ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog

I (almost) lost my voice ...

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:29:00 +0000

In both a physical and metaphorical way, I (almost) lost my voice during the recent ASTC conference (the international gathering of science center folks.) My laryngitis is mostly better now, but I'm still mulling over why I felt like there were more hucksters and monument-builders dominating the conversation at the conference than usual. Is it the effects of the poor economy, or an inexorable shift in the science center field itself?

It was a little sad to be surrounded by so many people (in presumably the same business as me) who seemed completely willing to rationalize bringing any off-message, off-mission, off-SCIENCE claptrap into their museums in the head-long chase after numbers. (Although it's questionable if either the money "numbers" or admissions "numbers" are real or sustainable.)

IMAX movies about giant robots taking over the world? Bring 'em on! Exhibits about movie props without the annoying detail of including any difficult science content? Call our ticket line right now!

And now onto to the trend of launching gigantic science center juggernauts... I overheard the director of a newly-opened palace of mediocrity complaining that he would NEVER work again with the fancy museum design company that was one of their co-conspirators. Well now's a great time to come to that realization, isn't it? The checks have been cashed, the damage has been done --- and the fancy museum design company is on to another gigantic new museum project --- it costs money to pay for all that smart office space and furniture in the big city, after all.

When will the museum business stop building the institutional equivalent of Humvees? Do we really need more titanic, and in all likelihood, unsustainable (in both the business and environmental sense) museum buildings sucking up resources, when we could do a better job refining and rethinking our existing museums? (Rather than building on top of their construction rubble ...)

Just as I was pondering how the sponsors of the ASTC conference possibly help to perpetuate this money-churning storyline that we need a constant stream of bigger (BIGGER!) projects to keep the science center world moving forward, the winners of the "Edgie" awards were announced.

The Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Awards are presented annually to ASTC members and/or their employees in recognition of extraordinary accomplishments in Visitor Experience, Business Practice, and Leadership in the Field that not only enhance the performance of their own institutions but also significantly advance the mission of science-technology centers and museums.

I'd like to highlight and give a tip of the hat to two of this year's winners: Klima X (a clever and thought-provoking look at global warming) produced by the The Norwegian National Museum of Science, Technology, and Medicine and The Coyote Point Museum (an institution in the midst of carefully recreating itself to better serve its constituent communities.) In each institution's case, they are thoughtfully addressing critical issues of science with both rigor and creativity.

I say thank goodness for the Edgie awards, a welcome antidote to both the mindlessly conjoined "numbers at any cost" and "bigger is better" museum trends that often seem to be dominating both the media landscape and the professional microphone.

There, my voice feels better now.

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Kathy McLean's Exhibit Manifesto

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:25:00 +0000

Kathy McLean wants you to help create a revolution in exhibition design. And she has issued her manifesto.

Kathy gave a thoughtful presentation the other day during the Pecha Kucha session at the 2009 ASTC conference.

You can see an earlier version of her talk entitled "Manifesto for the (r)Evolution of Museum Exhibitions" on this webpage.

Kathy has hurled some great challenges to exhibit developers and designers like "strive for mutations" and "work smaller" but during her Pecha Kucha presentation she has also challenged all exhibit developers and designers to add to her manifesto.

So after watching the video, why not take Kathy up on her challenge and leave your own ideas about the "Manifesto for the (r)Evolution of Museum Exhibitions" through her website's contact section?

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Happy ASTC Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:00 +0000

The international "gathering of the clans" of science center folks called the ASTC Annual Conference starts in Fort Worth this Saturday.

Which as my four children have repeatedly reminded me is Halloween.

So here is a great "trick or treat" (without the trick!) opportunity for any intrepid ExhibiTricks readers who will be in Fort Worth --- I've got several decks of Harry White's Exhibit Aphorism cards (kindly provided by Harry) to give away. To find out how to snag your own free deck, just keep reading ....

Here's an excerpt from a previous ExhibiTricks interview with Harry about the decks:

Tell us about your card deck of exhibit aphorisms.
In 1996, Techniquest started the UK’s first Masters course in Science Communication based in a Science Centre. It was a great success with students from all around the world, graduates were snapped up by most of the new UK science centres. I taught the Exhibits module, but after a year of PowerPointing them into submission, I felt that it just wasn’t appropriate to teach a degree about informal education, formally. Also, whenever I ran out of material for a session, just saying something deliberately controversial would start a debate that would fill the time and engage the students.

