The Mariner's Museum

http://www.mariner.org/

Intended Audience

• People interested in maritime history-not only for people who physically want to visit the museum because because this site also contains online exhibits for those who want the knowledge
• School children interested in maritime history-there is a big section of this site devoted to educational programs/exihibits/activities for children
• Members of the Mariner's Museum

Usefulness of Content

• Instead of simply advertising the displays available at the museum, this site actually has a good selection of displays to see online so it is very educational
• There is also a library catalog available online
• Very useful content-it doesn't simply say here's what you could have if you came to the museum it gives the user most of the information online

Consistency of Design

• Tabs across the top remain the same throughout the site but the sub-categories down the left side change depending on which category is chosen
• The color of the tabs across the top and the picture within the heading banner also change according to which category is chosen
• Negative: Every time a new cateogory is chosen a new picture is presented on the heading banner-these go through a process to load (first stars come across, then words, then the bricks across the bottom of the heading, the bricks break apart for more words, and the picture loads)-this is annoying and distracting when clicking through the different categories
• However the same type of information is displayed in the same place throughout the site-making it easy to find information

Ease of Navigation

• Fairly easy to navigate throughout most of the site-but the Library Catalog does not contain the navigation tags that the rest of the site does making it difficult to go back to the main site from the Library Catalog without using the back button
• Main categories presented across the top of the page with sub-categories down the left side so if someone ever gets lost within the site it is easy to find the main page
• Negative: since there is no map (Ex. something that reads "Exhibitions and Collections>Online Exhibits>Women and the Sea" underneath the heading) showing exactly what tabs you have chosen it might be hard to find the way back to a a particular page