Photovisi

The Photovisi folks have developed a free and easy way for people to make photo collages online, and they'd like ExhibiTricks readers to try Photovisi out and give them feedback as well.

The process is easy and the Photovisi site offers several creative templates and options to try.

First, you choose a template. Next, you add photos to make it unique, with options to rotate and resize images however you like. Finally, once the collage is done, it can be downloaded and shared with the world.

It's definitely a specialized online tool, but it just might come in handy for your future museum graphic or presentation projects!


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 (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)

Exhibit Design Resource: KidWind

I'm just returning from a busy week creating energy exhibit prototypes with students in the Little Haiti section of Miami for a project with the Miami Science Museum.

I'll post a more detailed report about our Energy Prototypapalooza later this week, but for right now I'd like to give a shout-out to the people who provide the energy education products from KidWind.

The folks at KidWind have all sorts of simple, modifiable materials available --- for the week in Miami we made use of their kits and "loose parts" materials for both Wind and Solar energy.  (The materials were flexible enough that one of the student groups even repurposed wind turbine materials to use for a hydroelectric energy prototype!)

Combining the specialized KidWind energy parts with more typical hardware and office supply store materials for prototyping worked out really well for us.

So if you're looking for some materials to create renewable energy projects or if you just need an excuse to do a little tinkering with solar panels, wind turbines, or generators click over to the KidWind website right now!

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 (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)

Grassroots Design: The Civil War Augmented Reality Project

How can we get people interested in important (but let's face it, sometimes a little boring) historical sites?

The Civil War Augmented Reality Project may be one way to answer that question.

Jeff Mummert, who teaches history at York College and Hershey High School in Pennsylvania, is part of a group of educators that is trying to leverage technologies like GPS-enabled smart phones or tablet-type computers to enhance the experiences of visitors to Civil War sites.


Their idea is to give visitors opportunities to interact with 3D models or historical photos, for example, in the historical context of particular geographical locations.


A nice twist of the project is the intended use of the traditional "pay binocular" station as a mechanism to engage users who either do not have access to tablet PCs and smart phones, or who are too "technology shy" to be willing to try out such devices.  Instead, such users can use the more familiar binocular interface to experience some AR aspects of the project.

It seems like the group is off to a great start!  You can find out more about the project, including how to support their efforts, via their blog.

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 (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)

The Theory of Loose Parts: A Different Kind of Exhibit Design?

Is your museum "messy"?

I don't mean fetid restrooms or ketchupy hand prints outside the lunchroom walls --- I'm wondering if there is a certain level of chaos or disorder inside your exhibit halls --- or put another way, how tolerant are you and your visitors with "loose parts"?

The notion of "loose parts" has kept coming to mind over the past few weeks as I've been thinking and talking about playgrounds and playground projects of various sorts.  The July 5th issue of The New Yorker has an article entitled "State Of Play" by Rebecca Mead  (PDF available here) that outlines a brief history of playground design and the tension between tightly conscribed playspaces and the "adventure playground" movement that allows users much more freedom.  It's well worth a read.

Mead also cites an essay by architect Simon Nicholson with the excellent title "How Not to Cheat Children: The Theory of Loose Parts."  (Not easily found on the Web, I'm afraid, but here's a downloadable PDF "cheat sheet" on the subject.)   Nicholson writes in his essay that, "In any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it."

Museums aren't playgrounds (necessarily) but even many "hands-on" museums seem inordinately resistant to the notion of "loose parts."  Why is that?  Have we trained a generation of museum visitors (and staff!) that a little messiness or disorganization is a bad thing?  Or are museums resistant to loose parts because the best "loose parts environments" require more staffing? 

In any event, maybe one way to look at exceptional museums (like The Exploratorium or ¡Explora!) is their willingness to facilitate the use of loose parts in their exhibits.

In another part of Mead's New Yorker article, she discusses the "Imagination Playground" that architect David Rockwell is working on, and mentions the set of "loose parts" (in the form of hundreds of differently-shaped blue foam blocks) that will be deployed there.  It will be interesting to see how such an "unstructured" space plays out in New York City when the IP opens later this month.
 
One spin-off of the Imagination Playground process is the sale of "Imagination Playground in a Box"  a big kit of the blue foam blocks that you can bring to any spot and turn kids loose with.  Apparently children's museums and (affluent) elementary schools around the country have been purchasing the $25,000.00 set, but here's a link where you can nominate your local playground or park to win a set for free.

Do "loose parts" make sense for your museum? Why or why not?  Let us know in the "Comments" section below!

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 (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)