So I started collecting these quotations, jokes and provocations as aphorisms and put 52 of the best/most annoying onto a deck of cards. When the sessions flagged, I’d ask someone to pick a card, read it out and then the group would try and fathom what I was getting at. Most times a heated debate would ensue.

So you’d like some examples. There are over 200 so bear with me and I’ll pick some of the better ones. You may notice I’ve sneaked one in already in italics above.

The first is from Ken Gleason, at one time it was up on the wall in our workshop.

The Three Ways an Exhibit Must Work.
1. Attraction
If they don't use it, it can't achieve anything.

2. Function.
It must work, keep working and be safe.

3. Education.
What we're for, and why we're doing it. 1 & 2 lead here.

And from Ian Simmons
"The Survival of the Dullest"
Good exhibits are popular, get used and therefore break down.
Dull exhibits don't get used, and so don't break down.
Therefore all interactive exhibitions, without maintenance, eventually tend towards the dull.

Others are shorter and reflect bitter experience:

Sufficient ruggedisation of loose parts turns them into weapons.

For every hole or gap there is a corresponding human limb or appendage to get wedged in it.

Making easy exhibits is difficult.
Making easy exhibits difficult is easy.

Then some come in pairs:

Any component which is ideal, cheap and universally available will be discontinued by the time the exhibit that uses it is fully developed.

Any component that doesn't exist, so you have to devise it at great cost, will be in the next RS (McMaster Carr) catalogue.

Not all are about exhibits:

Nobody cares who the Director is.
(As you may imagine this was more forcefully put, the point being that however hard the administration works it’s the people on the front line that the Visitors meet and our job is to support them.)

“Give a visitor a fact and they know one thing,
Give them curiosity and they will learn endless things.”
Ian Russell

“Nobody flunked a Science Centre.”
Frank Oppenheimer

“The probability of somebody doing the absolutely inconceivable is never exactly zero.”
H. Richard Crane

“Visitors come to a Science Centre because it’s cheaper than the movies and less exhausting than the swimming pool.”
Gillian Thomas

You can know the science from a book,
You can know the engineering from experience,
But to find out what it makes people think you have to ask them.

Exhibits are about the phenomena, if the Visitor notices that the design is good, then it’s not good enough

The interactive content of an exhibit is inversely proportional to the area and expense of the graphic surrounding it

And so on, and on and on…………….

The idea of an Aphorism is to put some core truth in a memorably flippant way so that people who are “in the know” recognize it and those who don’t think about it. As an instructional tool this has a fatal flaw in that any one who “gets” it doesn’t need it and those that need it, don’t get it.

So I have started writing explanations of the Aphorisms to go with them. I use them a lot in consulting with other centres because they are memorable and anti-intuitive, a bit like good exhibits really.

A consultant is a person who borrows your watch and then charges to tell you the time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

So, if you'd like a chance to win your own Exhibit Aphorisms deck of cards, just find me on October 31st, hand me your business card, and say "Trick or Treat!"

That's it. Supplies are limited, but I'll make sure I have a batch to give away for both the A.M. and P.M. to keep things interesting.

Hope to see you in Fort Worth!

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Exhibit Design Inspiration: The Dyson Air Multiplier

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:02:00 +0000

A classic science center exhibit involves a lightweight ball or balloon trapped in a fast-flowing stream of air to demonstrate (ostensibly) the Bernoulli effect.

However most fans or blowers are loud, and involve blades that don't respond well to pencils, visitor's fingers, and other foreign objects.

Enter Sir James Dyson's latest invention, The Air Multiplier --- which basically is a "bladeless" fan that sends out a smooth continuous stream of air as opposed to traditional "bladed" fans that send out choppy bursts of air. (Sir James explains it all in this video.)

While the Dyson Air Multiplier looks to be a little pricey (when it becomes available!) at $329.00 for the 12" model, and $299.00 for the 10" model, I still can't wait to get my hands on one to experiment with ways to create new airflow exhibits for visitors!

Are there some other types of new technology on the horizon that you think might work well for exhibits? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Museum Mission Pop Quiz (First In A Series)

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:16:00 +0000

Pop Quiz: Do the two statements below belong together? Why or why not?

