bob’s famous “Light Walks.” You can see the online version for a description of the light walk, but it is only that - a description. For those who’ve participated, the light walk is a powerful experience and a Website hardly does it justice. While I don’t know how many people have been lucky enough to participate in this walk with Bob over the years, I was happy to see a post on the Exploratorium Explainers Blog talking about going on the light walk just last September.

Another blog post at Asymptotia, Remembering Bob Miller includes a great article about Bob Miller written by K.C. Cole. Bob Miller will be missed.

I just read a post from MuseumLab blog which directed to me to the Dashboard on the newly redesigned Indianapolis Museum of Art website. The concept of a “Dashboard” isn’t new, in fact there is even a book on Dashboard Design, but this the first time I’ve come across a dashboard in the museum world, and I have to say it is pretty interesting.

A combination of Web statistics, visitor and collections information, and even a monthly average of the museum’s electric consumption can be found on the IMA’s Dashboard. Clicking through to “more” doesn’t provide any additional information about the particular item, but it does take you to a page that lists which dashboard items have been recently updated.

There is also a comment feature, but I didn’t come across any comments, probably because the redesign is still new and registration is required to post. Also, there is an RSS Feed available on the Dashboard, but unfortunately this appears to be static. Still even with these minor issues, this a great example of a museum presenting basic information about the institution in a dynamic and unconventional way.

I just posted a review of the Second Life version of the City of Dresden’s Old Masters Picture Gallery on the ExhibitFiles site. Touring this formal museum space was an interesting experience, made even more so given my company. My good friend and Second Life artist, DanCoyote, was kind enough to show me around and share his insights about this virtual world.

Following our trip to the virtual Picture Gallery, we toured DanCoyote’s latest installation, Full Immersion Hyperformalism. The ExhibitFiles review contains links (SLURLs) to both spaces in Second Life along with pictures of our tour.