Encore Post From The Road: "5 Things That Great Dining And Great Museum Experiences Have In Common."

I'm on the road vacationing with my family this week.  We will no doubt be enjoying many wonderful new museum and food-related experiences during our travels, so I thought I'd share this "encore" of one of my most popular posts that ties together the similarities between great dining AND great museum experiences.

ENJOY! 

Let me tell you about Bigelow's.  It's a little "hole in the wall" sort of place near my home on Long Island known for its fried clams. Bigelow's has been in business in the same spot since 1939.  I went there for lunch today with my youngest son Philip, and in-between our sighs of pleasure and chatting it up with our fellow diners, I was reminded of how much a great dining experience is like a great museum experience.

1) Everyone Knows Where It Is

I know you can use Google Maps or Yelp, but if you ask somebody at a hotel front desk or a taxi driver where a local restaurant or museum is, they should be able to tell you right away. If the place is really good, they should also be able to enthuse about a memorable experience that they or a friend had there recently.  I remember visiting a city whose (unnamed) museum was practically across the street from the well-known professional football stadium, and not one taxi driver knew where that museum was located or had even heard of it.  That's sad.

2) You Feel Welcomed Right Away

Even if it's the first time you've been there, a great museum or dining spot makes you instantly feel welcomed and at ease.  It's a combination of the physical entry sequence (starting in the parking lot) and the staff people at the entrance that do the trick. You feel like you are in the right place and are starting out your visit in a positive way.  Think about the qualities of the places that always make you feel welcomed (and the ones that don't!)

In the case of Bigelow's, you see the stools around the horseshoe-shaped counter (so you know where to sit right away) and the straightforward menu board lets you see your options (so you can start thinking about what you'd like to eat or drink as soon as you sit down.)  

Contrast that with some museums where you have no idea where to pay your admission, or how to figure out which things you want to do or pay for.

Welcome to Bigelow's!

3) Friendly Staff Anticipate Your Needs

You never wait for your water glass to be refilled, or twiddle your thumbs waiting for the check at a great restaurant. That's because the people who work there are alert and genuinely attentive to their customers' needs.  Great museums have actual floor staff interacting with visitors, not just chatting in a corner by themselves.  Wonderful dining and museum experiences share an important social component.  A positive interaction with a staff person often adds to the overall experience.

4) You Tell Friends About The Place And Want To Take Them There

A fantastic experience at a great place is one you want to share with other people. There's a reason "word of mouth" advertising is so sought after --- you can't fake it or spend your way there.  If you had a remarkable museum experience you tell other people about it.  And you want to go back there to share that positive experience with people you care about.  I've written blog posts about "museums worth a special trip" those places you would travel out of your way to go see based on a friend's recommendation.  I would definitely put places like The City Museum in St. Louis, or Chanticleer Garden outside Philadelphia in that rarefied category. 

Bigelow's is worth a special trip!

5) Memory Makers!

The best museums (and restaurants!) are memory makers.  They are the places that are part of every story that starts with "Remember the time we ..."  They are the places that you want to post on Facebook or Instagram because you felt the experience was worth capturing and sharing.  The picture at the top of this post shows my friends Bistra and Nadia from Muzeiko in Bulgaria after a lunch we shared at Bigelow's.  They asked for me to bring them somewhere that was real "Long Island."  And even though they both grew up thousands of miles away, they loved it!  And what business can ask for more than that?

As you are starting out your New Year and thinking about ways to improve the museum(s) you work for, maybe a trip to your favorite local restaurant can give you just the right kind of "food for thought" to inspire making some memorable changes for your visitors!

Facebook-ready "food for thought" from Bigelow's!

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Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul is an instigator, in the best sense of that word. He likes to mix up interesting people, ideas, and materials to make both individual museum exhibits and entire museums with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.)

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5 Things That Great Dining And Great Museum Experiences Have In Common

Let me tell you about Bigelow's.  It's a little "hole in the wall" sort of place near my home on Long Island known for its fried clams. Bigelow's has been in business in the same spot since 1939.  I went there for lunch today with my youngest son Philip, and in-between our sighs of pleasure and chatting it up with our fellow diners, I was reminded of how much a great dining experience is like a great museum experience.