STATEMENT 1:

The Mission of the Museum of Science:

The Museum's mission is to play a leading role in transforming the nation's relationship with science and technology. This role becomes ever more important as science and technology shape and reshape our lives and world, and it means we:

Promote active citizenship informed by the world of science and technology
Inspire lifelong appreciation of the importance and impact of science and engineering
Encourage young people of all backgrounds to explore and develop their interests in understanding the natural and human-made world

To do this, we will continue to build our position as a leader in the world's museum community and use our educational perspective as an informal learning institution to help the formal pre K-12 education system.

STATEMENT 2:

Harry Potter™: The Exhibition

Opening Soon at the Museum of Science:

Harry Potter™ is a cultural phenomenon, inspiring the imaginations of millions across the globe. Now it's your chance to peer into the wizard's world in a new exhibit featuring more than 200 authentic props and costumes from the Harry Potter films, all displayed in settings inspired by the film sets -- including the Great Hall, Hagrid's hut and the Gryffindor™ common room. View iconic film artifacts such as Harry's glasses, the Marauder's Map, and Hermione's Yule Ball gown, and pause to pull a screeching Mandrake from its pot or try your hand at tossing a "Quaffle."

Are Museums Creating Enough Risks For Visitors?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:58:00 +0000

Since I'm part of a session called "Are Science Centers Missing The Science?" at the upcoming ASTC Conference in Fort Worth, I've been pondering the roles that "danger" and "risk" play in science education and science museums.

As you can see from the video at the top of this posting, starring my pal Ian Simmons from the UK, even a discussion of the calories in food can become interesting if an element of danger (like pure oxygen and metal-cutting flames!) is introduced.

There seems to be a wonderfully subversive undercurrent of "controlled danger" in the work of William Gurstelle (through his books like Backyard Ballistics) and groups like the Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. (Of course the fine folks at United Nuclear can provide supplies for your tinkering ...)

In addition, folks like Gever Tulley (and his Tinkering School) and Lenore Skenazy (of the Free-Range Kids blog) argue that what kids (and adults!) need to learn is MORE risk and independence, not less.

In these troubled times, when many museums seem to be "hunkering down" and waiting for the economy to improve, should we also be thinking of ways to take more risks in the programs and exhibits we develop, not less?

Before you argue that building places for open-ended, messy activities and physical risks aren't possible with a phalanx of lawyers or nervous board members around every corner, I hope you'll visit the websites of The City Museum or PATH (PlayAssociation Tower Hamlets) to get a little "risky" inspiration!

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Exhibit Design Inspiration: Hand from Above

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:06:00 +0000

Now here's a screen-based project to love! Artist Chris O'Shea inserted some clever computerized wizardry into very large public video screens (called, aptly enough, Big Screens) sponsored by the BBC and placed around various cities in the UK.

In O'Shea's piece, a giant cartoony hand (looking like something out of Monty Python) tickles, flicks, squashes, or removes images of pedestrians on the screen. As you can see from the embedded video at the top of this posting, rather than merely gawking at the jumbo TV, the people in the square are laughing, talking with each other (and even playfully shaking their booties!) as they interact with Hand from Above.

You can find out more about Chris O'Shea and his work by visiting his website.

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Exhibit Designer's Toolkit: Creating The Sounds of "Gore and Squidge"

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:28:00 +0000

Now that many museums are creating multimedia projects in-house, being able to make your own sound effects can really help stretch tight budgets. (Plus sound effects demos and workshops make great Halloween season activities as well!)

The Guide To Sound Effects is a simple how-to primer for creating all sorts of sound effects. Arranged alphabetically and containing everything from "flying bats" to "gore and squidge" the guide gives some simple hands-on techniques for creating interesting sounds for your projects.

But where do you go if you need a specific digital sound file of an umbrella opening, or an elephant's roar? A great resource for your digital sonic searches is the FindSounds website. It's sort of like Google for people in search of particular digital sound files.

Simply enter a search term, like "umbrella" and FindSounds does the rest. You can additionally set parameters for particular file types, file size and sample rate as well.

Do you have a favorite web-based exhibits or multimedia tool that you couldn't live without? Let us know your favorites in the "Comments" section below!

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Designer's Toolkit: IdeaPaint

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:08:00 +0000

Who hasn't had the occasional urge to write a great idea or comment on the walls of your house or a museum?

IdeaPaint can turn virtually anything you can paint into a high-performance dry-erase surface.

As you can see on the IdeaPaint website there are a variety of colors available to create dry-erase areas, as well as two paint formulations: an "industrial" solvent-based version called PRO that is backed by a 10-year warranty, and a "consumer" version called CRE-8 that comes as a water-based material.

