Museum Exhibitions change lives, maybe more than any other media. Sculpture, painting, film, dance, theater and music, all combined with the visitor into one experience.  I believe that museum exhibitions have the opportunity to change lives.

Friday, I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum .   The building is non nondescript, I was struck by the brutality of the steel and concrete, the architecture is very abrupt and bunker like.  Visitors enter through metal detectors.   At the entrance is a picture of Stephen Tyrone Johns, I noticed the picture, but didn’t think much about it until I was leaving the museum (Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns, was killed at the Museum by an antisemite).

I started my visit on the lower level at “State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda”.  I was struck by the similarities between exhibition design and propaganda, both using, simple messages, theatrical tools, strong visuals, communicating the same message in different methods, repetition of messages and using crowds to build energy.  I am not suggesting the exhibitions are propaganda, but exhibition design does incorporate some of the tools of propaganda.

Next I visited “Daniel’s Story”, to me the exhibition looked dated.

Then I went upstairs to the second floor and visited “From Memory to Action: Meeting the Challenge of Genocide” a nice enough exhibition, although I was the most impressed by the call to action and the use of the Pen Scribe to record their pledges.

I was feeling as if I was missing part of the museum.  I had heard about the museum for years and I knew there was more to the museum.  I went to the information desk and “asked where is the main gallery?”  The docent gave me a map and directed me to the elevator to the left of the entrance.  The wall of the entrance to the elevator is clad is cor ten steel and very imposing. A floor staff memeber gave us an over view of what were we going to see on the three upper floors. The permananet exhibition “The Holocaust” is divided into three floors; “Nazi Assault,” “Final Solution,” and “Last Chapter.”

Starting on the forth floor,  the experience starts with, the “Nazi Assault”, then the third floor with “Final Solution,” then on the second floor with the “Last Chapter”. On the forth floor I was thinking, “okay this is a typical theatrical exhibition”. Then I smelled the odor of the interior of the rail car similar to those used to transport thousands of victims , smelled the leather of thousands of shoes of victims and I felt as if I was being manipulated, by the “Last Chapter”, I was changed.

Yes, I had been manipulated by the exhibition, but I learned to trust the authority of the museum and allowed myself to be changed.  I am a strong believer in the democratization of content, working in a transparent “open source” method and involving the visitor. But, there is no way this story can be told by anyone other than those that lived it. I do not want to hear the thoughts of others, I want exactly what the Museum provided, a clear, concise, well edited, factual, theatrical and life changing experience.  The museum and the Holocaust survivors are the authirity on the content, and we as visitors need to repect the history and the survivors.

I have never thought of walking as an interactive activity, but the museum uses the visitors journey through the museum  from the forth floor, third floor then to the second floor, as a tool to emotionally attach the visitor to the content.  When I was working at Liberty Science Center, we had a simple table top activity, visitors could move a tape head across recorded magnetic tape and hear the recorded sound.  By changing the perspective from moving the tape head, instead of  moving the tape, visitors understood the tape head “reads” information of the magnetic tape.  The Holocaust Museum uses a similar approach, instead of presenting us a theatrical show, we walk across the theater stage and become actors in the show. I loved the white spaces in between each floor, that allowed me to take a breath and go on to the next act in the “show”.  I enjoyed the use of art, included in the museum at each “pause” between the galleries.

“Gravity” by Richard Serra
“Consequence”  by Sol LeWitt
“Memorial” by Ellsworth Kelly

In “The Holocaust” galleries, there were children some as young as seven or eight.  Then I understood the need for “Daniel’s Story”, this content is not appropriate for children, but it is important to tell the Holocaust history and “Daniel’s Story” presents the content in a way kids can digest.

When leaving the museum, the brutal bunker architecture made sense , this is a Museum built to survive attacks.

When I reached the second floor of  ”The Holocasut” I was changed, I had become emotionally attached to the content.  To be honest I was overwhelmed and wanted to leave the museum. Before I left, I paused at the theater and listened to a Holocaust survivor describing seeing soldiers and taking off his wooden shoe to hit the soldier in the head, the soldier an American said , “I am here to save you, not kill you”.  I stood at the back of the theater and cried.

At the exit to “The Holocaust” gallery:

“First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak out because I was Protestant.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

2011 Solar Decathlon

Last October I was invited to be a juror for the 2011 Solar Decathlon.  The Solar Decathlon is a semi-annual event (next Decathlon 2013) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s – National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) .  I was selected as one of three jurors of the Communication Jury.  We were given the task of ranking the work of 20 international teams.  Each team was given very specific requirements to create a solar home.   The Communication jury was tasked with ranking, how the teams “communicate” their project to the public.

Being a juror gave me an opportunity to clarify my criteria for reviewing an exhibition.  The items I “looked for” from each team:

1.   Was there a communication objective?

• Did the project establish a brand?
• Was there a “Voice of communication”, did the team communicate in specific and fitting “voice”?
• Did the team create measurable objectives?

2.   Is there a visible strategy to achieve the objectives?

3.   Did the team use the tools of Museum 1.0 ?, 2.0?, 3.0?, 4.0 ?

It was very interesting sitting with the two other jurors and discussing how we ranked the teams.  The other two jurors were a Director of Marketing of a Prefab home company and a communications consultant.  One of the interesting items that came out of our deliberations was that the content of the projects was of less importance than “how” the team communicated their project.

As a jury we came up with a standard to judge the teams, “did the teams communicate in order to create a change in behavior”?  We were given a matrix to judge each team on several areas, most areas were very broad.  As I went through the houses, I took photos and looked for the typical tools of an exhibition, for each team I broke the visit into; Pre Visit, Visit and Post Visit.

Pre Visit

1. Did the website communicate; a project objective? a “voice” of communication?, was there “brand” established?,
2. Did the Video of project communicate the objectives?
3. Did the website and video show market research?
4. Was there an established Visitor Demographic?
5. Is there a stated “Communication Plan”?
6. Were there interviews with a sample of the demographic?
7. Were there clear “project filters” (link)
8. Was there a Press Release?
9. Did the website customize content to the viewer?

Visit

1. Did the guide provide “Talking Points” of the project?
2. Was it apparent that the staff was trained?
3. Was there a “Demonstrator of the technology”?
4. Were we oriented to the project?
5. Was there a Threshold (Link)
6. Is there a clear “Big Message”
7. Is there a hierarchy of Content?
8. Is there a “Call to action”?
9. What type of layout, linear? Chronological?, Exploratory? aware of different learning styles? Vista? Surprises? An overview of the entire project?
10. Was the “voice” of the communication? Was the “voice” consistent?
11. Did the communication “speak” to the demographic?
12. Did the project show feedback from the demographic?
13. Did the interpretation customize the interruption to different learning styles?
14. Did the team attire and attitude support the communication plan?
15. Demonstrations?
16. Did the team use physical interactives?
17. Were there team photos? Was it apparent that the project was built by a team ?
18. Did the project use Technology to communicate? Video, ipad, iphone, QR codes?
19. Was the communication innovative?
20. Did the project set a context for the content?
21. Was there a consistent use of font, color,
22. Are the exhibits ADA compliant?
23. Were there samples of the materials and technology used? Were there Manipulatives (wall sections, etc.) ?
24. Map, “where am I”?
25. Did the team collect visitor information?
26. Was there a physical model of how the technology works?
27. Photos of users, “oh I look like them” matching to demographic
28. Did the team incorporate quotes?
29. Was there interpretation of the content?
30. Was there a clear visitor flow?
31. As jurors we were not allowed to review electronic communication, but the teams were allowed to describe their use of electronic media

Post Visit

1. Did the project achieve the stated objective?
2. Did the website “continue” the visit and give links to additional content?
3. Was there a follow up “Call to action”?
4. Was there an opportunity to “Join the community”?
5. Was there an opportunity to Donate?
6. Was there a link to “Press Materials”?
7. Was there a communication plan available?

2011 Solar Decathlon Flickr Photos

Yes, working in museums is a career.  Below is a comprehensive listing of schools for museum design, exhibition design and museum studies.

One of the most frequently asked questions about the museum field is “how do I get started”?   Many people in the museum field either studied, Museum Studies, Art History, Fine Art or Design.  Those who progress to working as senior staff often go back to school for a Master of Business Administration.

Areas of study for museum positions:
Curator – Museum Studies / Art History / Fine Art
Exhibition Designer / Director of Exhibitions – Industrial Design / Set Design / Fine Art
Educator / Director of Education – Psychology / Early Childhood Education / Museum Studies
Director – Art History / Business / Museum Studies
Registrar – Museum Studies / Art History / Fine Art
Volunteer Manager / Docent Manager – Art History / Marketing / Education
Historian – Advanced degree in their area of expertise
Marketing / Director of Marketing – Marketing / Graphic Design
Botanist, Scientist, Physicist, Paleontologist – Advanced degree in their area of expertise
Development Director- Philanthropy / Museum Studies / Marketing / Public Relations
Marketing Director – Marketing / Communications
Operations Manager – Technical School / Contractors License
Book Keeper / Chief Financial Officer – Business / Accounting

There are people woking at museums who did not study in the areas outlined above. To work at a museum you don’t “have to” follow the career path above, but it helps.

