The Methodology of Creating a Hypermedia System - A Case Study of an Interactive Dictionary and Illustrated Guide to Ichthyology

"Hypermedia" has recently become a term that many people are accustomed to hear and a growing number of museum displays in Japan are utilizing hypermedia. In our continuous effort to utilize new technologies in our museum, we must not forget that the starting point is the creation of displays which can be touched by the hands, observed by the eyes, and heard by the ears of the people coming to see them. We have discussed whether to utilize hypermedia to manufacture "a display for conveying messages to museum visitors" instead of "hypermedia to show technology". Next we wish to explain how the technology used for the Ichthyology Dictionary and Illustrated Guide set up in the Mutsu Hall of Science and the Technology Hall (both of which we developed from 1993 to 1995), led to the integration of hypermedia into museum displays.