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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Museum Super Bowl Day?

Super Bowl Sunday will be a great day to visit your local museum --- because it will be even quieter than usual. 

Why are so many people, even folks who don't normally follow football, more rabidly enthusiastic about watching the "Big Game" or attending a local Super Bowl event, than visiting your museum?
Have you ever seen someone outside a museum scalping tickets to get inside?  

I'd say one possible answer lies in finding the difference between a "fan" and a "casual visitor."   Fans wear logo gear all year long and have no compunction in excitedly telling total strangers how great their team is.  The National Football league is, as recent news reports have detailed, even going after a traditionally neglected demographic, women 18 to 49, with great success.

So how can museums create more "fans" and expand their demographic reach as well?  

Places like The City Museum in St. Louis have set out to become a gathering spot for their local communities and have become open to all sorts of fun ideas that are edgy enough to attract a wide, and enthusiastic audience of repeat visitors who definitely become City Museum fans.

Of course all this talk of creating "museum fans" is pointless if your museum isn't really fan-worthy.  Is your admissions procedure torture?  Do you create core exhibits and attractions that are worth revisiting, or do you depend on the hucksterism of events that are only vaguely related to your museum's mission and purpose?  What are the obstacles that prevent your visitors from becoming fans?

Let's see if we can create more museum fans.   

GO MUSEUMS!

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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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.

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!)

What Interesting Museum/Exhibit/Design Things Did You See This Summer?

I'm on the road in Michigan (seeing interesting things, of course) with my family this week, so I thought I'd share an encore version of the post below about museums being more interesting. What interesting museum/exhibit/design things did you see on your summer trips? Let us know in the "Comments" section after this post!

The title of this post is inspired by some ideas from Austin Kleon (his newsletter is really worth subscribing to, and Kleon's book "Steal Like An Artist" is a great read ...) where he relates several (possibly apocryphal) tales of writing teachers giving similar tough, but straightforward, advice to their students who want to become more interesting writers.


"Have you tried making yourself a more interesting person?" 


The upshot of Kleon's musings boil down to the idea that if you want to be interesting, you have to be interested.

I started triangulating this notion of becoming a more interesting person with possible ways of creating more interesting museums, based on my love (and previous blog posts: here, here, and here) of "Museums Worth A Special Trip."

How can museums not currently worth a special trip become more interesting?  Let me immediately suggest two overused approaches that many museum folks try that quite often lead to less interesting museums:

1) Equating bigger with better   Of all the blunt force approaches to becoming a more interesting museum, nothing beats a large building (or building expansion) project.  Here's a news flash --- most museums should be improving their existing programs, exhibits, and facilities, not becoming bigger.

2) Adopting "best practices"  Best practices for who?  Best practices for where?  I'd argue that every museum should develop practices that are unique to their location and the communities they serve.  Why try to apply a "one size fits all" approach?


When I think about museums that I (and many other people!) find truly interesting, places like The City Museum in St. Louis, The Discovery Museums in Acton, MA, or the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh  the staff in these places seem to share a resistance to growth for growth's sake, or merely adopting someone else's notion of "best" practice, and instead have an insatiable desire to try new stuff, to experiment, and, most importantly, to quickly iterate through the physical manifestations of their ideas and to trust that their visitors will respond to their efforts --- even their failures.

Maybe another way to develop more interesting museums is to get things WRONG the first time!  To really push for ideas and interests that aren't completely tested and "safe" in every instance.


My wish is that you can discover something(s) in your own institution to become really interested in, so you can create an even more interesting museum for yourself and your visitors.

Onward!


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!)

Have you tried making your museum a more interesting place?

The title of this post is inspired by some ideas from Austin Kleon (his newsletter is really worth subscribing to, and Kleon's book "Steal Like An Artist" is a great read ...) where he relates several (possibly apocryphal) tales of writing teachers giving similar tough, but straightforward, advice to their students who want to become more interesting writers.


"Have you tried making yourself a more interesting person?" 


The upshot of Kleon's musings boil down to the idea that if you want to be interesting, you have to be interested.

I started triangulating this notion of becoming a more interesting person with possible ways of creating more interesting museums, based on my love (and previous blog posts: here, here, and here) of "Museums Worth A Special Trip."