I often find my self in meetings with people from outside the museum field who make comments such as; “museums are no different than any other business” or “museums need to be more like a businesses”.  Then I find myself in the uncomfortable position of saying “yes, museums are  “in business” and yes, museums could learn from typical business practices.  But, museums are not a “business” and museums are different than a business”.  The objective of a business is to be profitable, the objective of a museum is to communicate (link to museum definition).  Museums need to stay “in business” but profit is not their objective.  I would recommend anyone interested in working in museums to seek out a good program in the their area of interest.  I find It very helpful to be immersed in the culture of museums prior to working at a museum. The best museum programs, have professors who work for or at a museum and can introduce students to the museum culture.

I have put together a list of the Museum Studies, Museum Education and Museum Exhibition Design programs.  Thank you all to those that help with completing the list!  Please contact me if I have omitted any programs.

Museum Studies/Museology

Arizona State University
B.A. in Museum Studies
http://art.asu.edu/museumstudies/

Baylor University
Degree: B.A., B.S., and M.A. in Museum Studies
http://www.baylor.edu/Museum_Studies/

Brown University
Degree: M.A. in Public Humanities
http://www.brown.edu/Research/JNBC/maprogram.php

Chadron State College
Degree: B.A. in Applied History with a Museum Studies Major
http://www.csc.edu/socialsci/museum/degrees.csc

Cooperstown Graduate Program
Degree: M. A in History Museum Studies
http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/cgp/curriculum/curriculum.html

Florida International University
Degree: Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies
http://thefrost.fiu.edu/edu_studies.htm

George Washington University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Studies
http://programs.columbian.gwu.edu/museumstudies/

Harvard University Extension School
Degree: M.L.A. in Museum Studies
http://www.extension.harvard.edu/degrees-certificates/museum-studies

Indiana University – Purdue
Degree: M.A. degree in Museum Studies
http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/mstd/

Institute of American Indian Arts
Degree: Associate of Fine Arts, B.A. in Museum Studies
http://www.iaia.edu/academics/degree-programs/museum-studies/

Johns Hopkins University
Degree: MA in Museum Studies
http://advanced.jhu.edu/academic/museum/

John F. Kennedy University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Studies
http://www.jfku.edu/Programs-and-Courses/College-of-Graduate-Professional-Studies/Museum-Studies.html

New York University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Studies
http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/fineart/academics/curatorial.htm

San Francisco State University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Studies
http://www.sfsu.edu/~museumst/

Seton Hall University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Professions
http://www.shu.edu/academics/artsci/ma-museum-professions/

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Degree: Undergraduate Special Bachelor Degree
http://www.museum.siu.edu/studies.html

Southern University at New Orleans
Degree: M.A. in Museum Studies and Cultural Preservation
http://www.suno.edu/Colleges/Museum/

Syracuse University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Studies
http://vpa.syr.edu/art-design/design/graduate/museum-studies

Texas Tech University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Science
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/program.html

Tusculum College
Degree: B.A. in Museum Studies
http://www2.tusculum.edu/museumstudiesprogram/

University of Central Oklahoma
Degree: B.A. / M.A. in History and Museum Studies
http://www.libarts.uco.edu/history/Undergraduates.htm#History_-_Museum_Studies

University of Colorado, Boulder
Degree: M.S. in Museology
http://www.colorado.edu/catalog/catalog10-11/courses/museumandfieldstudies.html

University of Denver
Degree: M.A. in Art History with Museum Studies Concentration
http://www.du.edu/art/programs/MAahMuseum.html

University of Florida
Degree: M.A. in Museum Studies
http://www.arts.ufl.edu/programs/museumstudies.aspx

University of Illinois at Chicago
Degree: Professional Certification Museum Studies (graduate and undergraduate)
http://www.uic.edu/depts/arch/ah/museumstudies.shtml

University of Kansas
Degree: M.A. in Museum Studies
http://www2.ku.edu/~distinction/cgi-bin/overview146

University of Leicester (UK)
MA/MSc and PhD programs in Museum Studies
http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies

University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Degree: B.A. in Art History and Museum Studies
http://www.uncg.edu/art/undergraduate/history