1) Everyone Knows Where It Is

I know you can use Google Maps or Yelp, but if you ask somebody at a hotel front desk or a taxi driver where a local restaurant or museum is, they should be able to tell you right away. If the place is really good, they should also be able to enthuse about a memorable experience that they or a friend had there recently.  I remember visiting a city whose (unnamed) museum was practically across the street from the well-known professional football stadium, and not one taxi driver knew where that museum was located or had even heard of it.  That's sad.

2) You Feel Welcomed Right Away

Even if it's the first time you've been there, a great museum or dining spot makes you instantly feel welcomed and at ease.  It's a combination of the physical entry sequence (starting in the parking lot) and the staff people at the entrance that do the trick. You feel like you are in the right place and are starting out your visit in a positive way.  Think about the qualities of the places that always make you feel welcomed (and the ones that don't!)

In the case of Bigelow's, you see the stools around the horseshoe-shaped counter (so you know where to sit right away) and the straightforward menu board lets you see your options (so you can start thinking about what you'd like to eat or drink as soon as you sit down.)  

Contrast that with some museums where you have no idea where to pay your admission, or how to figure out which things you want to do or pay for.

Welcome to Bigelow's!

3) Friendly Staff Anticipate Your Needs

You never wait for your water glass to be refilled, or twiddle your thumbs waiting for the check at a great restaurant. That's because the people who work there are alert and genuinely attentive to their customers' needs.  Great museums have actual floor staff interacting with visitors, not just chatting in a corner by themselves.  Wonderful dining and museum experiences share an important social component.  A positive interaction with a staff person often adds to the overall experience.

4) You Tell Friends About The Place And Want To Take Them There

A fantastic experience at a great place is one you want to share with other people. There's a reason "word of mouth" advertising is so sought after --- you can't fake it or spend your way there.  If you had a remarkable museum experience you tell other people about it.  And you want to go back there to share that positive experience with people you care about.  I've written blog posts about "museums worth a special trip" those places you would travel out of your way to go see based on a friend's recommendation.  I would definitely put places like The City Museum in St. Louis, or Chanticleer Garden outside Philadelphia in that rarefied category. 

Bigelow's is worth a special trip!

5) Memory Makers!

The best museums (and restaurants!) are memory makers.  They are the places that are part of every story that starts with "Remember the time we ..."  They are the places that you want to post on Facebook or Instagram because you felt the experience was worth capturing and sharing.  The picture at the top of this post shows my friends Bistra and Nadia from Muzeiko in Bulgaria after a lunch we shared at Bigelow's.  They asked for me to bring them somewhere that was real "Long Island."  And even though they both grew up thousands of miles away, they loved it!  And what business can ask for more than that?

As you are starting out your New Year and thinking about ways to improve the museum(s) you work for, maybe a trip to your favorite local restaurant can give you just the right kind of "food for thought" to inspire making some memorable changes for your visitors!

Facebook-ready "food for thought" from Bigelow's!

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.

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Expectations and Exhibitions

Any trip to a great museum city (like Washington DC) is a "moveable feast" of sorts. 

I was delighted to gather with my fellow members of The Museum Group recently for our winter business meeting in Washington and to go on a museum-viewing spree.

In particular, three museum experiences really stood out: the new Museum of the Bible (MoB), the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and a temporary show at the Renwick Gallery.

Great Expectations (Part One)

Entry ceiling video panels at MoB

I have to say that I was sort of dreading my visit to the Museum of the Bible (MoB) a bit, mostly because of the political views of the Hobby Lobby family that funded the museum, but also due to a number of news stories outlining questionable practices used by MoB to obtain artifacts.  But, to be honest, I felt as a museum professional I "had" to visit one of Washington's newest and largest museums.

