GRIT 654: Second Life Virtual Tour Assignment

• Rebecca Moulder• Alex Pinguli

• Joey Petchalonis

1900s Paris/Le Moulin Rouge

This site strived to be an authentic and historically accurate re-creation of Paris nearly a century ago. We enjoyed the themed posters all around the streets, French artwork exhibits, background music, and attention to detail. Characters speak French and are dressed in period clothing. We found a grand piano in one building, but could not figure out how to play it.

International Space Flight Museum

Flying is the preferred mode of travel at the International SpaceFlight Museum. We all started onboard a satellite/platform, but quickly learned that falling through space at terminal velocity was more thrilling. The ground level contains a large collection of space missiles and rockets.

Sistine Chapel

We entered the chapel with a respectful reverence and soon discovered that it was more fun to try and become part of the magnificent Judgment Day painting (as evidenced by our group photo). The Sistine Chapel site contains a movie theater where you can learn about the history of the paintings. Signs with more information are abundant, giving it a museum-like feel. Because the paintings are very detailed, they take some time to load and are initially very pixelated.

Neverland

Becky thought this island would be a re-creation of the mythical land for lost boys in J.M. Barrie’s classic novel, Peter Pan. It’s not. This location is a replica of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. We arrived at the front gates to the music of Michael Buble instead of the King of Pop. There were mismatched billboards advertising for children’s nonprofit groups in Haiti and various other causes. Overall, it was a little creepy.

The Great Pyramid of Giza

We expected this location to be another replica of a historical landmark. While that was true from the outside, within the pyramid we encountered a very lively dance party. There were lots of seating options inside the pyramid, but they were not easy to figure out. It may be possible to ride a camel while in Second Life Egypt, but again the controls were difficult to use.