IdeaPaint seems like a great way to loosen up meeting spaces and kids' rooms. I'm just waiting for a museum to paint their entire building (inside and out!) with the stuff to collect visitor feedback on everything from the doorknobs to the exhibits inside!

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So Why Doesn't Your Museum Just Give Away Free Ice Cream?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:50:00 +0000

Would better public funding mean better museums?

I know this may not be the best time, economically or otherwise, to bring up the topic of "public funding" , but I've been thinking about this a lot recently since the notion keeps popping up in projects and meetings I've been involved with.

The biggest operational trick for most non-profits, including museums, is a steady, reliable funding stream. Without having a clear sense of your resources, realistic budgeting and planning becomes nearly impossible.

So how have museums reacted to these budget uncertainties? Unfortunately, in many cases, by the institutional equivalent of buying lottery tickets.

All sorts of dodgy "get rich quick schemes" seem to have forced many museums into, to be charitable, exhibits, programs, and events that are "off mission." For example, I'd love to know what showing the latest cheeseball Transformers movie on your IMAX screen has to do with history or science. Or how turning the latest kids TV show character into a traveling exhibition practically devoid of content is best serving the needs of our visitors.

I can hear the arguments already --- "but if we bring people in with some pop culture exhibit or program, they'll stay to see the rest of the museum." By that line of thinking you could also give away free ice cream to get people in the door, but is that really what museums should be doing? (Also the "but they'll also look at the rest of the museum" rationalization was played out 25 years ago when planetariums started doing Pink Floyd laser shows on Friday and Saturday nights for the stoners...)

So let's do a little blue sky thinking --- if numbers (either visitation numbers or dollars) weren't the primary motivation for museum decisions, how would the look and feel of your exhibits and educational programming change? More importantly, how would your institutional priorities change?
Share your thoughts and ideas in the "Comments Section" below!

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Could Frank Oppenheimer Get Hired To Run A Museum Today?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:55:00 +0000

One tiny, but striking, section of K.C. Cole's biography of Frank Oppenheimer (the founder of The Exploratorium) entitled something incredibly wonderful happens: Frank Oppenheimer and the World He Made Up is the section that quotes F. Van Kasper, the former chairman of The Exploratorium's board:

Frank couldn't get hired to run the Exploratorium today, Van told me. "Frank couldn't get hired to run any museum today." And because the job of director was now seen mainly as a matter of fundraising, "he wouldn't want to be hired either."

If that doesn't sum up the current state of science centers (and perhaps all modern museums, at least in the U.S. with its execrable governmental funding structure toward cultural institutions) I don't know what does.

Part of the reason the quote about Frank Oppenheimer struck me so much is that I've been thinking about a panel I'll be part of at the upcoming ASTC Conference called "Are Science Centers Missing The Science?" One of the thoughts I keep circling back to as I prepare my talk is the willingness of many museum directors to bring any "dog and pony show" to their institution, no matter how tangentially related to their mission, in the hopes of raising funds.

The museum field needs more passionate (and even eccentric) leaders like Frank Oppenheimer. But the museum field also needs more funding, widely distributed to all types and sizes of museums, to allow more diverse leadership styles (and by extension, more diverse museum offerings) the space to flourish.

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The Missing MacArthur Fellow

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:10:00 +0000

The MacArthur Foundation just announced the class of 2009 for the "genius grants." And while I sincerely congratulate this year's winners, for the past several years I keep finding a glaring omission from the list of awardees.

That would be the artist and creator of kinetic sculptures, Arthur Ganson.

If anyone has "shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction" to quote the grant standards, it is Arthur Ganson. To further quote from the MacArthur website: "There are three criteria for selection of Fellows: exceptional creativity, promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishment, and potential for the fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work." Again an apt description of Arthur and his work.

Rather than speak in greater detail for Arthur or his work, I'll just direct you to his excellent website, and the wonderful video from the TED Conference embedded above.

Creative work is often un(der)appreciated work, and while many wonderful artists, craftspeople, and facile thinkers will never receive the recognition they deserve, I hope that Arthur Ganson soon becomes part of the cadre of MacArthur award winners.

Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Free Updates" link on the right side of the blog.

P.S. If you receive ExhibiTricks via email you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like movies!)

