Discover the Spencer’s Second Life^® Island

January 24, 2009 – Winter 2009

The Spencer’s island (search “Spencer Art” in-world) is a changing exhibition in itself. Drawing on topics explored in the real-life Museum’s collection, staff design and build the island to expand upon objects and exhibitions in the real life Museum. Drawing on the Surrealists’ collaborative game called exquisite corpse, the Island currently offers visitors an opportunity to participate in several group-built sculptures. Stop by and add a leg or an arm to a fantastical creation, or start one of your own.

The Museum’s island is designed to change, so visit often to see what’s new.

The Spencer’s Second Life® island was made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency.

Second Life^® (SL) is an Internet-based virtual world launched in 2003 by media-technology pioneer Linden Lab. Second Life^® is a vast digital continent teeming with people, experiences, and opportunity. The program immerses participants in an electronic world of their own making, and a growing number of educators and youth organizations are adopting SL as an educational vehicle. In 2006, more than 60 schools and educational organizations set up shop in Second Life^®. In October 2006, the resident SL population was 1,000,000; the population now exceeds 9,000,000, with residents from more than 100 different countries and a participating population of about 30,000 at any given time. A free, downloadable client program called the “Second Life Viewer” enables users known as residents to interact with each other through the characters they create, known as avatars. Individuals or organizations can purchase islands, where they can build a structure (such as a campus). There, people can meet, interact, attend classes, view or create art, and participate in activities. Property owners can restrict access or make their islands available to all. This is a world in which people can “teleport” instantaneously from one site to another—or sprout wings and fly.

This project was made possible by the generous support of: