Making Your Ideas Real: The Art Of Tinkering

The crazy winter weather where I live on Long Island has not been very conducive to the sorts of slightly frenetic spurts of creativity that I love.  The whole world seems encased in ice and snow and one gets the feeling of being both trapped and sluggish.

So I couldn't have asked for better timing for the arrival of the new(ish) book called "The Art of Tinkering" the other day.

The Art of Tinkering is billed as a way to "meet 150+ makers at the intersection of art, science & technology."  It's a colorful book bursting with photos, ideas, and even simple DIY projects.  The cover of the book (shown above) is printed with conductive ink --- so you can even experiment with and hack your copy!

Karen Wilkinson and Mike Petrich, the folks who spearheaded The Tinkering Studio at The Exploratorium, have put together a fantastic book that captures the spirit of The Tinkering Studio while also giving you a sense of the inspirations and working styles of the makers featured inside.

Here's one of my favorite suggestions from inside the book:  Put yourself in messy, noisy & sometimes dangerous situations!

But enough talk --- grab a copy of The Art of Tinkering and warm up your own creative impulses! 




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Museums Worth A Special Trip: Bay Area Edition

What makes a museum worth a special trip?  Why would you tell a friend they had to go see a particular exhibition or institution?  I've blogged about this before, but my recent trip to the West Coast --- specifically the Bay Area, made me think about some of the qualities that make up a great museum visit and a great museum.

So without further adieu, here's a group of museums that I definitely think are worth a special trip:

The (new) Exploratorium   Despite the herculean task of moving out of their old home and into their tony new digs at Pier 15 in the heart of San Francisco, I think the (new) Exploratorium is super!  

Somehow the new exhibits (both indoor and outdoor) manage to peaceably coexist with the "classic" exhibit components and experiences.   Also, despite the fact that the building is "new" it feels remarkably "un-new" a little lived in, in a very comfortable way. 

Because the spaces expanded, cool spaces (like The Tinkering Studio pictured below) have gotten larger.

Was everything perfect?  Of course not, but so many things were done so well, it just made me happy to be a visitor there.  The (new) Exploratorium also added things like more natural light, a beautiful, accessible location on the Bay, and not one, but two (!) restaurants to add a nice level of visitor services that the (old) Exploratorium seemed to willfully (and gleefully) disregard.  Hats off to everyone involved --- I know it wasn't easy!

Bay Area Discovery Museum  Next up, across the Golden Gate Bridge is the Bay Area Discovery Museum (BADM) in Sausalito.  A children's museum located on the grounds of what was once Fort Baker military base.   BADM uses its unusual collection of restored military buildings and surrounding outdoor spaces to its advantage by creating individual, and "bite-sized" exhibition and programming environments.

Each building houses a specific offering, whether that's a traveling exhibition gallery, a themed space, or a programmatic space like a collection of Art Studios.  The indoor and outdoor spaces blend seamlessly and comfortably into an environment I would characterize as a "learning landscape."

I really appreciate the thoughtful use of simple materials in both the indoor and outdoor spaces at BADM.  And I like how there are cool surprises around every turn in the outdoor areas, like the collection of musical frogs (pictured below) that you can make "croak" by rubbing a stick across their backs!  Of course, you also have a perfect view of the Golden Gate Bridge across the Bay from BADM --- just remember to bring a jacket, since it's Northern California!

de Young Museum  Located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the de Young is the encyclopedic fine arts museum of San Francisco.  The museum building is beautiful (and comfortable) both inside and out, being composed of warm, natural materials including copper, stone, wood, and glass.

It was great to maneuver around the spaces inside the de Young which seemed to complement the art on display, not compete with it.   The visitor services at the de Young were well done also --- the entry and admissions sequence was straightforward  (I got free admission by using the Google Field Trip app!) and the museum had a great cafe with indoor and outdoor seating.

Oakland Museum of California  Now let's bop across the Bay Bridge to Oakland to visit the Oakland Museum of California (aka OMCA.)  This museum has reinvented itself in recent years with lots of community involvement.  It's worth checking out the book, How Visitors Changed Our Museum, to find out more about OMCA's exhibit process and products.

My main purpose for visiting OMCA this trip was to see their newly opened (but not quite completed) Gallery of California Natural Sciences.  To quote the museum's website: "At 25,000 square feet,  the reinstalled Gallery presents seven places throughout California that depict the state’s diversity of climate, geology, habitats, ecosystems, and wildlife, while exploring current research, contemporary issues of land use, environmental conflict, and conservation projects."