How can museums not currently worth a special trip become more interesting?  Let me immediately suggest two overused approaches that many museum folks try that quite often lead to less interesting museums:

1) Equating bigger with better   Of all the blunt force approaches to becoming a more interesting museum, nothing beats a large building (or building expansion) project.  Here's a news flash --- most museums should be improving their existing programs, exhibits, and facilities, not becoming bigger.

2) Adopting "best practices"  Best practices for who?  Best practices for where?  I'd argue that every museum should develop practices that are unique to their location and the communities they serve.  Why try to apply a "one size fits all" approach?


When I think about museums that I (and many other people!) find truly interesting, places like The City Museum in St. Louis, The Discovery Museums in Acton, MA, or the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh  the staff in these places seem to share a resistance to growth for growth's sake, or merely adopting someone else's notion of "best" practice, and instead have an insatiable desire to try new stuff, to experiment, and, most importantly, to quickly iterate through the physical manifestations of their ideas and to trust that their visitors will respond to their efforts --- even their failures.

Maybe another way to develop more interesting museums is to get things WRONG the first time!  To really push for ideas and interests that aren't completely tested and "safe" in every instance.


My wish is that you can discover something(s) in your own institution to become really interested in, so you can create an even more interesting museum for yourself and your visitors.

Onward!



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!)

ROAD TRIP! More Museums Worth a Special Visit

My family and I are off to visit friends and relatives in Detroit, so of course my mind heads in the direction of interesting places to visit.  I've written about "Museums Worth A Special Trip" in previous ExhibiTricks posts (see here, here, and here!) but I thought summer travel season would be a good time to pick up the topic again.

So here are some Summer 2015 "Museums Worth A Special Trip" suggestions for your reading (and hopefully, road tripping!) pleasure:

Since I'll be heading to Detroit, I would be remiss if I didn't mention one the great Art Museums in this country, The Detroit Institute of Arts (aka The DIA.)  As if the spectacular Diego Rivera murals weren't reason enough to visit the DIA, in recent years the Museum was completely redesigned, both physically and conceptually to enhance visitors' experiences.

This summer, The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. has a special immersive (literally!) exhibition called The BEACH that fills the massive central space of NBM with nearly one million plastic balls that create a giant playground to wade, dive, or swim through!  In addition to the rollicking fun of the BEACH, you can also enjoy the other architecture-related exhibitions nestled into NBM's amazing building. 

While we're on the East Coast, if your travels bring you near the Boston area, be sure to check out The Discovery Museums in Acton, Massachusetts.  Pound for pound, still two (a children's museum and a science museum on the same "campus") of the most charming museums around. Packed with simple, elegant, and inventive exhibit ideas and playful spaces.

Whenever people ask me if I have a "favorite" museum, I generally say I have too many "favorites" to pick just one, but, if pressed,  The City Museum in St. Louis, would definitely make my top three.  How can you not love a museum that did an exhibition about toasters? With someone inside who will make a piece of toast for you using an antique toaster? A phantasmagoria filled with slides and tunnels and shoelace making machines and ... check out this video to get a sense of the place!

Now let's bop across the Bay Bridge to Oakland, California 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.  The museum is divided into Art, History, and Natural Sciences, and each part reveals truly interesting and innovative approaches.

Of course my Museums Worth a Special Visit list could include many other worthy institutions (like The Exploratorium and The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum)  but I'd like to crowdsource my Summer 2015 list a bit. 

So, what are some of your favorite museums to visit and recommend to others?  Let us know in the "Comments" section below!



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!)

Road Trip Inspiration: Science Gallery Dublin

You know the feeling when you keep bumping into a new (to you!) place or idea everywhere?

I keep having that feeling about Science Gallery Dublin --- it keeps popping up in conversations with colleagues, on the Web, and in radio programs.  So much so, I'm saving my pennies for a visit to Dublin to see it myself.

Science Gallery International was started by Trinity College Dublin in 2012 with the aim of creating a global network of Science Gallery locations in partnership with leading universities and research centers in key urban locations.