University of Oklahoma
Degree: M.A. in Liberal Studies, Museum Studies Option (100% Online)
http://www.ou.edu/content/cls/aud/prospective_students/graduate_programs/museum.html

University of Oregon
Degree: A Master of Arts Management
http://aad.uoregon.edu/programs/degrees

University of South Florida
Degree: Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.gradcerts.usf.edu/certificates/xms.html

University of Washington
Degree: M.A. in Museology
http://depts.washington.edu/uwmuse/

Virginia Commonwealth University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Studies
http://www.pubapps.vcu.edu/bulletins/prog_search/?did=20153

Walsh University, North Canton, Ohio
Degree: BA Museum Studies
http://www.walsh.edu/museumstudies.htm

Museum Anthropology
Arizona State University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Anthropology
http://shesc.asu.edu/node/316

Columbia University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Anthropology
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/anthropology/graduate/main/index/museum_anthro.html

Museum Communication
University of the Arts
Degree: M.A. in Museum Communication
http://www.uarts.edu/academics/visual-arts/ma-museum-communication

Philanthropy
Indiana University at Purdue
Degree: Master of Arts in Philanthropic Studies
http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/education/grad.aspx

Museum Education
Bank Street College
Degree: M.S. in Leadership in Museum Education
http://www.bnkst.edu/graduate-school/academics/programs/museum-education-overview/

George Washington University
Degree: M.A. Teaching in Museum Education
http://gsehd.gwu.edu/programs/mep/masters

Tufts University
Degree: M.A. in Museum Education
http://ase.tufts.edu/museumstudies/masters.asp

University of the Arts
Degree: M.A. in Museum Education
http://www.uarts.edu/academics/visual-arts/ma-museum-education

Museum Exhibition and Design
Art Center
Degree: Master Industrial Design
http://www.artcenter.edu/accd/programs/graduate/industrial_design.jsp

CCA
Degree: Bachelor of Fine Art
http://www.cca.edu/academics/industrial-design

Cooper Union
Degree: Bachelor of Architecture
http://cooper.edu/architecture

The Corcoran College
Degree: MA Exhibit Design
http://www.corcoran.edu/degree-programs/graduate/ma-exhibition-design

Fashion Institute of Technology (S.U.N.Y.)
Degree: M.A. in Exhibition Design
http://www.fitnyc.edu/2868.asp

MIT
Degree: Master of Media Arts and Sciences
http://www.media.mit.edu/about

Pratt Institute
Degree: Master of Industrial Design
http://www.pratt.edu/academics/art_design/art_grad/industrial_design_grad/

Royal College of Art
Degree: Master of Arts, Design Interaction
http://www.rca.ac.uk/Default.aspx?ContentID=161712

NYU
Degree: Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.) degree
http://itp.tisch.nyu.edu/object/itp_overview.html

San Francisco Art Institute
Degree: M.A. in Museum Exhibition and Museum Studies
http://www.sfsu.edu/~museumst/

Sci-Arch
Degree: Bachelor of Architecture
http://www.sciarc.edu/portal/programs/undergraduate/index.html

University of the Arts
Degree: M.A. in Museum Exhibition, Planning and Design
http://www.uarts.edu/academics/design

University of California, Davis
Exhibition Design, BA
http://design.ucdavis.edu/

Collections Management
Eastern Illinois University
Degree: M.A. in Historical Administration
http://catalog.eiu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=11&poid=1275

Curatorial Studies/Curatorial Practice
Bard College
Degree: M.A. in Curatorial Studies
http://www.bard.edu/graduate/

California College of the Arts
Degree: M.A. in Curatorial Practice
http://www.cca.edu/academics/graduate/curatorial-practice

Curatorial Studies/Curatorial Practice
Brigham Young University
Degree: B.A. in Art History and Curatorial Studies
http://visualarts.byu.edu/programs/ma_art_history.php

California College of the Arts
Degree: M.A. in Curatorial Practice
http://www.cca.edu/academics/graduate/visual-critical-studies/curatorial-practice

Certificates
California State University at San Bernardino
Degree: Undergraduate Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.csusb.edu/majorsdegrees/undergraduate/baAnthropology/CertificatePrograms.aspx

Indiana University at Purdue
Degree: Undergraduate Certificate in Museum Studies
http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/mstd/index.php/undergraduate

Northern Illinois University
Degree: Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.niu.edu/mstudies/

Northwestern University
Degree: Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.niu.edu/mstudies/

Smith College
Degree: Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.smith.edu/siams/

