ExhibiTricks: A Museum/Exhibit/Design Blog

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Quick Museum/Exhibit/Design Inspiration: OpenWebcamDB

OpenWebcamDB is a fun website that gathers and coordinates hundreds of connections to open/public live webcams worldwide.

Whether you are watching pandas frolic on the iPanda feed from China or getting hypnotized by the ballet of mechanical movements of robotic containers in a shipping warehouse, OpenWebcamDB can inspire your next program, exhibition, or even artwork!

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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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Monday, October 13, 2025

The Solo Exhibit Designer's Survival Guide

Let's set the scene: You're the "exhibit team." Not part of the team—you ARE the team. Content research, design concept, fabrication planning, vendor coordination, installation supervision, and probably writing the press release, too. Your business cards should just say "Department of Everything."

Sound familiar? Welcome to the reality of small museums, where "we need a new exhibit" translates to "you need a new exhibit and also figure out how to make it happen with whatever budget is left after we fix the roof leak."

Before you update your LinkedIn status to "seeking opportunities in retail management," take a breath. Some of the most innovative, engaging exhibits I've seen (like the ones pictured in this post) came from solo designers who learned to work smarter instead of just working harder.

Tools and Tips for (Solo) Designers

The Master Project Timeline (Your North Star)

Create a single document that outlines everything: content deadlines, design milestones, fabrication schedules, and installation tasks. Update it regularly. When you're overwhelmed, this document tells you what actually needs attention today versus what just feels urgent.

Pro tip: Work backward from opening day, not forward from today. Identify the absolute drop-dead dates and build your schedule around those.

The "Good Enough" Decision Framework

Not every decision needs to be perfect. Develop categories:

• Mission critical: Affects visitor safety or core learning objectives.

• Important: Significantly impacts visitor experience.

• Nice to have: Makes things better but isn't essential.

Spend 80% of your energy on mission-critical items.

The Vendor Relationship Strategy

You can't do everything yourself, but you can coordinate people who are experts in their fields.

Build relationships with:

• Fabricators who understand museums: They know the durability requirements and budget realities.

• Graphic designers who work fast: They can make your content look professional without endless revisions.

• Installation crews who problem-solve: They'll help you figure out what you didn't think of.

Cheap contractors who cause stress aren't actually cheap.

• The Weekly Reality Check

Every Friday, ask yourself: "What's actually broken versus what just isn't perfect?" Focus your weekend worries on things that could prevent opening or harm visitors. Everything else can wait until Monday.

• The "Close Enough" Celebration

When something is 85% of what you envisioned and is fully functional, celebrate that as a win. Perfect is often the enemy of good enough to open.

• The Emergency Backup Plan

Always have a simple, low-cost fallback option for your most complex elements. If the interactive touchscreen system fails, what's the analog backup that still serves visitors?

When You're Behind Schedule:

1. Identify what can be simplified without losing impact.

2. Move non-essential elements to "Phase 2" (after opening.)

3. Call in favors from your vendor network.

4. Remember: opening with 80% of your vision is better than not opening at all.

When You're Over Budget:

1. Cut features, don't cut quality on what remains.

2. Look for materials substitutions that maintain the visitor experience.

3. Consider phased installation—core exhibit now, enhancements later.

4. Get creative with partnerships and donated services.

When You're Overwhelmed:

1. Go back to your "one paragraph" success definition.

2. Focus on mission-critical items only.

3. Ask for help with specific, defined tasks.

4. Remember why you're doing this work in the first place.

The Long Game

Solo exhibit design is a marathon, not a sprint. Build systems and relationships that make the next project easier. Document what worked and what didn't. Create templates and checklists that reduce decision fatigue.

Most importantly, remember that being the entire team means you get to see your vision through from concept to completion. That's amazing, even when it's exhausting.

You don't have to be perfect at everything. You just have to be good enough at everything to create something meaningful for your visitors.

Saturday, October 4, 2025

How Do You Design One Space That Works for All Ages?

Here's a question that keeps exhibit designers up at night: How do you create a single museum experience that genuinely engages a curious five-year-old, their design-savvy parent, and their retired grandparent—all at the same time, without patronizing any of them?