"Smaller Is Better" Project Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:50:00 +0000

Here's a roundup of several "Smaller Is Better" (SIB) projects that were submitted after our recent post on the subject:

• Darla Abigt from the Western Center for Archaelogy & Paleontology sent info about a "SIB" exhibit called “Art meets Science.” It was inspired by the KEVA planks that are used in the Western Center's education programs.

It's an interactive exhibit that allows visitors to employ their imaginations and creativity by building with a simple wooden block. In addition, themed competitions and events have inspired the community to work together and create truly unique and beautiful designs in the exhibit gallery --- all while learning the rules of gravity, balance and engineering. Take a look at their Photobucket Album or the photo above for examples of visitor creations.

• For another "Smaller Is Better" project, Alex Hayes wrote about how the "family business" (including his father David Hayes and uncle John Hayes) worked with the city of White Plains and local developers to install 62 Large sculptures around town. You can see an example below, or check out David Hayes' website to see more examples of the White Plains project, and other installations done throughout the country with smaller cultural institutions.

• Lastly, Michael Nugent wrote about his work with the Acadiana Center for the Arts (AcA.)

Here's what Michael had to say:

"I am an artist from Lafayette, Louisiana and have been working on contract for a local museum, the Acadiana Center for the Arts (AcA), as an Exhibition Preparator. It's a great and inspiring place to visit as well as work (although I am a bit partial). The AcA has had some impressive exhibitions, even somewhat controversial and progressive for the South. A performing arts theater is currently being added which will double the square footage of the facilities - in all about 50,000 sq. ft.

Artist Heidi Cody came through the main gallery with her collection entitled "Suggested Retail Value," and transformed the space into a wonderland of abstracted modern advertising. It was the most challenging installation we've seen at the AcA.

Probably the most famous artist from Louisiana, George Rodrigue, showed a retrospective of his work at the AcA. It was overwhelming to be surrounded by the $30 million worth of artwork - installing it was quite an experience as well.

A recent exhibit, the Southern Open, displayed work by artists from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Around 400 artists submitted nearly 1000 works of art this year. 59 artists and 72 pieces of art were selected. Eleanor Heartney was the juror for the exhibition.

The previous Head Curator, Rose Courville, was responsible for these and many other great exhibits. She recently moved to Maryland with her husband, and I will miss working with her."

Great work all around! If you would like to share information about an exhibition doing more with less, please contact me so I can let ExhibiTricks readers know about your projects as well.

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Brought To Life: Exploring The History Of Medicine

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:55:00 +0000

We've written previously about cool web-based resources here at ExhibiTricks that help explicate information about the human body, but I recently came across a website with a slightly more focused approach.

The Science Museum in London has created a site called "Brought To Life" that aims to provide resources and activities concerning the history of medicine. Drawing upon the Science Museum's vast collections and educational expertise, the Brought To Life site includes great information about a range of medical-related topics including hospitals, epidemics, and my personal favorite --- the history of surgery and surgeon's tools.

Naturally there's enough multimedia fun to keep kids busy, as well as a great many photographs of collection objects and in-depth explanation of medical topics that will be of use to students and teachers.

All in all, Brought To Life is a great website to check out and add to your bookmarks. Who knows the next time you might have to gather some information about bone saws?

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Back To (Exhibit) School Reading List

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:57:00 +0000

With school starting back up, I thought I'd share my "required reading" list of some favorite museum references --- books I keep coming back to over and over again as I think about and design exhibits.

"User Friendly: Hands-On Exhibits That Work" is Jeff Kennedy's excellent book, which is available through ASTC's Publications Division. Jeff's book is packed with photographs of examples (both good and bad) of visitor interfaces. Topics such as the best ways to place crank handles and switches, options for seating near components, and viewing ports and devices are discussed and well-illustrated. The ergonomic tables showing optimum reach distances or viewing heights for adults, children, and visitors in wheelchairs are worth the price of the book alone.

The McMaster-Carr Catalog.
While not strictly a textbook, both the big yellow catalog, and the on-line version, of McMaster's offerings are both great places to find the parts (and inspiration!) you need for your exhibits projects --- sometimes even things you didn't realize existed! Gears, switches, fasteners, Velcro, railroad wheels --- you name it, they've got it --- in quantities either large or small, and usually shipped to you the next day.

