Museum Madness

Succumb to Museum Madness!

Enter at your own risk! Something has gone
terribly wrong. All of the exhibits are quite literally out of order.
Dinosaur bones have been scrambled . . . a wooly mammoth is wandering
the hallways . . . the Wright Brothers can’t remember how to build an
airplane. You must restore order. The museum’s roaming robot, MICK
(short for Museum Information Computer Kiosk), will lend a hand, but
mostly you’re on your own. The museum contains five halls: Technology,
Air and Space, American History, Natural History, and World History.
Each hall contains five exhibits. To discover why things went haywire,
you'll have to restore order to all 25 exhibits. A successful visit
depends strongly on an ability to read information and make decisions
based on that information. This requires reading skills at the fifth-
grade level or above. Children who do not read at this level can still
enjoy playing the Museum Madness software program with the assistance
of an accomplished reader.

Installation and Start-up

Installation

1. Insert the CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
2. Type D:\SETUP (where "D" is the letter of your CD-ROM drive and hit
the <Enter> key.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Start-up
1. Type C: and press Enter.
2. Type CD \MECC\MUSEUM and press Enter.
3. Type MUSEUM and press Enter.

The very first time you play Museum Madness, the program begins with a
scene that explains what has gone wrong at the museum. Then you have a
series of problems to solve: When you arrive at the museum, it's
closed for repairs! You must figure out how to get in.

- Okay - you're inside the museum, but you're stuck in the maze-like
basement. How can you get to the lobby?

- When you make your way to the lobby, your sources of help - MICK
the robot and the museum's map are out of order. You must set things
right before you can start visiting the exhibits. At any point in this
process, you can press the Esc key to go directly to the next scene.
When you have put together the museum’s map, it would be a good idea
to save your game (see Saving a Game). The next time you play Museum
Madness, you can start at the very beginning, or you can load your
saved game to go directly to the museum exhibits.

How to Play

Museum Madness is a game that makes you think. You need to listen to
what people say. You need to read signs. And you need to explore
the exhibits to find things that will help you. If you get stuck,
MICK might be able to help. Moving Around When the pointer looks
like a sneaker, you can move around in the immediate area. When
the pointer looks like an arrow, you can move from one room or
area to another.

Inspecting Things

When you point at an important part of an exhibit, the pointer looks
like a magnifying glass. Click on the item. You get a close-up view,
and you usually begin a new activity. When you are done inspecting
something, move the pointer to the outside of the screen. The pointer
will turn into the word "Close." Click the mouse button to return to
your previous activity.

Reading About Things

All exhibits have a little box at the bottom left corner. When you
point to it, the pointer looks like the letter "i" for information.
Click on the box to learn more about the exhibit. When you're done
reading, click the mouse button or press the Enter key.

Talking to People

You can talk to most everyone you see in the exhibits. Point to a
person; the pointer will look like a text balloon. When you're done
reading, click the mouse button or press the Enter key. Talking to
MICK When you point at MICK, the pointer looks like a question mark.
Click on MICK. He may be able to give you some useful advice.
Picking Things Up When you point at a useful item, the pointer looks
like a hand. Click on the item to pick it up; it goes into E. J.'s
backpack.

Using Items in the Backpack

Once you are inside the museum, you can get into E. J.'s backpack.
It contains many useful items. Sometimes, you need to find an item,
put it in the backpack, and use it later. Other times, you can use
an item that E. J. already has in his backpack.

Getting into the Backpack

Point to the backpack and click, or move the pointer to the top of
the screen. When you point to an object, its name appears at the
bottom of the display.

Using an Item

1. Open the backpack.
2. Click on the item that you want to use; the pointer will look
like that item.
3. Point to the object or person that you think can use the item
and click again. If you have figured out the proper use for the item,
something will happen. If not, nothing will happen; click on E. J.
to put the item away.

Saving a Game

1. Open the backpack.
2. Double-click on the Game disk.
3. Click on the Disk Options button, and then click on the Save button.
4. Type a name and press Enter. The first time you play, you cannot
save your game until you are in the museum lobby. After that, it's a
good idea to save your game whenever you finish fixing up an exhibit.

What's in the Museum?

Here are brief descriptions of what you can expect to find in each of
the exhibits.

Exhibit Description

Hall of Technology

Robots Track down a malfunctioning robot who has run amok, dismantle
it, and use the parts to fix the other robots in the exhibit.

Computer Technology

The museum's computer can't tell the difference between a 1 and a 0.
Bit by bit, you need to help the computer regain its memory. Discovery
of Radio Marconi and other inventors need help with their experiments
that lead to the discovery of radio. Energy Technology Energy power
plants are polluting the entire museum! Help make them work cleanly.
Simple Machines An escaped wallaby has made a shambles of the exhibit!
Fix the pulleys, levers, and ramps, and use to them capture the
kangaroo.

Hall of Air and Space

How Big Is the Universe? The earth and moon . . . the solar system . . .
the entire galaxy is out of order! Can you put it back together?
Planetarium The planetarium’s projection system is out of whack.
It's up to you to make the stars appear in their correct positions.
Rockets and Computers Rockets depend on computers. But the computers
have lost their memory! You need to reprogram the computers. Air
Powered Flight The museum's air circulation system has blown all the
hot-air balloons, kites, and gliders into disarray. Fix the fan and
put everything back where it belongs. The Wright Brothers The Wright
Brothers can’t remember how to fly. If you can't help, everyone will
have to fly the friendly skies on bicycles.

Hall of American History
Transcontinental Railroad Go to work for the railroad and piece together
the correct route for America's first cross-country railroad. Salem
Witch Trials -  Salem's teenage girls have been accused of being witches!
Can you find logical explanations for events that the town elders
believe are caused by witchcraft?