University of Iowa
Degree: Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.uiowa.edu/~mstudies/MuseumStudiesCertificate.htm

University of Oregon
Degree: Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies
http://aad.uoregon.edu/programs/certificates/museum-studies-certificate

University of South Carolina
Degree: Certificate in Museum Management
http://www.cas.sc.edu/mcks/museummgmt/

University of Tulsa
Degree: Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.utulsa.edu/academics/colleges/Henry-Kendall-College-of-Arts-and-Sciences/Certificates/Museum%20Studies.aspx

Utah State University
Degree: Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.usu.edu/degrees/index.cfm?id=209

Canadian Programs
Association of Manitoba Museums, Winnipeg
Degree: Professional Certificate in Museum Practice
http://www.museumsmanitoba.com/courses/index.html

Alberta Museums Association, Edmonton
Degree:Certificate in Museum Practice
http://www.museums.ab.ca/what-we-do/professional-development/certificate-in-museums-studies.aspx

Museums Association of Saskatchewan, Regina
Degree: Professional Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.saskmuseums.org/professional_development

Ryerson University
Program: This is a joint program in Photographic Preservation & Collections Management
Degree: M.A. in Photographic Preservation; Collections Management
http://www.imagearts.ryerson.ca/photopreservation/program.html

Sir Sandford Fleming College, Peterborough
Degree: Certificate in Museum Studies
http://www.flemingc.ca/programs/museum-management-and-curatorship

University of Calgary
Degree: Minor in Museum and Heritage Studies
http://arts.ucalgary.ca/departments-programs/museum-and-heritage-studies

Université de Montréal
Degree: M.A. in Museology
http://www.etudes.umontreal.ca/index_fiche_prog/213110_desc.html

University of Toronto
Degree: Degree of Master of Museum Studies (MMSt)
http://www.ischool.utoronto.ca/degrees/mmst

University of Victoria
Degree: Graduate Professional Certificate (GPC)
http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/cultural/graduate/

Resources:
Smithsonian listing of museum study programs:
http://museumstudies.si.edu/training.html

LinkedIn thread regarding the best schools for museum studies

*I studied Fine Art at Skidmore College (Bachelor Science, Fine Art) and Industrial Design at Pratt Institute (Master Industrial Design)

Photo: Robert Motherwell, “Elegy to the Spanish Republic, 108″ 1965-1967, Collection of MOMA, Photo by Mark Walhimer 2011

A year ago we started work on a 15,000 square foot start up Science Center.  Most Science Centers cost approximately $350-$500 per sq. ft. (see 2011 exhibition cost survey).  This Science Center had neither the time nor the budget to go through the typical museum design process; prototyping, value engineering, fabrication and installation process.  I suggested an “off the shelf” process.  We would create schematic designs of the areas of the science center, create a storyline for each area, suggest several iconic exhibits, create an a color palette, then go and look for new or used existing exhibits that would work within the developed frame work.  Using this methodology, we set a budget of $1.2 m for 15,000 square feet ($80 per square foot).  For the $1.2 m, we took the project through 50% design development, purchased the exhibits, managed the project, shipped the exhibits and exhibition installation.   We were able to design, purchase, deliver and install the exhibits in less than one year at a significantly lower cost.

In the process of working for the client we developed www.museum-exhibits.com as an internal website for tracking exhibits and vendors.  Along the way we realized that museum-exhibits had greater potential than just internal uses.  In the past I have written about the concept of the Hub Museum, museums that share resources.  We realized that museum-exhibits had become a curated “clearing house” for resources.  As museum-exhibits.com was developed for internal use it is a work in progress, but I now feel confident to share the site and ask for feedback.  I have now made www.museum-exhibits.com a public website.  As a follow up to this post I am interested in feedback on the website and will create an online survey.  I am also interested in suggestions for exhibits, sculptures and materials from vendors, and museum suppliers to be included.  Please use the vendor form to make suggestions.

museum-exhibits.com is an online resource for educational exhibits for museums, science centers, children’s museums, zoos and natural history museums.  The website content includes “off the shelf” exhibits, specialty effects and interactive kinetic sculpture for family learning environments.

“Off the Shelf” Exhibit Definition:

An already existing museum exhibit.   A proven museum / science center exhibit available for shipping within 6-12 weeks of contract signing.  Includes, one year warranty, maintenance manual, listing of replacement parts and electrical requirements.

What is the future of museum interactivity?

