Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A Different Sort of Project


Recently, one of my museum pals, Susie Wilkening, put out a call for someone to help her with a special project. Susie and her husband Jeremy wanted to create a set of book carts for the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in memory of their infant son, Roe, who lived for only a few days.

So, in collaboration with my cohorts at Kim Wagner Designs and DCM Fabrication, we put together the two carts shown here, based on the Wilkening's dogs, Shadow and Macie.


Parents of very premature infants are often not allowed to hold their baby, sometimes for weeks.  A way that many NICU parents like to feel close to their child is to read to them. But the Brigham and Women's NICU had no children’s books, so the book carts (and all the wonderful children's book they hold) serve as Susie and Jeremy's memorial to their son Roe.


POW! was very happy to be part of this project and deliver the book carts in person to Boston.


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Friday, March 26, 2010

Exhibit Design Inspiration: A History of the Sky



Ken Murphy is developing a project called "A History of the Sky" that uses time-lapse video (captured from a camera on the roof of the Exploratorium) to document the changes in the sky to help viewers appreciate the rhythms of weather, the lengthening and shortening of days, and other atmospheric events.

As you can see in the still image below or the YouTube video above, it is a wonderful way to integrate nature, art and technology.


You can find out more about the project (including technical details) and lots more images by visiting the AHotS website.  Enjoy!

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Sunday, March 21, 2010

Dear New Museum Director


Now that you've been open nearly a year, and the "puff pieces" in the local media have died down,  I'm sorry to tell you that most of your visitors find the new digs, and the exhibits and programs inside, pretty underwhelming.

I'm even sorrier to say that you also paid way too much for your "architectural envelope" and "master planning" and "experience designers" at the expense of real exhibit prototyping, a thoughtful staffing and programmatic plan, and an ongoing remediation program.

Surprise!  The hucksters who shook you down for every last dime (and then vacated the premises right after they took all the photos for their portfolios) left you with the impression that the soaring spaces they created, and the flashy technology they scattered around the joint would leave every visitor quivering with excitement, and anxious to visit again and again with at least two new friends every time.

Even though the horse is out of the barn, I could tell you why** you ended up where you are now, but honestly, as an exhibits guy (who has helped open several new museums) and for your visitors' sake, I'm more interested in sharing the one main way of fixing your problems and moving forward.

But it's going to take a commitment from you and your board to make some long term investments in ... PEOPLE.

Yes, people --- that's the way to transform a shiny palace of mediocrity into a humming, active, responsive museum that your local communities will genuinely feel pride and a sense of ownership in.

As your admission numbers start to dip below the "iron clad" projections you were given, you'll start to panic and look for flashy, expensive band aids: a new 3D IMAX mind-blower that has nothing whatsoever to do with your mission or content, ditto on expensive traveling shows that have more interesting marketing materials than exhibits. But really you should be looking for ways to invest in PEOPLE.

Yes, people --- and the tools and resources they need to be happy doing their jobs and interacting with the folks who come into the museum.  However, it's not going to be easy to build a strong, responsive staff (especially since so many of the players who were involved in the development of the new museum have been let go, or just ... left.)

So, are you thinking about ways for recruiting and hiring enthusiastic front desk and floor staff who are empowered to make and implement improvements in the ways visitors experience the museum?  What about creative (maybe even a little kooky and risk-taking) educators who love working with people (instead of viewing visitor interactions as a "chore") and don't forget about a group of dedicated tinkerers to fix and improve your existing exhibits, but just as importantly, to help create new exhibits. (You do have an exhibits workshop, don't you?)

It would have been nice if the high-priced geniuses who sold you on all the other stuff your museum "needed" would have been more realistic about the "people" part of the equation.  But let's face it, would you really have paid attention?

So there you are.  There's lots of unrealized potential in your new museum, but you can't just hope to drift into that potential.  It's not going to be easy (or quick) to help shift the course of this ocean liner you've set into motion.  But you can do it ... with the right people.  Bon Voyage!


** (The "why" of how you ended up here?  First off, you're not a "museum person" or you're so far removed from what it takes to build exhibits, interact with the public, or present programs, that you got sold a slick "bill of goods" from your architects/designers/master planners. 