Fostering Active Prolonged Engagement: The Art of Creating APE Exhibits
is a book based on the NSF-funded study at the Exploratorium of exhibits, and exhibit environments, that foster active, prolonged engagement in visitors --- hence the acronym APE. What I like about this book is that it really delves into the process of tinkering and refining exhibits to make them more effective. Each APE exhibit example gives you a sense of the individual exhibit developer's struggles and triumphs toward the goal of increased visitor learning and engagement, as well as providing concrete materials lists and references so you can build your own versions of the exhibit components described.

Lastly, here's a "history" book of sorts, K.C. Cole's Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens: Frank Oppenheimer and the world he made up. Even if you've never had the opportunity to visit the Exploratorium (and especially if you have) the story of Frank Oppenheimer, and his philosophy toward life and science education, are incredibly wonderful.

Have a book recommendation of your own? Tell us about it in the "Comments Section" below.

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Your Museum Should Hire Amisha Gadani

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:21:00 +0000

After a recent ExhibiTricks post suggesting that one way to get more interesting new ideas into museums is to, well, hire some young(er) people (who are not part of "the usual museum suspects") with interesting new ideas, I made a promise to highlight some folks who fit that description.

So let me introduce you to Amisha Gadani. As you can see from Amisha's website, and some of the images throughout this post, not only does Amisha have impeccable academic credentials, but artistic/mechanical/electronic chops as well (as evidenced by the wonderfully cool "blowfish dress" featured in the video near the bottom of this post.)

After earning her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007, Amisha joined the staff of the Exploratorium and has been there ever since. At the museum she works primarily as an educator and shop assistant. Amisha has also joined an exhibit development project called Geometry Playground where she develops activities designed to increase the depth of visitor experiences in an exhibition.

But true to her Pennsylvanian roots, Amisha would like to find a job on the East Coast, and true to her creative roots, she wants a full-time position making exhibits in a museum. So check out Amisha's website, or contact her to set up an interview (before some other museum beats you to it!)

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Museum Design Thought Experiment: Would/Would Not

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:19:00 +0000

After the roiling kerfuffle that came about after my recent "screens" posting, I started thinking about the automatic reactions that we all have about design/exhibit features in museums.

So I'd like to start a little "crowdsourcing" or museum design thought experiment for ExhibiTricks readers.

It's simple --- think about creating a brand new museum, now choose just one design/exhibit feature you absolutely WOULD include, and why, and one design/exhibit feature you absolutely WOULD NOT include in your wonderful new museum, and why.

Now write your WOULD/WOULD NOT new museum design/exhibit features in the "Comments" section below.

I'll start things out by putting my own WOULD/WOULD NOTs right here:

WOULD: I'd include a "FabLab" type space where visitors could use computerized (and non-computerized) design tools to create objects to take home. I'd do that because I think many museum experiences show people the "end products" (art objects, historical artifacts, phenomenological exhibits) without helping them appreciate the process(es) by which those products came about.

WOULD NOT: I would not create a traveling exhibit space in my new, idealized museum. The reason is that I think many museums' use of traveling exhibit spaces becomes either an institutional treadmill or crutch, and I think the time and resources usually spent on bringing in traveling shows (many of which are overpriced junk, but that's a different story ...) could be better utilized by developing exhibits/programming internally that stick around for more than three months.

Let's read your WOULD/WOULD NOTs in the "Comments" section below!

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The Play Project

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:50:00 +0000

In a recent post about "Smaller IS Better" I asked for suggestions of museums doing innovative things in remote or smaller outposts, that normally don't get recognized. Megan Fischer from Providence Children's Museum, wrote to tell me about her museum's Play Power project.

Here's what Megan had to say:

Last fall, Providence Children's Museum opened Play Power, an exhibit celebrating the power of children's play. We've always talked to our visitors about the importance of play, but we made the message more deliberate with this exhibit - through labels (paper & video), a parent resource area & sheet, supporting programs, and more. We've included our play message in all we do - all print materials, e-newsletter, including PlayWatch (stories observed & reported by Museum staff & volunteers) in our newsletter.

We've also been doing a lot of outreach/advocacy work to get the message out beyond the Museum's walls:

• using our blog to link to articles & resources and give a behind-the-scenes look at the interesting things staff are doing & talking about.

• partnering with other local organizations to host community screenings of "Where Do The Children Play?" - a documentary about kids' lack of time & space for play, especially outdoors (click here for blog follow up to the most recent event)

• and just last month, launching a listserv that grew from the screenings - "PlayWatch: Connecting the Community to Promote Children's Play."

