Website of the Week — Field Museum | Voice of America - English
Time again for our Website of the Week, when we showcase interesting and innovative online destinations.
Some of our favorite websites belong to America's great museums, and this week we invite you along on a virtual visit to Chicago's famed natural history museum. MEYER: "The Field Museum website at  is a website that introduces the public to not only our current, past, upcoming exhibitions, but also introduces the world to our renown research and collections." Allyson Meyer is web manager of FieldMuseum.org, which features some 27,000 pages showcasing the museum exhibits. You can browse through a collection of butterflies, listen to the sounds of traditional musical instruments, or explore the history of mapping. The Field Museum is also a research institution, and the website opens a window on the work of the scientists out on expeditions. MEYER: "So it delivers content in very different technologies ? flash interactives, video, simple email, so when a scientist goes in the field to do research, you can follow their day-to-day progress as they make new discoveries, and you can see it on the fly through photos [and] video. We've done an occasional few live, even, webcasts." One of the museum's icons in its famous Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, named Sue. According to the museum, it's the largest, most complete and best-preserved T. rex anywhere. MEYER: "There's a great, in-depth look at the history of Sue, where she was found, all her connections around the world. You can go online and there's an interactive that tells you about other things ? plants, fossils ? that were found with Sue when she was discovered. But the website also gives you a deep understanding of why she's so important and what's unique about her." Now, seeing the skeleton of a seven-ton dinosaur online certainly isn't the same thing as seeing it in person. But if you visit on your computer there are puzzles and games and other interactive features, and of course you can do it from home, school or your nearest Internet cafe. Our Website of the Week is FieldMuseum.org, or get the link from our site, voanews.com.