Don't feel too bad.  Part of the "skill" attached to the firms that live off these giant-sized new museum projects is in presenting a super slick, and expensive, package of services.  But shame on you, considering the dollars involved, for not digging a little deeper and going beyond the prepared list of references they presented.  I hope if you stay in the museum biz long enough, and get the chance to open another new building, you'll do it a little differently next time.)


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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Exhibit Design Inspiration: Fasten-ating!



There's something satisfying about taking/recycling pieces of cardboard and fastening them together to make interesting new creations.

To that end, check out the video above of the automated cardboard horse that gallops around Bulgaria. Using cardboard, and what appear to be "zip ties" the artist has made not only a cool kinetic piece, but has also created something that gives community members an excuse to gather together  --- big fun!

If you're not ready to create your own animated cardboard beast just yet, you might be interested in checking out MAKEDO, a reusable building system from Australia, that enables materials including cardboard, plastic and fabric to easily join together to form new objects or structures.  

MAKEDO looks like a great "maker" activity for museum programs or "crafty" exhibit areas.


So, look around for project scraps, or ask your your local appliance store for some old cardboard cartons, and get building!

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Saturday, March 13, 2010

Exhibits Exchange Now LIVE!



Think green!  Help find a "second home" for the many well-used (but still usable) "retired" exhibits, instead of letting them gather dust in storage or being tossed out!

Following up on the positive response I received on a recent blog posting about giving "retired" exhibits a new home,  I've just started a new Google Group called the "Exhibits Exchange"
 
The "Exhibits Exchange" group is a place to post information regarding used exhibits and/or components for sale, trade, barter, or exchange. 
     
It is free to join and free to post exhibit offerings on the "Exhibit Exchange" so please let friends and colleagues know about the group --- the more group members, and the more postings of  "used but usable" exhibits, the better the entire experience will be for everyone. 

Feel free to contact me directly if you have questions, comments, or concerns. 

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Design 101: What's Your Story?



What's Your Story?  If your answer involves some hand-waving and referring to some cool new technological gadget in your lobby, I'm afraid you've lost me (and probably a large portion of your audience.)

Gizmos are NOT a story, but merely one possible way to tell a story.  Simple right?  You would think so, but unfortunately the siren-song of shiny, techy goodness often has a way of getting people to forget about, or rationalize away, their core messages (The Story!) that they want to impart.

Recently,  I've been in Helena, Montana working with the fine folks at ExplorationWorks Museum and I also attended the excellent SMartCAMP conference in NYC.  As I look back at my activities in both of these disparate situations, it is interesting to think about how many times the notion of "telling your story" or "staying on message" recurred.

If the notion of "story" is central to thinking about the next steps in the evolution of a nascent museum in Montana, and the common thread in the discussions of the social media hipsters at SMartCAMP, then I ask again, "What's Your Story?"

And are you spending enough time honing and polishing it to engage your audience with it?

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Friday, March 5, 2010

Museum Exhibit Design Inspiration: Bernie Zubrowski


If ever there was an "unsung hero" of the interactive museum exhibit game it's Bernie Zubrowski.

If you counted up all of Bernie's books, exhibitions, educational curricula and programs, you would find a vast body of work that has had a tremendous impact on everyone (whether they realize it or not) who struggles to create interesting interactive exhibits.

But leaving all that aside, Bernie is also a wonderful artist --- a true master of the kinetic, elegant application of simple materials and phenomena.  Now Bernie has turned loose videos of his work on his new website.  It's well worth a look!


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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Be Part Of: GLOBE at Night


GLOBE at Night is an annual March program designed to highlight the effects of global light-pollution.

As noted on the GaN website, people from all over the world record the brightness of the night sky by matching its appearance toward the constellation Orion with star maps of progressively fainter stars. They submit their measurements on-line and a few weeks later, organizers release a map of light-pollution levels worldwide. Over the last four GLOBE at Night campaigns, volunteers from over 100 nations have contributed 35,000 measurements. What a great use of the Web to engage a group of citizen-scientists in a project!

You can participate by clicking over to the GLOBE at Night website to download free materials and instructions. This year's program runs from March 3rd through the 16th.

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