We've been able to bring together a lot of people who are having similar conversations to ours and the connections are great & growing. Up next - hoping to schedule a series informal community conversations, about various play & parenting topics that have come up on our listserv. I'm sending out a survey this week to find out what people are most interested in talking about.

Thanks to Megan and her colleagues for sharing their thoughtful approaches to advocating for play both inside and outside their museum.

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Exhibit Design Humor: There, I Fixed It

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:37:00 +0000

Well, that last post about screens in museums certainly struck a nerve! (And perhaps my laptop, too, which seems to have blown it's video card, ironically ... so those of you waiting to have your "Smaller is Better" projects, or "Not the Usual Suspects" hiring bios featured in future ExhibiTricks postings, please bear with me and the AppleCare repair program.)

For right now, though, here's a suggestion for a little light web browsing, in the form of a plug for the website There, I Fixed It. Billed as a monument to "epic kludges and jury rigs" there is just a constant stream of jaw-droppingly funny images that serve as proof (either for or against) human ingenuity.

If you've ever had to fix exhibits, There, I Fixed It, is a must add to your browser bookmarks or newsreader.

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Are Screens Killing Museums?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Having just returned from SEGD's Sixth Annual Symposium on New Directions in Exhibition and Environment Design held at Cranbrook outside of Detroit, I was very much reminded of Nina Simon's recent post about small "camp-like" meetings instead of conferences.

The SEGD Symposium really was like a design camp with a small group of participants in Cranbrook's idyllic setting learning from each other.

I was fortunate to give a talk during the symposium about "Right Tech." Building upon the notion that museums' strengths lie with the "Triple S" of Stories, Stuff, and Social Engagement, part of my Cranbrook presentation focused on the contention that "screens" are destroying truly interactive experiences in museums. Since my thoughts seemed to elicit about 50% heads nodding in agreement, and 50% gritted teeth in the audience, I'd thought I'd share my "screed against screens" condensed into a top ten list with ExhibiTricks readers:

A SCREED AGAINST SCREENS

10) Screens are not "green".
I don't care how you slice it up, screens are not a sustainable design technology.

9) IMAX.
The biggest gateway to "cheesiness" in the museum business.

8) The "death trap" introductory theatre.
Didn't forcing people to sit through a boring movie before they get to the "fun stuff" die out with the 1964 World's Fair?

7) BIG Touch Screens/Touch Tables.
Somehow the technology that looked so cool in the Tom Cruise movie "Minority Report" has landed inside museums. Proof that bigger is not always better.

6) Individual Experiences Instead of Truly Social Experiences.
Screens hypnotize, not socialize.

5) Screens in museums emulate TV or movie experiences.
But poorly.

4) Screens in museums emulate videogame experiences.
But poorly.

3) Screens become the "easy answer."
Since visitors will stare at a screen, even if nothing is on it, screen-based technologies often become our default design choice.

2) Screens often become "electronic labels" or encyclopedias.
Screens often become a dumping ground for huge volumes of text that we would never dare stick onto a printed label.

1) Screens don't age well.
Screen-based technologies and techniques become dated very quickly, but unfortunately don't seem to get replaced as quickly.

What do you think? Are screens destroying museums or are they the last hope for engaging visitors? Feel free to hurl your bouquets or brickbats to us via the "Comments" area below.

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Exhibit Design Toolbox: JC Whitney

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Since I'm speaking at the SEGD Exhibition and Environments Symposium in Detroit (my hometown and STILL the Motor City!) this week, I thought I'd highlight a great auto-related resource that's often overlooked by exhibit designers, namely the JC Whitney catalog.

JC Whitney is a great resource for odd little bearings or mirrors, as well as low voltage lights and accessories. And, since all the items were designed for automotive use, they hold up well to the pounding museum visitors can often give exhibits. JC Whitney's website can also be a good place to find speciality tools or paints that can be adapted to exhibit design.

So spend some cash to upgrade your exhibit "clunkers" by investigating the JC Whitney site.

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The LEGO® Millyard Project

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:07:00 +0000

Last week I wrote a post about "Smaller IS Better" and asked for suggestions of museums doing innovative things in remote or smaller outposts, that normally don't get recognized. I'm happy to say I got a tremendous response, and I will be sharing news of some of those interesting projects and people in future blog postings.