It seems like the Science Gallery chooses themes, like their current show called Illusion, and then partners with all sorts of interesting folks (be they scientists, researchers, artists, or even magicians) to create dynamic displays and performances. 

"Blood Wars" is an edgy example from a recent show at Science Gallery about the body.  Basically, blood is drawn from visitors and transferred into Petri dishes.  The blood cells then "fight" each other through a series of matches that produce a "winner," but that also foster discussions about blood types, cells, and the like.

It all seems like incredibly cool stuff, and a twist on the traditional science center model.

So, while I'm saving for my trip, if anyone has actually been to Science Gallery in Dublin, let us know in the "Comments" Section below!


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!)

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!



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!)

Worth A Special Trip: Children's Museum of Phoenix

Details and personality. Those are the two common threads that ran through my mind as I recalled my recent visit to the wonderful Children's Museum of Phoenix. You can tell that the people who work here and the people who visit here really love their museum.

So without further ado, let me take you on a little photographic tour and point out some of the details that really make this a museum "worth a special visit."  You can see many more photos of my Phoenix visit (and lots more of my own exhibit work photos!) on the Paul Orselli Workshop Flickr page.

As you might be able to tell from the photo at the top of this page, the Children's Museum is located in a historic renovated school building that once housed the Monroe School.  (Interesting bit of trivia: the artist Jackson Pollock attended this school when he was a child.)

I love museums that renovate and redefine existing buildings. Instead of starting with a "blank slate" (construction wise) everyone from architects to exhibit fabricators involved in a renovation project really has to enter into a sort of creative dialogue with the challenges and realities of the old space.  (Of course I'm biased since I've worked in museums that were once Victorian houses, fire stations, and historic aircraft hangars!)

A museum visit really starts from the time you park the car and enter the front door --- and here the museum starts off with a nice message by using solar panel structures in their parking lot:

and a BIG welcome as you approach the front door:

As soon as you swing past the large open admissions desk area you are struck by this huge, honking cool climbing structure:

 

It's funky, and like many things in the Museum it doesn't completely and immediately reveal itself to you. There are lots of questions that pop up as your eyes whiz around the structure, like "What's that flying bathtub over there?"

But of course the best way to find out is to get in there and start exploring! The Climber, like the vast majority of exhibits and activities in the Museum, really breaks down age barriers --- so kids (and adults!) of all ages really mix it up together and have fun.



Speaking of fun, which other Director of Exhibits do you know that has a real swing in her office (That's Nancy Stice showing off some of her non-traditional office "furniture."

It's clear (even down to the level of simple signs) that the Museum has a fun spirit, and doesn't take itself too seriously.  Here's a door sign on a currently unused classroom space:

and the toilet seat and faucet pipe signs that mark the restrooms:

The museum has also deliberately placed lots of comfy chairs around their spaces (instead of minimizing or eliminating seating as many museums do!)

A last nod regarding details --- check out the metal bead chain "water" running out of the faucet in this role-play area:

And last, but not least, in the Museum's "Art Studio" kids (and their adults!) can paint this cool rocket ship:

The activity is so popular, and such thick layers (artistic strata?) of paint build up over time that the museum has to "switch out" rockets and chip off the layers of paint (to be reused and recycled for making jewelry and other projects!)

All those little touches, and attention to detail, really add up at the Children's Museum of Phoenix. The sum total of those details and touches also send an important message to visitors: "we are having fun here and we want you to have fun here, too!"  And who could ask for more than that from a museum?



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Museums Worth A Special Trip: Summer Vacation Edition

Since we've entered the summer travel season here in the U.S., I thought I'd point out a few "Museums Worth A Special Trip."

This time around, here are three suggestions that combine fun, science, and the Great Outdoors:

1) Montshire Museum of Science The Montshire is one of those "gems" that everyone who visits considers their own little secret. In addition to creative and unique interactive exhibits, Montshire's building is surrounded by 110 acres of woodland and nature trails along the Connecticut River.

2) The New York Hall of Science. In addition to the hands-on exhibits inside, the NY Hall offers some wonderful outdoor activities as well. Joining the outdoor Science Playground this summer is Rocket Park Mini Golf. With two real NASA rockets looming in the background, Rocket Park Mini Golf reveals that the same laws of motion and gravity that guide the path of a spaceship control the motion of golf balls here on Earth. Playing off the retro styling of the 1960's (evoking the Hall's roots as part of the 1964 World's Fair) the nine-hole miniature golf course is gigantic fun!

