Contribute to the Museum Workers Relief Fund!

There are still thousands of our museum worker colleagues who need concrete financial support NOW.

To that end, the collective Museum Workers Speak has put together the Museum Workers Relief Fund for the mutual aid of museum workers in need.  In the words of their website:

It has become clear to us that when our institutions will not stand in solidarity with us, we must stand in solidarity with one another.

If you would like to contribute (as I already have) to the Museum Workers Relief Fund, you can follow this link to do so.  Also check out the new Museum Workers Speak Slack channel to chat, organize, send job leads, etc.

As an added incentive, for every ExhibiTricks reader who contributes at least $10.00 by or before April 15, 2021, I will set up a one-hour Zoom call (at a mutually convenient time) to discuss anything you like.

Think of it as a super-cheap consulting call with me to talk about museum exhibit possibilities, museum careers, or whatever else springs to your mind.

So click on over to the Museum Workers Relief Fund page NOW, make your contribution, and then email me your receipt so we can compare calendars for that Zoom call!

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.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

Design Toolbox: Get the Hook!

My wife recently asked me to place a hook in our back hall so she could hang up a special mop that picks up dog hair from our hardwood and tile floors.

While there were a number of hooks I could have chosen from my workshop, I enjoyed picking out the rubbery dog tail wall hook shown at the top of this post. Why? Well a combination of function and whimsy, I suppose -- combined with a visual cue that tells you something about the tool hanging there.

Anyway, this household chore, and my recent post about different types of tape, made me want to delve into a visual exploration of different types and styles of hooks -- mainly wall hooks. Since hooks often show up in both the public spaces inside museums (think coat rooms) and museum exhibition areas (hanging tools in Maker Spaces or smocks inside water exhibitions, for example) I thought I'd share some hooks I particularly like to provide some museum/exhibit/design inspiration.

The name of each hook below is a clickable link that brings you to a place where you can purchase each particular item -- along with a picture and brief description.  

BÄSTIS Hook

The classic IKEA "dog tail" wall hook. Funny, relatively cheap, and functional.  Who could also ask for more?  (Also available from Amazon**)

Sparrow Wall Hooks

Continuing with the animal theme, these sparrow-shaped hooks would be a great addition to a Nature Center or Natural History museum.

Toughooks

Toughooks are affordable unbreakable plastic backpack and coat hooks. The manufacturer is so sure you can't break them, that they guarantee these hooks for life.

Shelfology Hooks and Hangers

The Shelfology website shows some elegant (if a little pricy) hooks.  I especially like the powder-coated steel Popsicle wall hook (pictured below) which comes in about 30 different colors, as well as the Doohooky wall hook.

3M Command™ Hooks

There are many types of 3M Command™ hooks and they are all designed to hold strongly on a variety of indoor surfaces, but leave no sticky adhesive behind.

SKUGGIS Bamboo Hooks

Another inexpensive, minimalist winner from IKEA.  Simple, but does the job.

Piano Keyboard Movable Hooks

I love this clever design where each black "key" on the piano keyboard can flip down to form a hook.

Sugatsune TL-40 Stainless Steel Hook

Another minimalist design.  Sometimes you just need a simple stainless steel screw-in hook at a great price, and this is it.

Umbra Buddy Wall Hooks

When a design project has you climbing the walls, you might want to specify these whimsical wall hooks -- especially for a Children's Museum or other child-centered project.

Thanks for hanging in through this whole post!  I hope some of these items hooked you enough to provide you inspiration for future projects.  Have some other favorite hook suggestions to share?  Tell us about them 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.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

(** PLEASE NOTE: Some Amazon links may provide the author a small commission with no additional costs for the purchaser.)

Exhibit Design Inspiration: Tim Hunkin's Secret Life of Components

The brilliant artist and gizmologist Tim Hunkin has done it again! 

Tim has created A series of YouTube guides for designers and makers entitled the "Secret Life of Components."  The subjects of the eight episodes are Chain, Switches, LEDs, Springs, Connectors, Hinges, and Glue. The eight videos will be released on a weekly schedule starting on March 4, 2021.

You can find out more about the genesis of the Secret Life of Components series as well as Tim's other amazing work by clicking over to his website.

You can also check out the first episode (about Chain) by viewing the embedded video below or by heading directly to Tim Hunkin's YouTube page.

Enjoy!

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.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

7 Project Red Flags to Avoid

What drives some museum projects to succeed, while others either spin their wheels for years or just crash and burn?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately since almost all of my current work involves "start from scratch" projects set up to create entirely new museums or installations rather than adapting or designing experiences for existing institutions.

One of these start-up projects, in particular, is operating under the long shadow of a recent design process that failed, and that left a lot of bad feelings (and canceled checks!) behind.  So now, in addition to working hard to create a successful new project, our design team is constantly beating back the ghosts of past "car wrecks" in the minds of funders and stakeholders. 

One thing that's been helpful is to differentiate the parts of our current creative process that are not related to the "pain points" the client team and stakeholders have experienced previously.  It really boils down to a few essential elements.

So here's a list of my seven "red flags" --- speed bumps that I really watch out for before I decide to join a project, or try to prevent from taking root during the twists and turns on the road to successful projects:

This Year's Model?

Are your design ideas based on community input with a mind toward project sustainability (economically, operationally, ecologically) or are you just chasing souped-up fads?  There was a time when every new museum seemingly had to open with an IMAX theater and/or a virtual reality gimmick whether those things were sound business decisions or not.

Leggo That Ego?