For now, I'd like to share with you some details about the LEGO® Millyard Project that's on display at the SEE Science Center in Manchester, New Hampshire. Douglas Heuser and Adele Maurier were kind enough to share the photos above and below, as well as this description of the project:

"Our LEGO Millyard project is a great example of what can be accomplished using volunteers and corporate partners. The project depicts the Amoskeag Millyard circa 1900, built with more than 3 million LEGO bricks and complete with running water and trains with mini-cams. We have created school programs around the project highlighting the science and technology of the mills. It has also changed the demographics of our visitors: older visitors are now coming to SEE, unaccompanied by children, just to check out the LEGO Millyard. "

More than 3 million LEGO bricks! I'd say that makes the SEE Science Center a "museum worth a special trip"! Let us know about some of your favorite "Smaller IS Better" museum projects in the Comments Section below or by dropping us an email.

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Smaller IS Better

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:47:00 +0000

So here's my two-part solution to solve the ever continuing museum money/funding crisis:

1) Stop building gigantic new museums.

2) Fund small "risky" projects instead of "safe" big projects.

Most big museums were unsustainable before the current "financial crisis" and even more so now. Not to mention that many gigundo museums are filled with pockets of mediocrity or plain lousiness that gets ignored or excused or even overlooked because there are other flashier, newer segments of the rest of their elephantine museum building complex.

So why do people keep building giant museums? Sheer ego and "edifice complex" as far as I can tell. It's a lot sexier to say you're building the "world's biggest and best museum" than to actually set up the infrastructure to ensure a continually growing and evolving institution that makes best use of both staff and community resources.

If you really want to see Museum 2.0/3.0/whatever happen, then museum workers and museum organizations should advocate for more, but smaller, museums spread throughout communities like public libraries --- heck why not have every museum (that's not already doing so) partner with a local library or community center to work on exhibits and programs together?

Now, funding.

Here's a modest proposal for NSF, IMLS, NEH and the rest of the governmental alphabet soup of funding agencies: alternate every year between funding "big" projects and "little" projects.

This would have the benefit of breaking the cycle of perpetually funding "The Usual Suspects" of the same batch of museums/designers/evaluators who get funded every grant cycle.
Which would be fine, if the "The Usual Suspects" were turning out wonderful field-changing exhibitions. But mostly the funding process has turned into a gravy train for folks doing the same sort of mediocre exhibitions over and over again.

Why couldn't NSF, for example, deliberately fund 15-20 large exhibition projects one cycle, then 50-60 small exhibition projects the next?

I think part of this big vs. small dichotomy is also an issue of exposure. There are many amazing, innovative museums and museum workers doing their thing in remote or smaller outposts, so they don't get recognized in the traditional incestuous museum conference/funding world.

So, I'm going to do my part to help change that exposure thing, and I need your help. Do you know of some cool projects happening at smaller "non-famous" museums, or do you know an up-and-coming whiz kid who hasn't been able to find a real full-time with benefits job in the museum business yet?

Send me an email at info@orselli.net so I can start giving these small places and some NOT the usual suspects some publicity and the attention they deserve.

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Exhibit Designer Toolkit: LIT LEDs

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:32:00 +0000

LED technology continues to advance, and designers can take advantage of the high-impact of LEDs to add some punch to exhibit components and/or environments.

LIT is a company that offers some nice compact LED lighting elements, as well as some nifty interactive demos on their website that give you a sense of the possibilities that LED lighting offers.

Of course, LEDs have the double advantage of a long life span and low energy usage compared to many other light sources, making them a "greener" design choice as well.

So check out the LIT website and consider how you might be able to use LEDs in your next exhibit project.

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For Sale: INFINITY

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Orselli) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:24:00 +0000

Yes, the title of this posting is for real --- I'm offering infinity for sale.

Well, OK, it's actually a portable Infinity Room exhibit. This one of a kind piece was developed with the M.I.T Center for Advanced Visual Studies, and has been experienced by over 100,000 people (note the "undoctored"photograph of the person inside the Infinity Room above.)

The entire walls, floors and ceilings of the interior space are covered by high quality mirrors, behind which is a system of lighting units and over two miles of high quality, solid core fiber optics!
The entire all-steel mobile structure is mounted on two axles, each with dual wheels (8 tires total) on a leaf suspension. The current owners would like to sell the Infinity Room to a museum, planetarium, astronomical organization or the like.

If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please direct all inquiries to: info@orselli.net

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