The Tower is a multilevel structure that houses basic experiments in molecular genetics and a few examples of model systems like the Fly Room and the Bacterial Genetics area. The suggested order of progression for the Tower is by floors. Visitors who wish to begin their study of genetics with DNA rather than with the Mendelian Genetics in the Abbey, can progress to the Chromosome Cafe and then hop over to the Abbey for an excursion through the Mendelian Laws of Inheritance.
Teleport stations within the tower look like small lollipops and are usually located near the ramp of every fourth room. These are labeled with the name of the area you will teleport to, and you can walk up and down within each of the areas. Two areas of the Tower are included in the major teleport panels scattered around Genome Island: the Office on the first level of the Tower and the Chromosome Cafe, which is about halfway up. In a few areas of the Tower, there are teleports between the tower and other parts of the island, e.g. The Garden of Prokaryotic Genomes, or the Translation Series by the Gene Pool.
Tower Entrance:
At the Entrance to the Tower are several interactive objects: Teleports to the Gene Pool, Abbey and Terrace, a listing of other science-related locations at Second Life, and a Map of the SciLands.
- The SciLands: The SciLands is a growing archipelago of islands devoted to Science and Technology. The map shown here is shows about 50 islands now included in the SciLands. Science can be seen as play for adults -- indulging in our natural curiosity about how things work. In the Scilands, visitors will find a sampling of experiments and demonstrations based on scientific principles. Students and teachers will find rich resources here to support learning in the sciences. Clicking on the Information globe will give you a notecard with teleports to different parts of the SciLands.
- Genome Island User's Guide : The User's Guide provides an in-world link to this page, as well as an illustrated notecard listing the different activities available on Genome and their locations.
- Science-Related Places: The SciLands is not the only place to find science at Second Life. A number of individuals and institutions have developed science material at Second Life, and clicking on the sign will deliver link to a current list of science places, maintained by Troy McLuhan.
Tower Level 1: Max Chatnoir's Office
The office is primarily an entry portal for the Tower, but also gives students a central location to leave a message or pick up items left for them. There are several interactive objects in the office:
- The Laptop Computer: Clicking on the Laptop produces to the Texas Wesleyan university Blackboard portal. The Laptop thus lets students access university resources from within Second Life.
- T shirts: Clicking on one of the T-shirt boxes will offer visitors a free T shirt Wesleyan students can get a university T shirt; other island visiters might prefer the Genome Island T shirt. The T shirts are useful for new arrivals, as they help students in a group identify one another while they are becoming familiar with the avatars of the other students.
- Online Indicator: When Max Chatnoir is logged in at Second Life, you can send an IM to ask a question or get help.
- Tower Terrace: Several seating areas on a step-down terrace provides space for conferences or small class groups.The Tower Terrace overlooks the Abbey and the Gene Pool.
Tower Teleporter: The first of the in-tower teleports is near the ramp leading to the next level, and explains the Tower Teleport system. Each of these “lollipop” teleporters moves a visitor 2-4 levels within the tower. The teleporter offers a quick way to jump up to different tower levels. From each teleport center, you can walk up or down the ramps to nearby levels. - Island Teleporter: Over the couch is one of the teleport panels located in several locations around the Island. Clicking on the teleporter offers a selection of activity centers around the Island: The Abbey, the Greenhouse, the Terrace, the Gazebo, the Tower Office, the Chromosome Cafe, the Bioinformatics Kitchen, the Atelier and the land bridge to Biome.
Since the Tower contains dozens of activities, descriptions of the major activity groups are described in the sections below.