Have you ever been in the middle of an interminable exhibit design meeting where you just wanted to slit your wrists out of boredom and frustration?Well just a few days ago, I participated in an exhibit design meeting that was actually fun!
I was able to join some of the intrepid Liberty Science Center (LSC) staff on an informative (and tasty!) romp around Brooklyn. (We went to visit the Children's Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Blue Marble Ice Cream, The Pickle Guys, and Taci's Beyti Turkish Restaurant.) And the best part is that it was all related to the exhibit design process for a project called Cooking: The Exhibition.
While a trip through Brooklyn with a food writer, in this case Arthur Schwartz, to visit different restaurants and food-centered sites was automatically going to be big fun, the biggest take-away for me was the OUTSIDE Factor:
1) The event took place OUTSIDE the LSC offices.
2) The event offered opportunities to learn from OUTSIDE people (Arthur Schwartz, restaurant and store staff.) At each stop, we could ask questions, discuss ideas, and get behind-the-scenes glimpses of how things happened.
3) Most importantly, the Cooking project has been inviting (actually encouraging) OUTSIDE ideas from anyone who joins their NING site. You'll also find design write-ups, grant submissions, inspirational websites, and notes related to the Cooking exhibition development process on the site as well.
While you might not be able to take in a food tour through Brooklyn, hopefully your can apply the OUTSIDE Factor to your own exhibit design process sometime soon.
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