Reaching consensus on the stages of development of museums is difficult, but for the purpose of this conversation, I will use:

Museum 1.0
First Generation Museum, “Cabinet of Curiosity”
Collection cases, static displays, dioramas, object centric
•    Mutter Museum

Museum 2.0
Second Generation Museum / Science Center
Collection cases with push buttons and cranks
•    Museum of Science, Boston

Museum 3.0
Third Generation Museum / Science Center
Open ended, multi-layered and visitor centric and encourages conversations
•    Exploratorium

Museum 4.0
Fourth Generation Museum / Science Center
The Museum / Science Center is without walls, the museum experience starts prior to the visit to the “bricks and mortar” location and continues after the visit to the museum.  Museums of the fourth generation can / will use the techniques of museums 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, plus the museum experience is customized to the visitor (similar to Web 3.0).  The visitor experience “meets” the visitor at their level of engagement, interest and knowledge.  The museum experience is customized to the visitor prior to the museum visit.   I do not know of any museum that I would refer to as Museum 4.0

Nomenclature becomes difficult, because web 1.0, web 2.0 and web 3.0 are often used in combination with Museum 1.0, Museum 2.0, Museum 3.0, Museum 4.0.  For more information about the development of the web Web 3.0 Explained

Many of the phases of the development of museums is based on the work of Piaget and Constructivist Learning Theory.  Piaget “suggested that through processes of accommodation and assimilation, individuals construct new knowledge from their experiences. When individuals assimilate, they incorporate the new experience into an already existing framework without changing that framework”.  In other words; when we don’t know why the sky is blue, we each come up with our own theory of why the sky is blue until other knowledge challenges our theory.  To change our “knowledge” of why the sky is blue, first we need to deconstruct our current theory, then replace the previous knowledge with new knowledge.

The Exploratorium is the forefather of today’s Science Center.  Many of the practices of the Exploratorium have now migrated to Art Museums, History Museums, Aquariums and Children’s Museums.  Science Museums prior to the Exploratorium (I will make a distinction between Science Museum and a Science Center, as Science Center incorporates the Constructivist Learning Theory), showed visitors information, the Exploratorium, encouraged visitors to deconstruct their previous knowledge.  Earlier Science Museums assumed that all visitors learned in the same way, assuming that by exhibiting a geode and a label, all visitors could assimilate the causes that created a geode.  It was the Museum of Science (Boston), that took content beyond the previous museum model of “Cabinet of Curiosities” by adding push buttons to diorama graphic panels, the museum created the first interactive exhibits and made the “knowledge that of the visitor”.

It was the Exploratorium that took museums to the next phase of their development, by having vistors perform science experiments instead of having “science shown”, as such the Exploratorium incorporated the theories of Piaget.  As an adjunct to Art Museums; Children’s Museums, grew from Art museums and the “teaching collection” of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Brooklyn Museum).  Since Children’s Museums grew from the teaching collection of an Art Museums, Children’s Museums have always had a hands on approach.  During the same time as the opening of the Exploratorium, Kinetic Art was developing and the Exploratorium incorporated artists into the development of exhibits.

Previously, I believed that “theming” was the start of the next phase in the development of museums, but I no longer believe that to be the case.  Theming or ”the use of an overarching theme…to create a holistic and integrated spatial organization of a…venue” provides a context for the content of an exhibition.  Although we require a context for knowledge, I don’t believe the incorporation of theming to be a milestone in the development of museums.  I now see “theming” as a continuation of dioramas, as “walkthrough dioramas”.

Web 3.0 or the “Semantic Web”, is thought to be the next phase of the development of the world wide web.  Similarly, I believe the next phase in the development of museums, Museum 4.0 will closely follow the Web 3.0 or  a web of content “that can be processed directly and indirectly”.  One of the most difficult concepts to communicate is that of interconnections, the goal of Museums 4.0 will be that of interconnections.  As a continuation of my concept of the Hub Museum, the “museum” will no longer be a location but a web of locations and interconnections, starting before the “museum” visit and continuing after the visit to a physical location.

In the next blog post “Future of Interactivity, Part II”, I will explore types of interactivity, philosophies of interactivity and the future technologies of interactivity.