Is one person's (or one group's) ego constantly driving the creative process?  There should be no shortage of strong opinions that get batted around during a project, but at the end of the day, are the final decisions that are being made truly project-oriented or merely personality-driven?

Who's On Your "Pit Crew"?

Are the people in your project group "team players" in every dimension?  Do they respect and support each other? Do they truly want to engage the communities who will visit the museum?  Do they look for ways to creatively partner with other museums and organizations?  Or is everything a "we know best" situation?

What Does "World's Best" Mean?

I've written posts about this topic before.  It is great to set the bar high, but at least know what you're talking about. What specifically would make your new museum "world class"?  If you can't meaningfully answer that question, you don't seem aspirational, you seem delusional.

Do You Really Need A Ferrari?

Do the design solutions you're developing really fit the project and the place where it's located?  I sincerely believe that every community should have great cultural institutions, but you don't build a Ferrari when a Ford will do the trick.  Find the right tools for the right tasks.

What's Under The Hood? 

No prospective creative partner is perfect, but you owe it to your project to "check under the hood" a bit.  Ask your design team to describe a previous project that ran into a snag or two, and what steps they took to address and resolve the challenges.  If they can't come up with a credible answer or, worse yet, say that nothing like that has ever come up --- RUN! 

It's easy for everyone to be happy and excited at the beginning of a project when the schedule and budget seem great, but what happens when you all hit that first big pothole together?

Built To Last?

Let's finish where we started --- talking about sustainability.  Is your project built to last?  Are you creating true "internal capacity" (one of my favorite topics!) that will help your organization and your organization's employees and volunteers constantly grow and improve?  Or are you happy to throw your lot in with a bunch of "one-stop shopping" hucksters who will promise to do all the hard work for you as long as you keep writing checks?  I can show you many new(er) museums that,  just a few years after they opened, are sorry they made that choice.

What do you think?  Did we miss any important "red flags"?  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.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

The Exhibit Aphorisms Decks (and a FREE GIVEAWAY!)

A number of years ago, science center consultant extraordinaire Harry White put together a fun way to collect some exhibit wisdom together in a handy, portable package -- the Exhibit Aphorisms decks!

The idea of an aphorism is to put some core truth in a memorably flippant way so that people who are “in the know” recognize it and those who don’t, think about it some more.  

So, the Exhibit Aphorisms decks are just like a standard deck of cards, except the face of each card contains a thought-provoking, exhibit-related saying or quote. 

Here are a few examples:

The first is from Ken Gleason:

The Three Ways an Exhibit Must Work.

1. Attraction

If they don't use it, it can't achieve anything.

2. Function.

It must work, keep working and be safe.

3. Education.

What we're for, and why we're doing it. 1 & 2 lead here.

From Ian Simmons: 

"The Survival of the Dullest"

Good exhibits are popular, get used, and therefore break down.

Dull exhibits don't get used, and so don't break down.

Therefore all interactive exhibitions, without maintenance, eventually tend towards the dull.

Others are shorter and reflect bitter experience:

Sufficient ruggedization of loose parts turns them into weapons.

For every hole or gap, there is a corresponding human limb or appendage to get wedged in it.

Making easy exhibits is difficult.

Making easy exhibits difficult is easy.

Then some come in pairs:

Any component which is ideal, cheap, and universally available will be discontinued by the time the exhibit that uses it is fully developed.

Any component that doesn't exist, so you have to devise it at great cost, will be in the next McMaster-Carr catalog.

Not all are directly about exhibits:

“Nobody flunked a Science Centre.”

Frank Oppenheimer

“The probability of somebody doing the absolutely inconceivable is never exactly zero.”

H. Richard Crane

“Visitors come to a Science Centre because it’s cheaper than the movies and less exhausting than the swimming pool.”

Gillian Thomas

Because the Exhibit Aphorism decks have never formally been for sale, getting hold of a deck has mainly involved running into Harry at a museum conference and asking for one.  (Although word on the street is that a Kickstarter campaign may be starting to introduce an updated Version 1 and a brand new Version 2 of the decks -- so stay tuned!)

But here's your COVID-safe, travel-free chance to win one of two FREE Exhibit Aphorisms decks, because we are doing an 

ExhibiTricks GIVEAWAY!

For your chance to win, simply send an email to info (at) orselli (dot) net with the subject line, "I want an Exhibit Aphorisms deck!" before February 28, 2021.  That's it.  We will randomly select two winners and contact them directly after the 28th.

Good luck, and remember:

"A consultant is a person who borrows your watch and then charges to tell you the time."

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.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

How Can Museums Find Their "Next" Practices?

I've just started the new season of Museum FAQ videos over on the POW! YouTube channel -- a series of meaty conversations with a wide range of museum professionals from all around the world.

The latest episode features a lively conversation with Kathy McLean about "next" practices for museums instead of "best" practices.  You can get a sense of how the conversation was framed by looking at the graphic at the top of this post.  Kathy and I touched on ways that museum workers and the communities they engage with can help redefine the values, roles, processes, and relationships of museums. 

One of my favorite things that Kathy said during our chat was, "if you are really trying to do something new and different, why do you need to see an existing "best" practice from another museum?'  We discussed (and linked to) some great projects as part of our video, like the storefront theater events in Miami and The Mile Long Opera in NYC.

Well worth a view, if I do say so myself. 

And when you click over to the POW! YouTube channel, hit that big red SUBSCRIBE button so you don't miss any of the new Museum FAQ videos coming up!

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.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"