More Stuff To Play Around With

So, I'm getting off my soapbox about proposal etiquette and the Maryland Science Center and offering instead two more exhibit-minded suggestions for stuff to play around with:

1) The Strobotop is a cool top-based toy and a variable speed strobe gun developed by artist Rufus Butler Seder.  Basically you add an illustrated disk to the Strobotop, give it a spin, and then point the strobe at the spinning pictures.  You'll see different animation effects depending on the relationship of the speeds of the spinning Strobotop and the flashing strobe gun. (As you can see in the YouTube video below.)



I originally bought the basic Strobotop for my seven-year-old daughter, but everyone in the family has really enjoyed experimenting with the different animation disks that come with the set.  As an exhibits guy,  I also appreciated the little design features built into the Strobotop: the cut-out notches along the edges of the top that make it easier to insert and remove the animation disks, as well as the simple gravity switch that only allows the strobe gun to work when it is pointed downward (and not up in your Dad's face!)

All in all, good stuff!  So head over to Amazon to get your own Strobotop to start playing around with.

(It looks like Rufus Butler Seder is also scheduled to be one of the guest speakers/instigators during the AAM and NAME Creativity and Collaboration 2011 Retreat happening in October.)


2) The Arduino Cookbook 
"Arduino" is the generic name for the open source microcontroller boards (plus the free software development environment) that lets anyone (really!) start experimenting with physical computing.
I've just started to scratch the surface of all the possibilities of using Arduino in my own exhibits/design work, and I'm really finding it challenging and enjoyable in a good way.  


Basically Arduino lets you easily get computers to interact with the real world. You can use Arduino to make cool interactive objects that can sense inputs from switches, sensors, and computers, and then control motors, lights, and other physical outputs.

Arduino has been a boon to artists, makers, and exhibits people in providing a way to (relatively) quickly and cheaply translate their creative ideas into the powerful world of physical computing.  


While there is a great deal of information and sharing about Arduino tools and techniques available online, for myself I also like to have a handy reference book or two nearby.  And that's where the excellent Arduino Cookbook comes in.  Written in a style that makes it accessible to both the Arduino expert and newbie alike, the Cookbook provides a great reference and road map for creating Arduino projects.

I hope you have a chance to explore both the Strobotop, and the Arduino Cookbook.  Have your own suggestions for cool stuff that you'd like to share?  Let us know about them in the "Comments" Section below!


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Proposal Etiquette?

The Golden Rule really does matter.

And I don't mean the one about "S/he who has the gold, rules."  I mean the one about treating others in the way you'd like to be treated --- especially when it comes to sending out RFPs (Request For Proposal) for people to respond to, or if you're the institution or person crafting a solicitation.

Several years ago, I edited the Spring 2007 issue of NAME's (National Association for Museum Exhibition) journal, The Exhibitionist, called "The RFP Issue" which was (you guessed it!) all about writing and responding to RFPs.  In addition to a wide range of articles, the issue also included several boilerplate examples of RFPs, contracts, selection matrices, etc.  (Lucky you, it's all online now to download for free at the NAME website.)

In the months I spent re-reading and editing the articles for The RFP Issue, it was disheartening to keep coming back to variations on two common themes:  1) Institutions that sent out literally dozens and dozens (if not hundreds) of solicitations, and 
2) Institutions that never notified respondents after a final selection was made.

Even if you don't feel, like I do, that for the most part, the RFP process is an archaic, legalistic waste of time, why would you treat potential creative partners in this way? (And don't even get me started about the wasteful notion of requiring multiple hard copies of a proposal in addition to digital versions ...)

In the first case, by requesting a large number of people to respond to your RFP, you know that you are wasting many people's time, but even worse, you will not be able to carefully and thoughtfully review such a large number of responses. (Ideally, you should be striving for the smallest number of "best fit" responses possible to your solicitation, not a cattle call.)

In the second case, if people spent their limited time and resources to craft a response, couldn't you or your institution display the common courtesy of sending out a boilerplate email to the groups or individuals who weren't selected?  (For example, "Thanks for submitting, we're sorry you weren't selected, but we look forward to opportunities to work together in the future ..."

This lack of civility happens much more often than it should in the proposal process, especially given the relatively small museum/exhibits community.  Perhaps it's no wonder that one of the articles from The RFP Issue was entitled, "Why We No Longer Do RFPs"

In any event, I hope the next time you might find yourself in charge of an RFP or proposal process, or something similar like a hiring/internship process, that you remember that there are real people involved, and even if they aren't selected, they'd like to be treated with professionalism and respect.

Thanks for considering this.

And thanks for reading ExhibiTricks!

What Happened to the Maryland Science Center's Exhibits Department?

Soon, the last person remaining in the "Exhibits Department" at the Maryland Science Center (MSC) in Baltimore will be shifted out of their current position.   (If you can call what is now just one person a "department" --- until a few months ago, there used to be an actual department of exhibit designers and developers at MSC.)