The answer isn't "dumb it down for kids" or "add a separate kids' corner." The secret lies in designing exhibits with multiple entry points and layers of complexity that visitors of any age can explore based on their interests, abilities, and prior knowledge.

Think of it like a great Pixar movie. There are jokes for the kids and cultural references for the adults. Nobody feels left out, and everyone leaves satisﬁed.

Let's explore how to replicate this same trick in physical exhibit spaces with a few concrete strategies, as well as some “Do’s and Don’ts.”

Strategy #1: Use Real Materials and Authentic Complexity

Don't use toy versions of real tools. Don't oversimplify because "kids won't get it." Children smell condescension a mile away, and adults resent being treated like children.

Instead, use professional-grade materials with appropriate safety measures. Real woodworking tools. Actual scientiﬁc equipment. Genuine art supplies. The challenge scales naturally—a beginner and an expert can both work with real materials, and both will be appropriately challenged.

Strategy #2: Open-Ended Creation Without "Right Answers"

Design and making spaces where the goal is creation, not completion. Digital design tools, art studios, building zones—anywhere the question is "what do you want to make?" rather than "can you solve this?"

This works because:

• No "right answer" exists—a child's creation is as valid as an adult's.

• Aesthetic appreciation transcends age.

• Multiple roles emerge naturally—one person creates while another offers ideas.

Strategy #3: Provide Multiple Paths to the Same Insight

Don't assume everyone learns the same way. Instead, build in options:

• Hands-on manipulation for kinesthetic learners

• Data visualization for analytical thinkers

• Personal stories for emotional connectors

• Clear explanatory text for readers

• Video or audio for those who prefer multimedia

A ten-year-old might gravitate to hands-on components while their parent connects with data. Both reach understanding through their preferred door.

Some Do's and Don'ts

DON'T:

• Use baby talk or condescending language

• Create "dumbed down" labels that insult adult intelligence

• Assume physical limitations based on age

• Make one age group the "helper" and another the "learner"

• Use toy versions of real tools or fake materials

• Create separate "kids sections" and "adult sections"

DO:

• Use clear, direct language that respects intelligence at any age

• Design for sitting, standing, and wheelchair users simultaneously

• Create sight lines that work for different heights without segregating

• Make the ﬁrst action obvious, but deeper exploration optional

• Test with real intergenerational groups, not age-segregated focus groups

The best intergenerational exhibit design isn't about compromise—it's about richness. When you design with genuine depth, multiple modalities, and respect for every visitor's intelligence, remarkable things can happen.

A three-year-old and a 73-year-old can stand side by side, both fully engaged, both learning, both having their unique experience validated. That's not just good design—that's what museums are supposed to do.

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

The Room(s) Where It Happened ...

Here's something that museums can give you that Artificial Intelligence or Virtual Reality can't touch -- the literal "room where it happened."

As someone who was born and raised in Detroit, it was incredibly powerful to stand inside "Studio A" at the Motown Museum, where amazing musicians like Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, and Marvin Gaye created their hits.

There's something interesting in visiting a place and feeling, if not exactly the "ghosts" of the past, at least the "spirit" of the people who passed that way before you. I have felt that way while visiting Graceland and the Mark Twain House, as well as in very particular outdoor locations, such as the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. There was something very evocative in all of those spots --- almost as if each one of those spaces had a "personality."

One of the best things I've ever heard said about the original Exploratorium was that it felt like you'd walked into Frank Oppenheimer's workshop after he just stepped outside for a minute. The feeling that real people, with real interests and foibles, have created something for you to experience is one of the most powerful, and most authentic, of museum experiences.

This authentic museum "spirit" is not something that just casually occurs or manifests itself through some sort of formulaic exhibit development process. But when all the elements of such a museum experience come together, they form something that really cannot occur in any other medium.

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Museum Work as (Quiet) Resistance

You know that moment when a board member suggests you "tone down" that civil rights exhibition?

Or when a donor hints that your climate science display might be "too political"?

Or when local politicians start making noise about your programming choices?

Welcome to the front lines of cultural resistance.

