Batten Down the Hatches!
If you live anywhere near the East Coast, you spent last weekend watching the sky. A nor'easter rolled in with heavy rain, gusty winds, and coastal flooding.
Here in New York, everybody's first question before a big storm is some version of: "Is the subway going to flood again?" We've all seen those viral videos of water pouring down station stairs like an indoor Niagara Falls.
What do storms and subways have to do with museum exhibits?
What caught my eye during this most recent storm wasn't the drama. It was the prep work.
Before the first raindrop fell, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) crews were closing storm doors at the low-lying Coney Island and Howard Beach train yards, clearing drains, and putting flood equipment in place.
The MTA admitted that the bigger long-term street fixes aren't finished yet, so some old vulnerabilities remain. In other words: you work with what you've got, right now, while the big fixes are still on the way.
Small Steps (Literally) Keep the Water Out
The MTA's biggest enemy isn't just storms. It's New York City's century-old sewer system.
When the sewers back up, the water looks for the next way down, and that's often a subway entrance.
The MTA can't rebuild the sewers. That's the City's job, and it will take years. So instead of waiting, the transit folks focused on the openings they do control. Some of their fixes are wonderfully low-tech:
• Raise the stairs. The MTA is adding a step or two at station entrances so rainwater can't simply run down them.
• Raise the grates. After a 2007 storm poured water through sidewalk vents, the MTA put raised steel "collars" around vent grates in flood-prone spots. The lowest part of each can hold back about six inches of water, and many double as benches or bike racks.
• Clear the drains first. Before storms, crews clean out drains at known trouble spots and pre-position staff, generators, and a fleet of 23 mobile pumps.
• Put a camera on it. The MTA recently aimed a camera at the tracks next to a pump so staff can see when pumps fall behind and respond.
• Close the doors. For coastal surges, it's as simple as shutting storm doors at vulnerable train yards before the water arrives.
None of this is glamorous. A higher step. A metal collar. A clean drain. A camera. But together they keep more trains running, today, with what's already on hand.
Two Little Words, Two Big Ideas
Which brings me to a new word I recently learned the other day: Jugaad. (Pronounced Joo-gahd in English.)
It turns out that "Jugaad" is a Hindi word that describes an improvised or makeshift solution using scarce resources. Jugaad emphasizes creatively solving problems with the resources available.
Jugaad seems like the conceptual Indian cousin of the Bulgarian word Можело (pronounced Mo-zhuh-low in English), which roughly translates to "this can be done" or "I can do this." Можело is definitely the antidote to the (often) automatic Bulgarian response of, "This is not possible!" ("Това не е възможно!")
Jugaad and Можело are two little words that hold big concepts. Namely, they focus on what CAN be done instead of what CAN'T be done.
That's exactly what the MTA did. They couldn't fix the sewers, so they raised a step.
Raise the Step in Your Own Galleries
Most of us in museums have our own version of the city sewer system: the big, expensive fix that's "coming in the next capital campaign." The gallery renovation. The new AV system. The reinstallation.
Meanwhile, the exhibit problems keep leaking in every single day.
So what's your raised step? A few Jugaad-and-Можело starting points:
• Find the "entrances" to the problem. The MTA didn't fix the whole subway; it fixed the openings where water gets in. Where do your breakdowns start? A loose knob, a sticky flip panel, a label visitors never notice? Fix that spot first.
• Clear your drains before the storm. Walk the floor before the school-group rush or the holiday crowds. A quick checklist, a spare-parts bin, and a screwdriver in the admissions desk drawer can head off a lot of "Out of Order" signs.
• Build a collar, not a new building. A bumper rail, a simple guard, or a sturdier fastener can protect a fragile interactive for pennies, while you wait for the budget to replace it.
• Make the fix do double duty. Those raised subway grates became benches and bike racks. Can your protective barrier also hold a label? Can your repair add a stool for younger visitors?
• Put eyes on it. The MTA's pump camera is just a way to see trouble sooner. Your floor staff and volunteers are your cameras. Give them an easy way (a clipboard, a shared form, a group text) to report what's breaking.
• Raid your own shelves. Before you order anything, look at what's in the storage room, the shop, and the leftovers from your last exhibition.
None of these replace the big fix. They just keep the "water" out while you get there.
From "I Can" to "We Can!"
Imagine how we can shift our "work mindset" by pairing the concepts of Jugaad and Можело with two more words: "I can" or, better yet, "We can!"
The MTA's fixes work because a whole team shows up before the storm: drain crews, pump operators, planners, even the architects who turned vent grates into benches. Your museum is the same. The educator, the facilities person, the front-desk staffer, and the volunteer who notices the broken button all hold part of the solution.
So the next time an exhibit problem floods your inbox, skip "This is not possible!" Try "What can we do right now, with what we've got?" instead.
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!
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