So one of the larger science centers in the U.S. will not have an in-house Exhibits Department to design/develop/fabricate new exhibits.  Instead, the Maryland Science Center will have an "exhibit maintenance group."  That seems both sad and unfortunate to me.  Doubly so, because it's unlikely that the Science Center field, in particular, or the Museum field, in general, will publicly discuss and wrestle with the ramifications of what's going on in Baltimore.

I'd like to share the museum's side of things --- the thinking about some grand institutional reorganization going on in Baltimore --- some clever new approach to designing and developing exhibitions.  But honestly, after persistently sending emails and leaving phone messages with the Museum's CEO, Van Reiner, and various administrators and departments, I've gotten no response on the subject.

That is, until today when I contacted the PR firm that works with the Museum to see if I might finally get any sort of comment on the elimination of the MSC Exhibits Department.  Lo and behold, a few minutes later I finally did receive a response from Christopher Cropper, the Senior Director of Marketing at the Maryland Science Center.

Here it is:  "Thanks for your calls about the exhibits department at the Maryland Science Center. The Maryland Science Center policy does not allow comment on decisions related to employment. Therefore, no one will be able to answer additional questions about our exhibits department." 

Fair enough --- I know when I've been given the brush-off, but that doesn't prevent me from posing a few questions about MSC's precipitous actions:

• Certainly these are tricky times for museums, but does it make sense to respond to budgetary pressures by vacating your institution's internal capacity to develop and design exhibits?

• Is it fiscally and professionally responsible to "outsource" wholesale the functions of an entire Exhibits Department? Will that lead to "better" exhibits?

• Given that the ASTC Conference is being hosted by Maryland Science Center later this year, might MSC staff be willing to share their thoughts on their institution's future approaches toward exhibition development with their museum peers?  If not, I hope we as a field are forthright in discussing the consequences of MSC's decisions to eliminate their Exhibit Department during the Conference.

Tricky times, indeed. 

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Get Your Own Garden of Gizmos!

My pal Clifford Wagner is taking his wonderful "Garden of Gizmos" traveling exhibition off the road and offering it up for sale to a good home.  This exhibition has been touring for several years and museums (and museum visitors!) always love it.   The whimsical show blends art, science and nature, but while it's easy to experience, it doesn't fit neatly into a "quick pitch" marketing campaign. 

So, Clifford has concluded that it would be more effective to have a museum buy the entire set-up and mount Garden of Gizmos as a permanent exhibition, rather than a traveling show, and I thought I'd help him spread the word by posting on my blog.

As you can see from the video of Garden of Gizmos on Clifford's website, the exhibition is really captivating with 28 professionally painted custom mural wall sections to set the scene, and 18 individual hands-on interactives that are each compelling and beautiful in their own right.

Clifford would like to sell Garden of Gizmos as a complete package and will guarantee its operation for a full year from the date of installation.  (But if he's unable to sell the exhibition in its entirety, he'd also be willing to entertain offers on individual exhibit elements.)

This would be a wonderful addition for the right museum, so if you're interested or would like more information, feel free to contact Clifford or myself for specific information about pricing and components.


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Is It a Museum? Does It Matter? (And two FREE giveaways!)

 
There is something in the zeitgeist.  Something about trying to pin down the term "museum." (And in a parallel jag, something about the notion of "curator" being watered down and increasingly being twisted into a cheap commercial come-on.)

I recently chaired a session at the annual AAM meeting in Houston on the subject of "Non-Traditional Museums" that you can read more about here and here.  It raised, amongst other issues, how to sort out the notion of on-line or virtual museums, or how to consider a museum of poetry.

The latest issue of NAME's journal, The Exhibitionist (pictured at the top of this post) devotes an entire issue to the subject of "Is It a Museum? Does It Matter?" The issue is excellent by the way, filled with lots of meaty, thoughtful, contentious, messy stuff.  Here's a link to download a sample article PDF.  If you aren't currently a member of NAME (why not?)  keep reading to the end of this post for your chance to win one of two copies of this latest issue that I'm giving away.

And lastly, there is also a very lively discussion about the topics surrounding "Is It a Museum? Does It Matter?" happening right now on the NAME listserv.

But it's a tricky business, trying to sort out whether to call something a museum or not, isn't it?

On one hand, you don't want every roadside attraction or personal collection of knick-knacks to water down the term by calling itself a "museum."  But on the other hand it doesn't seem so long ago that most science centers and children's museums weren't considered "official" museums because they didn't always maintain collections.

In my own current thinking, I'm more concerned about what a creative group of people does, than what it, or others, calls the collective enterprise.  However, the IRS, or funders, or professional organizations seem much less sanguine about such a loose notion of "museum."

AND NOW, THE GIVEAWAY!

