Dana in Geeksville

Visiting Virtual Pet Shops and Museums

This week I took some time to explore Second Life some more. I had seen animals running around in SL, as I mentioned in an early post  In Case You Thought SL Is Just for People. So, I set out and did a search on pets.

I found quite a few pet shops, both indoors and out, and many had exotic pets as well as the usual home pets. It was fun to check these out, and there was a big difference in the quality of the pets as well as the prices.

My initial interest was to get a dog, but before I found the dog I wanted I came across this adorable tiger cub that sits on my shoulder, blinks, and purrs. I'm not much of a cat person, but tigers are awesome, and this little guy was irresistible.

While I was at one of the shops, I was given a free butterfly that sits on my right shoulder, flapping it's pretty yellow wings. These two pets go where I go and never misbehave.

Search for Pets when you go into SL, and you'll discover many great pet shops there. The programming for each pet differs widely, so be sure to read the information about a pet before you purchase it. I ended up buying a cool dog at Zoobly's. The adorable tiger cub came from Bridget's.

Next, I checked out Showcases in SL, and discovered that the Tech Museum of Innovation (TheTech) has a Second Life version! In addition, you can learn about this virtual museum at their site TheTech Virtual Museum Workshop.

I couldn't resist checking that place out in SL, and discovered an identical copy to the real world one I'm used to. They did a great job on recreating the architecture and colors of this unusual building we have here in San Jose, CA. The only difference was that the area was surrounded by ocean. Here, in San Jose, we are at least 58 miles from ocean. Never the less . . .

I had to see how they handled the inside exhibits, which change frequently in the land museum. Unlike the real museum, here I got in for free. As with most areas in Second Life, clicking on an object will often produce a note that provides more information for you. Here, in TheTech, you can learn about each of the exhibits by clicking on them. In addition, true to the real museum, you can interact with many of the exhibits by viewing video, touching objects, or sitting and having something happen.

Playing Guitar by Sitting on It	Learning About the Mars Opportunity Rover

The information you get from the Opportunity Rover is updated as new information comes in from Mars. The museum itself is large, and there is a lot to see. I found it fun and informative, just like the real museum. And you can't beat the price!

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to doing a lot more exploring in Second Life  . . . .

Posted at 02:30PM Sep 16, 2008 by dananourie in Virtual Worlds  |  Comments[1]