Bet On The Charette!

Working with other people can be tricky.  Group dynamics often degenerate into a pat way of thinking about other people (Oh, there's crazy George talking about visitor numbers again ...) or other departments (Those marketing folks don't have any idea of what it takes to put an exhibit together ...)

Unfortunately, in a constantly shifting marketplace that practically demands that museums are continually innovating and evolving, falling into boring operational patterns or getting locked into interpersonal cul-de-sacs is not great for business.  It also makes working with other people a lot less fun.

So how can you break the mold of past practice (or even get past the goofy term "best practice") and shake your museum working groups up in a fun and positive way?

I'd offer one suggestion:  The Charette.

A little history first from Wikipedia: The term "charette" was thought to originate from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the 19th century, the word charrette is from the French for "cart" or "chariot." It was not unusual for student architects to continue working furiously in teams at the end of the allotted term, up until a deadline, when a charrette would be wheeled among the students to pick up their work for review while they, each working furiously to apply the finishing touches, were said to be working en charrette, in the cart. Émile Zola depicted such a scene of feverish activity in L'Œuvre (serialized 1885, published 1886), his fictionalized account of his friendship with Paul Cézanne. Hence, the term metamorphosed into the current design-related usage in conjunction with working right up to a deadline.)

Bringing together a small group of folks, including some from outside your organization, to bash around ideas for a fixed chunk of time, can bring incredible results.  The best charettes are not just  random brainstorming sessions, but rather concentrated bursts of activity surrounding a fixed topic (or topics) leading toward some conclusions about a particular aspect of a project by the time you're finished.

These past few months I've been whizzing around the country, helping to organize, or be part of, exhibit charettes.  I am always heartened and gratified by the large amount of high-quality thinking that can come out of a charette process that puts people into a room without the normal work-day distractions of phone calls, emails, and memos.  The charette process really compels people to bring their "A Game" to the table and contribute their best thoughts and ideas.

We so often complain about the lack of time in the museum business, so it's great to find a process that has a goal of producing tangible, actionable results in a short time.

So pick two or three specific thorny problems your organization has been struggling with, block out a day, and bring in some outsiders to shake things up a bit.  Who knows what sorts of ideas you can fill your "chariot" with?


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Goodbye Columbus, Hello Makers!

The biggest takeaway I had from the 2012 ASTC (Association of Science-Technology Centers) conference that just wrapped up in Columbus was all the session (and hallway) chatter about making and Makers.

In some ways, I find the interest in giving museum visitors access to (relatively) open-ended situations where they can use cool tools and materials a great step forward from past years of over-designed, neon-encrusted exhibition spaces (especially in Science Centers.)

On the other hand, is the term "making" destined to become an over-used "hot" topic that starts to mean so many things to so many people that it becomes a mushy buzzword like "interactivity" or "multimedia"?

It worries me when the appellation "Maker Space" fits everything from a "rebranded" recycled crafts area (where, let's face it, the main activity is globbing together pieces of junk with gallons of glue ... sort of like a bad real-life Katamari Damacy) to a well-staffed space filled with truly generative activities for visitors to explore (like MAKESHOP in Pittsburgh or the tinkering studio at the Exploratorium.)

That tension definitely came out in conversations and session presentations where some ASTC attendees thought letting kids "mess around" with tools and materials in any way they wanted was fine (and seemed to fit their definition of "making") while others felt that unless activities were "framed" in careful ways that lots of opportunities for "authentic making" as well as learning about science were getting lost in the rush to hop on the maker bandwagon.

My own feeling is that this is all getting shaken out during an incredibly active time, with inevitable leaps forward (as well as howl-worthy missteps.)  Ultimately though, if the buzz around "making" can help organizations like museums (and schools, too) get motivated to provide space, tools, and materials for people to push the boundaries of their own skills and experiences, what's the downside? 

But I also think it is important to acknowledge that if you give some people a pile of tools and materials they immediately feel comfortable "jumping in" while other folks need a bit more guidance or examples to help them get started.  And it would be wrong to design a space that makes either end of this learning/personality spectrum feel excluded.

The Maker Movement is in the air both inside and outside of our museums.  I hope we can find ways to capture the core making experiences (like access to new tools and materials) inside exhibit areas without those fundamentals getting swept away by all the media hoopla.

What do you "make" of these topics?  Are you excited by the possibilities for "real making" or are you concerned about "fake make"?  Let us know in the "Comments" section below! 

(Also, if you attend the ASTC Conference --- since I'm just coming onto the Program Committee, I'd like to encourage you to submit session proposals on make (and non-make!) topics for the 2013 meeting in beautiful Albequerque.)



UNABASHED PLUG: In the whole "making" vein, I've just embarked on a collaboration with Brad Larson of Brad Larson Media (that's Brad and me pictured at the top of the post) and Jim Polk of Canstruct to create a series of "Pop-up Maker Space" exhibits and activities for museums. 