And (spoiler alert!) overall I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by my visit to the Museum of the Bible.  Overall, the architecture and exhibitry were top-notch.  I didn't feel like I was being preached to at all. It was easy to see that large sums of money were spent on the museum through technology and the fit and finish of exhibit furniture.

Even the security checkpoints were designed to be visually appealing.

MoB Security Checkpoint at Entrance

Almost as if deflecting concerns about the provenance and authenticity of artifacts, MoB signage and exhibitry seemed to go out of the way to highlight issues for the public.  If the authenticity of some scroll fragments were unclear, labels clearly stated that.  Similarly, a temporary show called "People of the Land" made repeated mention that all the show's artifacts were on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority.

People of the Land Entry Panel

Central exhibitions like the "History of the Bible" galleries were quite large and jam-packed with artifacts, videos, and interactive elements.

History of the Bible interior exhibitry

Of course, as with any newly-opened museum, the Museum of the Bible was still sorting some things out.  Certain technologies (like all the touch tables in the lobby) were not yet operational and some artifacts were not yet in place. Many of the historical videos had the worst false beards I've ever seen -- like cotton balls stuck on the actor's faces! (Maybe it's a Hobby Lobby thing ... or an artifact of HD video.) But those are small quibbles.

Worst fake beards -- ever!

My large quibbles about the Museum of the Bible involve the "dumbing down" of content or (in my view) underestimating the audience.  Fortunately, this only happened in a couple of spots inside a very large museum.

One example of underestimating the audience was in the "Drive Thru History" theater, an annoyingly simplistic jaunt through biblical history (Jerusalem! Rome!) with matching vehicles --- a jeep in the Middle Eastern desert and a Ferarri(?) for zipping around outside the Roman Coliseum.

"Drive Thru" the history of the Bible!

But the absolute worst area in MoB was the "Children's Area."  Imagine a biblical-themed Chuck E. Cheese designed by a color-blind carnival game inventor and you will get a sense of it.  (Throw balls representing Daniel into the Lions' mouths! Push the Temple Pillars down like Samson!)

MoB Children's Area

It really is disappointing that the Museum of the Bible blew the opportunity of the Children's Area, especially since so many families with children were clearly visiting, and also when there are wonderful and thoughtful biblically-themed experiences and exhibits (like the Skirball Center's Noah's Ark) that could have served as better models.

Despite my reservations, overall I found the Museum of the Bible a good museum experience --- definitely worth a visit while in DC.

Great Expectations (Part Two)

To be fair, my expectations for the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) were set VERY high.  Every one of my museum colleagues who had visited had great things to say, and I had read many glowing accounts in the press that made clear that NMAAHC was a "pilgrimage" site for many visitors.

Overall (spoiler alert!) I enjoyed my NMAAHC visit very much.  In fact, I stayed engaged for an entire day inside the museum without leaving (I ate lunch inside the Cafe.)

The Museum is conceptually and physically divided into two "chunks." The three floors below the Lobby/Entry floor focus on Slavery starting in the 1400s, then through aspects of Freedom, Segregation, Civil Rights, and on into Modern Times (ending with a display of President Obama and his family.)

I did not take any pictures on the bottom three floors, because for me, personally, I was too absorbed in the experience.  It also felt (again, for me personally) obtrusive to other visitors' experiences to take pictures on these floors.  There was a lot of sobering material to try and absorb --- slave shackles, photos of abuse. 

The woman at the Information Desk told me (quite accurately) that I would need at least two hours or so to move through the lower three floors.  It was clear that some visitors were easily spending twice that amount of time in what are collectively called the "History Galleries."

After a very tasty lunch in the Sweet Home Cafe, I heard some visitors remarking that music legend Quincy Jones was giving a talk that afternoon and seats may be available.  Luckily, I got into the talk and was treated to some great stories by Mr. Jones.  (I'm hoping the video of his talk will show up online somewhere.)

After the Quincy Jones talk (part of the NMAAHC's extensive programmatic events) I made my way to the upper galleries --- where I did take pictures!  The upper galleries revolve around topics of Community and Culture.  Although at all times you can't help but feel enveloped by David Adjaye's thoughtful architectural design as you move around the upper floors.