What do you think?  Does it matter about what we do (or do not) call a museum? Let us know in the "Comments" Section below between now and June 6th, 2011 and you'll be entered into a random drawing to win a copy of the latest "Is It a Museum? Does It Matter?" issue of the Exhibitionist mailed directly to your door. 

If you're the shy and retiring type, and just want a chance to win a copy without making a comment, then sign up to become an email subscriber to ExhibiTricks between now and June 6th, 2011 by clicking on the link at the top right side of the blog, and you'll also be entered into a random drawing to win the second copy of the latest "Is It a Museum? Does It Matter?" issue of the Exhibitionist mailed directly to your door. 

GOOD LUCK!


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 the Latest ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

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Adios Hoston! Museum Conference Re-Cap

Best description of Houston's weather: "It feels like you're living in someone's mouth ..."

Heat and humidity aside, I had a great time in Houston at the back-to-back Association of Children's Museums (ACM) InterActivity Conference, followed by the American Association of Museums (AAM) Annual Conference.

I've already posted about some of the early InterActivity news, so let's re-cap some of the transition time between conferences, the early AAM conference takeaways (Full Disclosure: I left a little early, so my family didn't forget who I was!) and some unique Houston sights, like the Art Cars and Art Car Parade, images of which are sprinkled throughout this posting:


Last Gasp for InterActivity 2011 
The final session I attended at IA2011, "Let’s Talk about Risk" was great for two reasons: 1) The topic of "Risk" was intrinsically interesting to me , and 2) The "Fishbowl" format.  Basically, the Fishbowl format is like reverse musical chairs with a starting circle of seated speakers and one empty chair.  Only those in the central circle can speak, but anyone from the audience can come into the empty chair.  Once all the chairs are filled, one person must vacate their chair.

It sounds complicated, but in practice worked great and really elicited surprisingly frank comments as well as a diversity of speakers.  Brava, Kathy Gustafson-Hilton from Hands On! for organizing this panel!  You can get more details about the session at the KidCity Museum blog.

The Menil Collection
After InterActivity finished, I joined several museum pals to visit hands-down my favorite "museum experience" in Houston.  I continue to love the main building (the current "Upside Down Arctic Realities" show was smashing! Unfortunately the on-line materials don't do it justice) and the Rothko Chapel was wonderful as well.  If your travels bring you to Houston, do not miss the Menil.

On to AAM!

The Art Car Parade

I didn't get to see the full-blown parade since I was involved in two sessions (see below) but fortunately I was able to see the Art Car pre-show on Saturday night outside the Convention Center.  BIG, BIG fun!  (Especially that Chicken Car!) The Art Car Parade is put on by the folks from the Orange Show (a local folk art monument) which was also the site of Sunday night's most excellent NAME Party!

 

 

 

"Future of Exhibiting: Voices from Non-Traditional Museums" 

First up, on Sunday afternoon, I was pleased to chair this session presented by he super-smart trio of Ashley Remer, Founder & Head Girl of GIRL MUSEUM,  Maria Mortati, Founder of the SF Mobile Museum, and Jon West-Bey, Director of American Poetry Museum.

Each of these dedicated folks explained why they felt compelled to start "alternative" museums (basic answer: existing museum models aren't flexible enough, or likely to change.)  Unfortunately Maria's show-and-tell props were in her "lost" luggage (that Continental Airlines somehow managed to lose on a direct flight from the Bay Area!) and Ashley was fighting raging flu that she picked up on the flight over from New Zealand. 

But despite these pre-session glitches, the presentations were all amazing, and Jon reminded us that, ultimately, bet on the Athenians over the Spartans every time!

You can get additional session details, and see Maria's presentation by checking out her S.F. Mobile Museum blog posting.

Career Café Idea Lounge: "Slow Exhibits"

On Sunday, from 4:15 pm to 5:30 pm I was the "Provocateur" for a great discussion concerning the notion of "Slow Exhibits."

Taking a page from the "Slow Food" movement and their central tenets of Good, Clean, and Fair; I've been thinking a lot about how we make exhibits, and how we hope people might engage with our exhibits.  Given the rapid-paced and hyper-connected world we live in, are museums responding by creating exhibit spaces and designed environments that do not lend themselves to contemplation and concentration?

As a group, we discussed exhibit environment and design approaches that actually rewarded visitors for slowing down to observe carefully, contemplate, and engage with others.

Along the way we discussed museum "Easter Eggs", the excellent new book "The Convivial Museum" the visualization of the Civil War at the Abraham Lincoln Museum, and much, much more.

It was sharp group, and I appreciated the change from the usual session of "three PowerPoints and a microphone."   (Besides, where else could you learn that the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque has the "largest collection of touchable nuclear weapons in the world"?)

Happy trails to everyone I met or reconnected with in Houston!  Do you have your own conference memories or takeaways to share?  Let us know in the "Comments" section below.

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