ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Computer Interchange of Museum Information

Imagine you have a toy chest full of toys. And you have a friend who also has a toy chest full of toys. Now, if you and your friend want to play with each other's toys, how would you know what toys your friend has and which ones you can play with?

Similar to that, museums also have a lot of things, like artwork, objects, and artifacts, that people come and see. And just like you and your friend want to share toys, museums also want to share information about what they have with other museums and people who are interested in learning about them.

But, museums are not always located in the same place or even in the same country. So, instead of calling each other on the phone to talk about what they have, they use computers to talk to each other. This is called computer interchange of museum information.

Basically, computer interchange means that museums use computers to share information about what they have. They can use a special type of software to input data about their objects and artworks, like their size, material, and where they came from. Each object or artwork can have a special number, kind of like a toy box with a label, so that other museums know exactly what they are talking about.

When museums share information about their objects and artwork, it is called interchange. It's like they are trading information about their toys, so they can learn more about each other's collections. By sharing information, museums can work together and learn from each other. This helps them create better exhibits, and people who visit the museum can learn more about the objects and artworks they see.

So, just like you and your friend can share toys, museums can share information about their objects and artworks using computers. And that's what computer interchange of museum information is all about!