Museums and the Web
An annual conference exploring the social, cultural, design, technological, economic, and organizational issues of culture, science and heritage on-line.
Teylers Universe: the Oval Room 1784
Institution:
Teylers Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands
Designer:
VTHP design (Eric Vos)
Category:
Exhibition
Why
The purpose of this website is to establish digital cross-references between the various collections of Teylers Museum, the first and oldest museum of the Netherlands (founded in 1784). By wandering through the museum's stories, you can trace the relationships between the collections, the historic building, and all manner of visitors and leading figures. These are stories about
the people who made Teylers Museum great: not just scientists, Directors and board members, but also famous visitors such as Napoleon Bonaparte and the naturalist Alexander von Humboldt.
At the same time, through background information on the phenomena of eighteenth and nineteenth-century collection, scientific experiment and charity, the site provides a unique glimpse into museum practice in a bygone age.