References:

History of Museums “Cabinet of Curiosities”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_Curiosities

World’s Oldest Museum? http://uk.io9.com/5805358/the-story-behind-the-worlds-oldest-museum-built-by-a-babylonian-princess-2500-years-ago?skyline=true&s=i

Jean Piaget, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget

Constructivism (learning theory),  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(learning_theory)

First Interactive Museum, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_museum

Museum of Science (Boston), http://www.mos.org/exhibits_shows/current_exhibits&d=1223

Exploratorium History,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploratorium

Learning Styles, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles

Museum of Science (Boston), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Science_(Boston)

History of Children’s Museums, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children’s_museum

Theming, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theming

Kinetic Art, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_art

Web 3.0, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web

Note:

There are limited online resources for the history of museums and science centers, I will continue to update the above resources, mw

1. Evaluation and Market Research – Prior to opening the exhibition at Ellis Island we held two events in the Bay Area to evaluate the exhibition and gather public reaction.  The first event was a smaller event, we invited 100 museum professionals and “friends of museums” to an invitation event and used a  20 question survey about the exhibition to better understand the needs and impressions of the exhibition of potential museum clients.  Museums rent traveling exhibitions on a three month basis and we wanted to understand needs and suggestions of institutions.   Using the information gathered from the first event we made changes to the exhibition, changing the layout, installing artifacts and making changes to signage.  Then we held a second “event” at the San Mateo County Fair.  Over the course of 10 days at the San Mateo County Fair 120,000 people visited the exhibition.  It is great to ask people what they think?,  but seeing how 10,000 people a day use the exhibition was invaluable.
2. Same – Same but different – In many ways a traveling exhibition is the same as any other exhibition, but…The exhibition needs to be able to ship and the exhibition needs to drive attendance  and most importantly people in many different a cites need to be interested in renting the exhibition.   For more about how to design an exhibition see; “Museum Exhibition Design”
3. Make Changes –  Now we understood the need’s of museum clients, the general public and had a good understanding of how the exhibition will be used.  We made several changes to the exhibition; added exhibition cases, changed graphics, added props, added audio visual effects and added models.  I would recommend that people do not spend their entire fabrication budget prior to testing with the public, we are so glad that we had the funds to make changes prior to the premier at Ellis Island.
4. Public Relations – Mr. Robert Luke, a former inmate of Alcatraz Penitentiary graciously offered to be part of the opening at Ellis Island.  Mr. Luke now 84 years old, was arrested for bank robbery and was an inmate at Alcatraz.  He was at the event October 1st to cut the ribbon and was available for press events.  Over the course of the last two weeks more than 20 press organizations have picked up his story and included news of the opening of the exhibition.   I have never seen 17-22 year olds so engaged as they were speaking with Mr. Luke, they asked questions, he joked with them and kept them fully engaged for 45 minutes.  Make sure that you have a “news worthy story” to accompany your traveling exhibition.
5. Artifacts – People come to see traveling exhibitions to see artifacts.  The loan of artifacts is all about relationship building, people are loaning you priceless objects.  Build trust with the community of your exhibition topic.  Then work to the NPS standards (security hardware, Formaldehyde free wood, silica gel and monitor of case climate, etc.), transportation of art, loan agreements, insurance and insurance certificates.
6. Layout – Although our exhibition is 3000 square feet, different museums have different sized traveling exhibition spaces.  Make sure your exhibition has several configurations with a range of exhibition sizes (i.e. 2500 square ft to 3200 square feet).
   