3) Chanticleer Garden While not technically a museum, this charming "pleasure garden" just outside Philadelphia is filled with whimsical touches including a carved stone living room set (pictured above) and interesting pathways, bridges, and artworks that both complement and highlight the surrounding landscape and plants. Every single member of my in-house testing team wants to go back for another visit!

Have your own summer suggestions for Museums Worth A Special Trip? Let us know in the Comments Section below. Happy Trails!

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Is Creativity a Team Sport?

In a recent post, I asked people to suggest "Museums Worth a Special Trip." One thing I've noticed about the museums suggested is that many, if not most of them, are the products of strong-minded founders. Which begs the question, "Is Creativity a Team Sport"?

It seems a lot more straight-forward, if less democratic, to pursue one person's design vision than to sit through endless meetings trying to come to consensus among staff and advisors on the direction of an exhibition, or a set of exhibitions, in the case of a new museum.

The National Science Foundation, among other granting agencies, has essentially mandated an exhibits approach that makes all sorts of consensus-building techniques an essential part of the "creative" process --- but has this approach resulted in more interesting exhibitions?

Art Museums seem more willing to turn over their galleries to individual artists for installations, usually with very good results. How can less "auteur" minded institutions like Science, History, and Children's Museums take advantage of a strong-minded individual driving the exhibit process forward, rather than the oft-venerated "Exhibits Team"? (I'd love to see Olafur Eliasson put together an exhibition at a Science Center!)

The "Creative Team" Conundrum also rears its ugly head when thinking about visitor studies and that Web 2.0 favorite, "crowdsourcing".

In the case of visitor studies, many visitors are only able to come up with variations of exhibits and exhibit themes they are already familiar with. Every museum stocked according to audience surveys would likely include a rocket ship, a dinosaur skeleton, and a mummy --- not bad, necessarily, but not exactly moving the exhibits field forward either.

Crowds and focus groups are notoriously bad at choosing innovations, which is why companies like Apple don't use them. Apple’s attitude is that sometimes, to truly innovate, you’ve got to go beyond giving people what they say they want. Building consensus often builds mediocre, and "safe" (rather than interesting) design decisions.

Maybe we need to bring in more "trouble makers" like Fred Wilson to shake up our staid exhibition development models. As Kathy McLean said in a previous ExhibiTricks interview, "I don't really need a lot of money or time to do my dream exhibitions ... I need organizations that are interested in presenting unusual, thought-provoking experiences."

So what do you think? Better Exhibit Teams or More Exhibit Auteurs? Let us know in the Comments Section below.

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Museums Worth A Special Trip

Which museum(s) would you recommend to friends as worth a special trip, and why?

I'm starting a list. A list that is a response to the bogus lists that cheesy magazines make of the "Top 10 Science Museums" or "The Top 10 Children's Museums."

A better list, because you will help me make it. (Shades of Museum 2.o! Hi Nina!)

So help me create the list of "Museums Worth a Special Trip."

In the "Comments" section below, name the museum, and most importantly, tell WHY you think it's worth a special trip.

I'll start with three suggestions of my own:

1) The Discovery Museums in Acton, MA
Pound for pound, still two (a children's museum and a science museum on the same "campus") of the most charming museum spaces around. Packed with simple and inventive exhibit ideas.

2) The City Museum in St. Louis, MO
How can you not love a museum that did an exhibition about toasters? With someone inside who will make a piece of toast for you using an antique toaster? A phantasmagoria filled with slides and tunnels and shoelace making machines and...

3) The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, NV
I only had a vague idea of who Liberace was, but I was in Las Vegas, and I don't really gamble, so I thought what the heck. I am glad I went! More kitsch per square inch than Graceland. Collections of cars (mirror-covered Rolls Royce with candelabras, anyone?) pianos and costumes. (Along with the World's Largest Rhinestone.)

How about you? Please add your "Museums Worth A Special Trip" in the Comments Section below.

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