Exhibit Design Inspiration: Rubber Bands?

Stanford University runs an "Innovation Tournament" each year for their students, and students around the world. For the 2008 contest, they asked participants to "add value" to that most ubiquitous of objects, the rubber band.

Students from all over the world (including Finland, Turkey, and Ecuador, among other countries) posted their ideas and entries to YouTube, and Stanford has collected the entries into a group there.

Entries range from the goofy (shooting people who don't recycle their compostable cups with rubber bands) to utilitarian (wrap rubber bands around the nozzle of liquid soap dispensers to prevent waste) to the downright heady (a model of the universe constructed of rubber bands used to illustrate Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity!)

The videos are worth a look. A bag full of rubber bands might be just the thing to kick off a brainstorming session at your next meeting!

Green Exhibit Tech: The EnerJar

I've been doing some work with several clients recently to produce exhibitions with a "green" theme. In the course of some of my research one of the interesting green gizmos I've come across is the EnerJar.

Basically the EnerJar is a device that accurately measures the power draw of electrical appliances.

(There are instructions on the EnerJar website on how to build your own DIY power meter.)

EnerJars would make a great project for museums to have their visitors build to take home, as well. It's a little scary to see how much energy all the "stuff" in a typical home uses!

The EnerJar was the Grand Prize Winner in the 2008 Greener Gadgets Design Competition. Check out their website for a great collection of inspiring green technology ideas.

What are some of your favorite green resources? Let us know in the comments section!

Be Kind Rewind: "Swede" your next exhibit!

I just saw the movie "Be Kind Rewind" a sweet (or "swede") and interesting experience.

Admittedly, the film is light and goofy --- the upshot is that the two main characters (played by Jack Black and Mos Def) need to remake the movies at a cheapo video store after they all get erased accidentally after Black becomes "magnetized!"

But the thing that makes me post here about Be Kind Rewind, is the "can do" ethos of the two main characters. They come up with all sorts of fun, crazy, low-tech, and low-cost ways to create special effects in the movies they "remake" (or "swede".)

No spoilers here, but the movie's worth a look for both exhibit inspiration and ideas!

Design Inspiration: Afrigadget.com

I love people who design wonderful things with limited resources. I really think that when you have to struggle a little, you come up with better, more creative solutions (instead of just throwing money at problems in an effort to make them go away.)

One of my new favorite museum design inspirations in this regard is the AfriGadget blog. Most of the AfriGadget postings outline how an African entrepreneur or tinkerer used simple materials to address a problem facing their local community. So you'll find out about such items as bamboo bicycles and low-tech energy generation devices.

AfriGadget reminds me of an excellent exhibition that I saw in NYC at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Design For The Other 90%, that I reviewed for ExhibitFiles.

What other sites or resources do you use to make "more from less"?
Post your answers in the Comments section below!

Exhibit Maker's Toolbox: United Nuclear

As a follow-up to my "Dangerous Science" post, several folks asked about United Nuclear.

Once you get past their ominous sounding name, the folks at U.N. can provide just about anything a budding mad scientist could desire: GIANT neodymium magnets, check. Radioactive materials, check. The types of chemicals that create wonderful explosions, check!

Naturally, all of these materials are to be handled judiciously, but aside from the inherent "cool" factor, United Nuclear is worth supporting on general principles since the Office of Homeland Security (among others) have tried to shut them down for making "dangerous" materials available to people.

The End of Dangerous Science?

This clip from WIRED Science laments the decline of "dangerous" science toys and experiences for kids. They visit the Chemical Heritage Foundation (with its own historical collection of chemistry sets!) to show how wimpy science toys have become. Case in point: a "Chemistry Set" with NO chemicals!

Perhaps toymakers fear of liability lawsuits has helped contribute to the 60% decrease in chemistry graduates since the 1960s.

Of course, science museum exhibits are often just as guilty of the "wimpiness" factor. Safety first (or second, or third) of course, but are there ways to let visitors get involved in experiences that are a little messy and/or risky? That is, more like real science?

Do you have any good (or bad) examples of messy/risky/dangerous science exhibits to share? Let us know in the Comments section!