So it's a whopper of a gallery, but because it's broken up into those seven places, or "theme areas" filled with a welcome diversity of interactive and exhibit display techniques (like the aquarium as landscape painting below) it didn't seem overwhelming at all.  I really liked the new gallery (and the rest of OCMA, too!)

While I was visiting the Natural Sciences gallery, I was delighted to overhear a grandmother (pictured below pulling out a display drawer of "roadkill" specimens from the front of a pickup truck display) have continuing conversations with her 11 year old granddaughter about the things they were experiencing inside the Gallery. 

the reinstalled Gallery presents seven places throughout California that depict the state’s diversity of climate, geology, habitats, ecosystems, and wildlife, while exploring current research, contemporary issues of land use, environmental conflict, and conservation projects.
At 25,000 square feet,
- See more at: http://www.museumca.org/view/gallery-natural-sciences#sthash.kfru03tR.dpuf

the reinstalled Gallery presents seven places throughout California that depict the state’s diversity of climate, geology, habitats, ecosystems, and wildlife, while exploring current research, contemporary issues of land use, environmental conflict, and conservation projects.
At 25,000 square feet,
- See more at: http://www.museumca.org/view/gallery-natural-sciences#sthash.kfru03tR.dpuf

Gallery of California Natural Sciences

Gallery of California Natural Sciences

Gallery of California Natural Sciences

Gallery of California Natural Sciences

Santa Cruz Skateboards Museum (Coming Soon!)

I was lucky enough to get a "sneak preview" of a place under construction that I think will be a museum"worth a special trip."

Santa Cruz Skateboards is one of the leaders in the skateboard biz, and as such has been part of the history of skateboarding over the past 40 years of the company's existence.  Right next to their production facilities, offices, and warehouses in Santa Cruz, they're building a museum that will be filled with amazing artifacts, artwork, and stories about skateboarding.  Here's some pictures from inside their production/assembly facility (they said it was o.k. to take photos in there!)

But they wouldn't let me take photos during our tour of the in-process museum (and I didn't want to be a jerk and sneak any with my iPhone!) so let me just tell you it was AMAZING!  For some of the walls they let people skateboard all over them for a scuffed/distressed look.  Lots and lots of clever display techniques supporting truly wonderful images and artifacts.  The museum is slotted to open in October, so stay tuned!

I know, I know, you're thinking: "But didn't he see anything he didn't like?" Good question!

I had a difficult visit at the California Academy of Sciences (aka "Cal Academy") in Golden Gate Park.  (Sorry Cal Academy folks!)  The building was so, so bad, in so many ways --- it overwhelmed (maybe even squashed) the exhibits, it made finding your way more complicated than it needed to be, it made the spaces feel both crowded and confusing (even on a not so busy day!)

BAD, BAD, BAD!  Despite the fact that a "starchitect" designed the place...

It feels like the architect won every argument about lighting, exhibit placement, traffic flow, etc. much to the detriment of the overall visitor experience.  I literally would not see all the exhibits because I felt compelled to exit the building.  (There may be some rays of hope --- Cal Academy has recently hired some new folks I respect very much into the Exhibits Department.  So maybe the exhibit experiences will find a stronger place in the dialogue with the building.  I hope so!)

All of the parts of a museum visit (entrance, exhibits, visitor amenities, location ...) really add up --- and can "make" or "break" a visitor's experience.  Considering all the things that could go wrong, it's gratifying to find museums that get so much right!


Have you visited any "museums worth a special trip" this summer?  Share some of your own experiences in the "Comments Section" below!



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The Most Important Thing at the "New" Exploratorium

The Exploratorium, that Mecca of Museums, will be officially reopening at its new location on April 17th.

I'll bet that there are still lots of punch lists being completed at Pier 15 before that public opening, but I'll also bet that most of the people who work at the Exploratorium won't be thinking "Well, now we're done ..."  Because the "new era" is just beginning.

But there's one important thing that the media and the visitors (including many museum professionals) might miss when they're walking around all googly-eyed visiting the new digs.

It's not the (multi)million dollar location, or the zippy new restaurants, or the spacious well-lit halls filled with (old and new) exhibits that are the primary things that will make the "new" Exploratorium a success.  Instead, the most important thing at the Exploratorium is:

 each person who works or volunteers there.

Both in front of, and behind, the scenes.

Those "old timers" who carry some of the culture from The Palace of Fine Arts to the Piers, and those "new timers" and "future timers" who will be creating an evolving culture at the Exploratorium.

So I wish hearty and heartfelt congratulations to the many, many people who have worked so hard to make the move happen!  If all the rave pre-opening reviews on the InterWebs are any indication, the "new" Explo is going to be a smash hit!



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