Digital museum for download

Abstract

A museum is devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value for a specific subject. The internet and virtual environment create a possibility of digital museums that is a digital footprint of the physical. Physical museums are essential; humans want to relive the experiences of others. This is however not always a possibility for everyone. Therefore, the digitised era of objects is more accessible to a wider audience. A digital museum needs to communicate research and exploration to the public, and provide access to its specimens. It involves a location for the collection and a set of digital objects, on a permanent base. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate new ways in which museums can work together in a global context to advance research and collections; and engage, inspire and educate the future generations of all countries, and especially South Africa. The main aim of the Antarctic Legacy of South Africa (ALSA) is to preserve our legacy in the Antarctic region by maintaining a digital archive. It is to be a resource for research in history and humanities, and also to promote this legacy. ALSA realised that the digitised material in the archive can be used to create a digital museum.