How Virtual Platform Second Life Kept This Small Baltimore Museum Going

The Western Hemisphere’s first purpose-built museum has found a new home in a virtual world. Forced to temporarily shut its doors due to the pandemic, The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture, which opened in 1814, has been rebuilt in the virtual platform Second Life. It’s allowed curators to carry on exhibiting, educating and, perhaps most importantly, networking. The relocation follows a concerted push by Linden Lab, creators of Second Life, to attract corporations to its platform as a space for business meetings. The outcome of transitioning to a new digital environment surprised the center’s chief strategy officer and founding director, Nancy Proctor, who says some features cross over into the corporate world. But she admits moving wasn't without its challenges — including unwelcome guests during one event she hosted. “Someone entered dressed as a giant phallus and danced around. It made a couple of people feel uncomfortable,” she said. “They suggested we should have warned them this could happen — and they were right. It had been so long since we’d been in there, that we didn’t even think about it.” [caption id="attachment_411294" align="alignright" width="300"] The Peale's display rooms have been digitally recreated. Picture: The Peale[/caption] But, perversely, it’s exactly this kind of spontaneity that most of us are beginning to miss, even includi