Guess what? Our work is inherently political.

Every object we choose to display, every story we decide to tell, every voice we amplify or silence—these are political acts, whether we acknowledge them or not.

The question isn't whether our work has political implications. The question is whether we'll own that reality and use it purposefully.

The Power of the Long Game

Politicians come and go. Donor priorities shift. But that artifact you preserve today? That story you document now? They outlast the pressure campaigns and the culture wars.

I've watched museum professionals navigate impossible situations by playing the long game. They quietly document stories that others want forgotten. They preserve objects that challenge dominant narratives. They create educational programs that plant seeds of critical thinking, even when the soil seems hostile.

Small Acts, Big Impact

Resistance in museums doesn't always look like dramatic confrontations. Sometimes it looks like:

• The educator who finds creative ways to discuss difficult topics despite administrative pushback

• The curator who ensures diverse voices are represented in "non-controversial" exhibitions

• The archivist who prioritizes preserving materials from marginalized communities

• The museum worker who creates inclusive programming even without explicit support

These aren't grand gestures. They're professional choices made with intention and integrity.

Your Professional North Star

When external pressures mount, your primary obligation is to uphold your professional ethics and ensure your community's right to access authentic, complex, and meaningful cultural experiences.

Not to a donor's comfort level. Not to a politician's talking points. Not even to your board's risk tolerance.

This doesn't mean being reckless or ignoring practical realities. It means being strategic about how you fulfill your actual mission—not the sanitized "neutral" version that keeps everyone comfortable.

The Network Effect

You are not alone, and you're more powerful than you think. Every curator making thoughtful choices, every educator refusing to oversimplify, every museum worker standing up for their community's stories—together, you create a network of (quiet) resistance that's remarkably resilient.

The pressure will come. It always does. But remember: you're not just preserving the past or entertaining the present. You're shaping the future's understanding of this moment.

Make it count.

Friday, August 29, 2025

The Secret Sauce of High-Quality Museums: Internal Capacity

Here's something I've learned after years in the trenches of exhibit design and development: all truly high-quality museums share one critical characteristic. It's not their flashy architecture, their famous collections, or even their generous budgets. It's something far more fundamental.

High-quality museums have strong internal capacity.

Now, I'm not saying these museums create everything internally—that would be impossible and frankly, unwise. But they can handle many things in-house, and more importantly, they know exactly what those things are. Great museums understand their strengths and double down on them. They also know their weaknesses and where to find the right help.

High Quality = Internal Capacity

The Long Game

Developing genuine museum quality means thinking beyond your opening day celebration. You need a crystal-clear vision of what your institution will look like two, three, or more years down the road—not just two months after you cut the ribbon.

This requires investing in thoughtful experiences, dedicated staff, and deep expertise for the long haul. As Jane Werner wisely puts it: "Invest in staff, not stuff!"

The Two Questions That Matter

In my practice, I often pose two straightforward questions to museum partners:

1) How will you (the staff inside your museum, not contractors or consultants) fix things that break or don't work?

2) How will you transform great new ideas into real exhibits and programs?

If you can't provide credible answers to both questions, you're setting yourself up for trouble. You'll spend your days frantically putting out fires—dealing with problems that could have been anticipated, on top of all the truly unexpected challenges that will inevitably arise.

Even worse? Your bright, shiny museum will inevitably become dingy and boring. And I don't just mean physically—I'm talking about its intellectual and emotional spirit too.

Culture Beats Everything

Creating a robust institutional culture of internal capacity is the defining difference between a great museum and a mediocre one. But here's a crucial point: building strong internal capacity doesn't mean working in isolation.

Quite the opposite, actually.

When you truly understand your institution's strengths and weaknesses, you gain clarity about when and where to invest your precious time and resources. Those investments might involve tapping into local community expertise, sending staff to conferences, pursuing professional development opportunities, or yes—sometimes bringing in consultants to help build internal capacity in areas where you need it most.

You have many choices.

What's not a choice is doing nothing.

Because doing nothing will surely begin the slide from "high quality" to "who cares?" And honestly, is that the kind of museum you want to be part of?