We're helping our museum partners help their visitors to make cool projects, share their ideas, and then continue creating and making at home.  You can find out more by checking out (and Liking!) our Pop-Up Maker Space Facebook page, or by going to the newly-started PopupMakerSpace.com Web site (where you can download a free animation activity to make at home.)




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Off to Columbus for ASTC 2012

The annual gathering of the international science center clans is coming up in Columbus, Ohio for the ASTC (Association of Science-Technology Centers) conference.

I'm happy to be attending the conference and presenting on one of my favorite topics: Prototyping!  

If you're in Columbus for the ASTC Conference, be sure to mark your calendar for Sunday the 14th starting at 2:15 p.m. in Rooms C123-125 of the Convention Center.  I'll be part of a rollicking session entitled:

Do You Want to Touch Me There?

From the conference program:   “Prototype” is a slippery term, but the “down and dirty” physical nature of both the prototyping process and products are essential.  Join an eclectic group of passionate exhibit makers for this showcase to examine hands-on prototype examples followed by a group discussion of practical ways for creating good prototyping experiences."

C'mon,  it's worth going to this just for the Session Title alone!

My session "show and tell" will focus on both the low-tech (Be an Office Supply Ninja!) and high-tech (Using physical computing interfaces like MaKey MaKey) aspects of exhibit prototyping.


I'll also be kicking off a cool new "Pop-up Maker Space" project in Columbus with Brad Larson of Brad Larson Media and Jim Polk of Canstruct.  We'll be showing off some fun new ways that your museum can tap into the Maker and DIY movements sweeping the planet.   (Sneak peak in the photo at the top of this post!) Your visitors will make cool projects, share their ideas, and continue creating at home with our Pop-up Maker Space exhibits and materials!  Come visit Booth 812 in the ASTC Exhibit Hall for more info and a free project to play with at home.


Last but not least, I'll be doing my best to post conference updates via Twitter (@museum_exhibits) and a conference wrap-up when I get back home.  So stay tuned!




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Inspirational Reads (for Museum Exhibit Designers)

There's something satisfying and wonderful about reading and gathering inspiration from an author's ideas, and then finding that your own work and thoughts has been influenced in the process.

Here are a few books that have stuck with me over the past few months, that I'd like to commend to your attention:

One such inspirational read is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  It's a great book that has nothing directly to do with museums, but, in a way, everything to do with the way that the objects, experiences, and social interactions possible in magical settings (like museums!) can not easily be recreated in other ways. Highly recommended.


The next two books capture the power that particular objects, or the ways through which particular objects are created, have over our imaginations and memories.  Each of these books also opens the windows into the very messy processes by which the neat finished products came to be  --- something I wish museums could show us more of.

The first book, Strapless by Deborah Davis, despite its deliberately provocative title, captures the fascinating story of one particular piece of art --- John Singer Sargent's "The Portrait of Madame X" (pictured at the top of this post.)  Davis delves into the complex interactions between artist, model, and societal attitudes, and how they caused a tremendous scandal, that, on its face, seems a bit ridiculous now.

I've always loved this Sargent painting, so it was fascinating to find out about the stories behind its creation.


The second book, in this process-oriented vein, is  Windows on Nature by Stephen Christopher Quinn. It is an exploration of the historic dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History --- how they were created, and how they continue to resonate with modern visitors and exhibit designers alike.   It is gratifying to learn of the deliberately low-tech artistry that continues to mesmerize museum visitors of all ages.

There are hundreds of beautiful photographs that show the specific locations that inspired particular dioramas as well as in-process shots showing the many diorama artists at work.  (It's also a little scary to see the photos of famous biologist, artist, and taxidermist Carl Akeley all bandaged up after being attacked by one wild animal or another on his various collecting expeditions!)


The last book is a science-oriented volume that captures the spirit that I'd like to find in every Science Museum or science-related exhibition.  The book is Stiff by Mary Roach. Starting with an unlikely subject for a book: human cadavers (hence the title) author Roach takes us for a spin through such topics as organ donation, funeral homes, and "The Body Farm."

Throughout her book, Roach acts as the reader's surrogate, asking the kinds of questions we might like to ask (if we had the nerve) and presenting the information on such potentially icky and morbid topics, in a highly readable, and at times hilarious, manner.  While all along the way helping the reader to understand the science buried (sorry!) within each topic.  She accomplishes this gracefully and without boring the reader, or worse, making them feel stupid --- a neat trick given the complexities of the subject matter.   Mary Roach would be an interesting person to work with on a science exhibit!  (She also has written a number of other best-selling science books on subjects ranging from sex to space travel.)


I hope these books might give you a little inspiration on your own museum/exhibit/design practice.   Feel free to share any books that might have inspired your own work in the "Comments" Section below.
 

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