Playing at Scale

Is "Bigger" really "Better"? It could be when you are talking about some types of interactive exhibit experiences and immersive spaces.

Scaling up familiar experiences like tabletop games and toys often provides an interesting design twist and can add new kinds of visitor opportunities -- especially those that foster multi-user engagement.

For example, the photo at the top of this post shows a giant board game about different types of birds featured in ancient Roman mosaics at a historic Basilica in Bulgaria. Not only does scaling up this game create a large attraction, but it also encourages multiple people to participate in playing the game.

Similarly, giant chess sets are often seen at various outdoor venues, including parks and botanical gardens. It's fun to encounter an unexpected change in scale -- and to play a quick match with someone!

Tapping into nostalgia while changing the scale of a classic game or toy can even serve as an attraction at a trade show, as evidenced by the giant "Operation" game shown below.

Keeping things large-scale but changing contexts can also be an interesting design approach.  Subway hopscotch, anyone?

Lastly, maybe the successful Meow Wolf installations around the country could be considered funky, life-sized dollhouses?

If your smaller design ideas fail, maybe it's worth playing at scale!

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

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

The Future of Museums (Funding) in the Next Trump Administration?

I've been wondering about the support that museums and other cultural organizations may or may not receive in the next Trump administration. Given that the previous Trump administration actively tried to eliminate funding for IMLS, NEH, NEA, PBS, and the NASA Office of Education, among other agencies, who knows what might happen?

This poem by Wendell Barry helps me reflect on the uncertainties of my museum work.

“The Real Work” by Wendell Berry

It may be that when we no longer know what to do

we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go

we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.

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

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

Editing Your Exhibits

"In art, economy is always beauty."  ~ Henry James

There's a tendency for folks who are new(er) to developing museum exhibits to want to jam as many concepts (or objects or exhibit components ...) into a space as possible.  It's almost as if they don't trust their ideas to carry the visitors along and instead feel that more of EVERYTHING would be better.

It's natural when imagining a new empty museum building or exhibition gallery to feel compelled to fill all the spaces and walls with stuff (and museums have lots of stuff!) But your visitors will be better served if you take a step back and resist that urge.

Aside from the truism that "sometimes the easiest way to fix an exhibit is to change the label," what are some easy ways to edit your exhibits?  Here are three things to keep in mind when editing:

 

BEFORE OPENING: What's the Big Idea?  What essential parts of your exhibition's story arc can't be removed? Keep those and junk the rest. This is especially important when your exhibition ideas are tied to large objects or component sets that can't be easily moved (or removed!) after opening.

DURING INSTALLATION: Be on the lookout for duplicate sets of materials or too many loose parts.  This is a common problem in Maker/Tinker-type spaces --- does every workstation need a complete set of markers, colored pencils, cutting devices, and glues, or could you cluster these things in materials stations to reduce the clutter and chaos?  Similarly, many Children's Museums or Early Learner exhibition areas have Puppet Theater components --- but do you need multiple complete sets of puppet figures (like fantasy figures or animals) instead of rotating through one thematic set at a time? 

AFTER OPENING: Evaluate (and edit) by observing visitors.  Set aside time to watch your visitors move through your exhibition spaces.  Are there "dead spots" where nobody ends up? What could you shift around physically or conceptually to change those traffic patterns?  Similarly, if certain exhibits seem constantly overcrowded, are there ways to create multiple stations to spread out the visitor interactions?

Of course, exhibition editing should be an ongoing and iterative process.  Remember the words attributed to an anonymous Exhibit Developer:  

Create without fear; edit without mercy! 

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

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"