Two objects especially spoke to me during my explorations of the Culture Galleries, both coincidentally called "Mothership."

The first was a version of George Clinton's "Mothership" from his tours with Parliament Funkadelic.  I just really enjoy P-Funk's music so the object is particularly iconic for me.

The Mothership!

Another "Mothership" I encountered was a piece by artist Jefferson Pinder constructed from reclaimed tin panels found in Baltimore and fashioned into a space capsule.  It was breathtaking!

Another Mothership

Of course, given the way that the National Museum of African American History and Culture has continued to resonate with such large, diverse audiences in its first year of operation, NMAAHC may be its own "Mothership" of sorts.   Definitely on the "must see" list if you are visiting Washington, DC.

No Expectations

I had absolutely no expectations as I wandered into the Renwick Gallery to kill an hour or two before dinner.  Little did I realize that any absolutely fascinating temporary exhibition called "Murder is Her Hobby" was tucked inside.

The exhibition shows the work of Frances Glessner Lee, who created a series of miniature vignettes (that she called "Nutshells") of murder scenes to help train detectives and coroners.  Who knew this could be the basis for such an engaging show?

Most of the exhibit labels read like a mini murder mystery describing each "Nutshell."

Visitors were intently focused and carefully observing minute details of every installation.  I can't help wondering what lessons (especially for Art Museums) could be learned from this exhibition.

The Renwick also provided (untethered!) flashlights to allow people to focus even more carefully on particular details within each Nutshell scene.

There was also a (now seemingly ubiquitous) "Talk Back" board in the exhibition, where people left (often very detailed) thoughts about one of the Nutshell installations>

The exhibition about Frances Glessner Lee's work, as well as my visits to NMAAHC and the Museum of the Bible, made me reflect on the inherent power and wonder found in museum experiences --- whether we are expecting them or not.



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New Readings and Resources on Cultural Equity and Inclusion In Museums

How can we ensure that everyone in our communities has access to the opportunities and benefits provided by museums and other cultural organizations?

That's a question that the museum field continues to struggle with, but I just became aware of two sets of resources that might help foster new ways to provide opportunities for increased communication and creative partnerships.

The first resource comes via the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, which has just released a new literature review on Public Engagement in the Arts. 

The review explores: 

• different ways in which “public engagement” can be defined and practiced,
• the purposes public engagement has been used for in the arts, and
• how the terms “audience” and “participant” have evolved and blurred over time.

The review also places public engagement in the context of one of the most important conversations taking place in arts and culture today, that of cultural equity and inclusion. (If you'd like to dig a little deeper, the Commission also published a literature review on cultural equity and inclusion earlier this year.)

I learned of the next set of resources through Nina Simon's Museum 2.0 blog:

A few years ago, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation wanted to help museums and galleries across the UK make changes in the ways that cultural organizations engage community partners and visitors as participants in their work. The result, Our Museum, is an extraordinary program with a focus on community participation.

The Our Museum program also produced a suite of online resources and reports that are tremendous resources to anyone engaged with communities and cultural organizations.

As all of these resources emphasize, public engagement is a powerful tool available to museums to help them work toward the goal of greater cultural equity and inclusion. 

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Are You Building a Team of Loyalists or Mercenaries?

I think I've found another quality that distinguishes a great museum from a merely so-so museum.

And that's whether you are building a team of loyalists or mercenaries.  (I was struck by this idea after reading this recent article by Fred Wilson.)

Are you creating a work environment, and an institutional culture, that makes people want to stay, to become part of this great thing, and to make it even greater?  Are people there for purpose, not merely for profit?  

Or would they happily skip over to just about any other company or organization that would pay them a little more?

Tough questions.  How is YOUR museum answering them?



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.

P.S. If you receive ExhibiTricks via email (or Facebook or LinkedIn) you will need to click HERE to go to the main ExhibiTricks page to make comments or view multimedia features (like videos!)