Looking Back to Move Forward: Top 10 ExhibiTricks Posts from 2016.

The Sankofa image above, a stylized bird looking back over its shoulder, comes from Ghana and represents the need to reflect on the past to build a successful future.  In that spirit, and with 2017 upon us, I offer ten ExhibiTricks posts worth reflecting on as we start the new year:

A Practical Guide to Museum Ethics: An Interview with Sally Yerkovich  Ethics seems like an important topic to consider, in museums and broader society, so Sally's book and interview are both worth a read.

Humor Me A Moment: The Power Of Humor In Museums  On a completely different note, Cara Dodge shared her thoughts on humor in museums, based on her research.

What Do You Mean By "The World's Best Museum" ?  Did you ever wonder why some projects never seem to get off the ground? Read this post to find out about one common reason for lack of project traction.

Edifice Complex and Museums Another common cause of "projectus interruptus" is the dreaded "Edifice Complex."

These three related posts all cluster around notions of customer service and healthy, robust institutions:

Can Social Psychology Predict Successful Museum Project Teams?

Have you tried making your museum a more interesting place?

Customer Service 101 from the Disney Institute

Among the super smart people that were featured on ExhibiTricks in 2016, I especially liked these posts featuring Nina Simon and Margaret Middleton:

The Art of Relevance: An Interview with Nina Simon

Margaret Middleton on Family Inclusion in Museums

Last, but not least, I'd feel remiss if I didn't highlight this 2016 post about one of my favorite museum/exhibit/design tools:

Stick to it! A resource list of tapes for designers.

And with that, I'd like to wish every ExhibiTricks reader a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2017. 

Are there any articles or resources from 2016 that you've been reflecting back on?  Please share 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.

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On Beyond 400!

The ExhibiTricks blog recently passed 400 posts! 

You may have noticed the search box on the right-hand side of the blog --- in the spirit of discovering some goodies from the ExhibiTricks "back catalog" allow me to suggest a few search terms that will turn up some interesting and useful stuff.

INTERVIEWS
A good place to start searching the ExhibiTricks vaults is with the term "interviews."

Without a doubt, the interviews I've conducted over the years have been the most popular ExhibiTricks postings.  I always find new perspectives and ideas about museum/exhibit/design from such luminaries as Dan Spock, Nina Simon, and Lyn Wood (amongst many others.)

Do some searching around yourself, and please contact me if there are other folks (including yourself!) that you'd like me to interview.



RESOURCES
It feels great to share new (and classic!) resources with folks through the blog.

Try searching "resources" or "toolbox" to find links to design helpers and websites like Sugru or Think Anatomy or The Great Big Exhibit Resource List.

Over the years I've also added recurring features like The Exhibit Doctor  but I'm always open to suggestions! So if there are resources you'd like me to feature (or you would like to do a guest post about, just let me know.)


Who would have thought back in 2007 that I'd still be rolling along with ExhibiTricks?  I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my blog, and I hope to cross paths in person (as opposed to digitally) with ExhibiTricks readers at upcoming museum conferences!


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!)