Place-Royale from the present to the past

The project is a cyber exhibition that uses 12 themes to present highlights from the history of Québec City’s Place-Royale and showcase its historic figures, society, and the development of its architecture through various eras. Drawing on Musée de la civilisation archives and collections and other sources, the project illustrates the history of this very important heritage site over a period of four centuries.

What makes the website so original is that it allows users to immerse themselves in the historyof Place-Royale by examining the traces of its past still visible today. To accomplish this, the site features an original blend of interactive Web components:

• Five interactive 360° panoramic views, stunning in full-screen mode, providing an enhanced virtual tour with clickable points of interest and interpretive audio commentary supported by a slide show (see http://www.mcq.org/place-royale/en/lieux.php)
• Thirty-six slide show featuring archival images of the site and of artifacts found in archeological excavations conducted there
• Five interactive geographic maps allowing users to explore points of interest and see how the site has evolved since the foundation of Québec City (see http://www.mcq.org/place-royale/en/carte.php)
• Dynamic navigation enabling users to link points of interest with the historic figures and events (themes) associated with them (see http://www.mcq.org/place-royale/en/themes.php?id=1&ver=1)
• Rally A fun and engaging virtual rally where users explore points of interest and learn about the area’s history (see http://www.mcq.org/place-royale/en/rallye.php)
• Mobile version A mobile version of the site with multimedia components providing onsitevisitors with an enhanced guided tour using a smartphone or iPod (see http://www.mcq.org/place-royale/en/accueil.php)
• Podcasts Podcasts featuring all the audio and video material (see http://www.mcq.org/place-royale/en/podcasts.php)
• A lesson plan developed to help teachers take full advantage of the site (see http://www.mcq.org/place-royale/en/enseignants.php)

The exhibition features a total of 130 archival documents, 194 collection objects (most from archeological excavations at the site), and almost 40,000 words of interpretive text, scenarios, and educational resources. This remarkable amount of high quality content enables users to draw connections between the traces of history still visible today and the events of the past.

In short, this site boasts all the qualities you are looking for in this Best of the Web category.