7. Truck layout – Design the exhibition to fit into the truck trailer.  A typical trailer is 53′ long (52’6″ interior dimension), 101″ wide interior dimension and 110″ tall inside the doors.   Trailers vary from company to company, but you will want to request a lift-gate, air ride, climate controlled with side doors.  Confirm if the company uses trailers with a drop floor?  Many trailers do not have life gates requiring a fork life for off loading.
8. Measurements – Walk the path from the truck to the loading dock to the freight elevator to the traveling exhibit space and note all of the dimensions.  Make sure to do your walk through prior to the move in and load the trailer to accommodate the load in of the exhibition.
9. Crating –  Crates are built to protect their contents, they need to withstand the abuse of travel, loading and unloading and be built to take up as little room as possible.  Create a numbering system for the exhibition and identify each crate by the exhibition designation.  You will be able to stage the crates as you are loading in the exhibition by their number.  Often the best protection is an open cradle that can be easily rolled into the traveling exhibition area and unloaded.  Create slots to be able to life crates by both the width and length with a pallet jack.
10. Electrical – Once you have established the exhibition layout for the hosting venue, create an exhibition electrical plan. Work with the hosting venue to confirm the amperage, number of circuits and location of electrical.  Often you will need to  run electrical from a wall or ceiling to the exhibit location.
11. ADA – Traveling exhibition need to meet the ADA guidelines.  The Smithsonian has an excellent website on guidelines, Smithsonian ADA Guidelines
12. Load In / Load Out – Include in your exhibition budget, dollies (10 or more), pallet jack and a J bar.  Be sure to understand how much assistance you will receive from the hosting venue with loading in the the crates.
13. Exhibit Cleaning – Create a place for cleaning supplies within the exhibition, if it is easy to get to cleaning supplies people will be more likely to clean the exhibition.
14. Tools – A well organized tool cart makes all of the difference.  Standardize the exhibition hardware using a few different types of fasteners as possible (1/4-20, 3/8″, 1/2″).  Set up your tool cart to the different types of hardware.  Whenever possible the crate hardware is the same as the casework hardware, helping to simplify the installation.  Organize the tool cart with touch up paint and supplies on one side and tools on the other side.  Include in the tool cart, extra roto-locks, the exhibition installation manual and spare parts.
15. Photos – Once you have the signed contract for the rental of the exhibition you will want to visit the venue and walk the exhibition ”load in”, taking pictures from where the truck will unload to the traveling exhibition gallery.   A great help is to photograph the contents of each crate and put a copy of the photo inside of the crate lid.  The photo will be very helpful in reloading the crates three months latter.  After the artifacts are installed photograph each artifact case and send copies of the photos to the insurance company.  If there was ever to be a loss, the insurance copy will already have a copy of all of the installed artifacts.
16. Installation crew- The people that install traveling exhibitions tend to fall into three categories, movers (the people that will load and unload the trucks) Installers (the people that will set up and deinstall the exhibition) and art handlers (the people the will install the artifacts).  Depending on the number of artifacts you may also have a registrar to write the condition reports for each artifact.
17. Roto-Locks - Roto-locks are a concealed hardware system for connecting wall panels.  They allow walls to ship in cradles (6-10 walls per cradle) with wheels to allow quick set up of walls.
18. Insurance – Unlike a permanently installed exhibition, a traveling exhibition requires an insurance policy for each new venue to cover the exhibition and the artifacts that travel with the exhibition.  Each new venue will require an Certificate of Insurance.  At each venue the contracted Art Handlers and installers will need to show proof of insurance and sign an agreement that they are not employees of the venue or the sponsors of the exhibition.

Resources:
CASTEX Guidelines for touring exhibitions in Europe:  http://www.extrascience.eu/documents/Guidelines-CASTEX.pdf

Brass Knuckles c. 1958 from Mr. Ira Bowden General Foreman on Alcatraz Penitentiary 1958 – 1960.

The “Alcatraz: Life on the Rock” traveling exhibition opened at Ellis Island October 1st and was featured in the  New York Times, Arts section (see article below).  The exhibition is available for rental starting January 17th, 2011.  I will be at the Association of Science Technology Centers conference October 15th-18th to announce the premiere of the exhibition.  Please contact me regarding rental pricing and schedule availability.  I will create a follow up museumplanner.org blog post of “traveling exhibitions best practices” as my next post.

From the New York Times, October 6, 2011:
Alcatraz Exhibition at Ellis Island Museum
By RACHEL LEE HARRIS
Published: October 6, 2011

Richard Weideman has spent about 30 years on Alcatraz, though he hasn’t done anything illegal. He is a National Park Ranger who was assigned to supervise operations there in the early 1980s and has been devoted to the island and its many incarnations ever since.

Alcatraz, of course, is best known as America’s first maximum-security, minimum-privilege federal penitentiary, and that, along with the eerie stories about it, is what drew the Miser to the island on a trip to San Francisco several years ago. But as it turns out, Alcatraz was also a Civil War fort, built to protect Western land from attacks by Southern sympathizers; home to the West Coast’s first lighthouse, which guided ships along the rocky shoreline during the Gold Rush; a place of protest for American Indians, who seized the island shortly before Thanksgiving 1969 and occupied it for 19 months; a residence for the families of prison guards; and perhaps most surprising, a garden and bird sanctuary.

This rich history (and the fact that it was free with the purchase of a $13 ferry ride) is what drew the Miser to “Alcatraz: Life on the Rock,” a traveling exhibition sponsored by the National Park Service and Alcatraz Cruises, which opened at the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration last Saturday.

The restored gardens of Alcatraz, all 50,000 square feet of them, are “a treasure trove of documentary history” and a great place for garden archaeology, Mr. Weideman said in a telephone interview. Civil War-era ruins and roses native to Scotland that were thought to be extinct have turned up there. “The juxtaposition is phenomenal,” he said.

Thrill-seeking visitors will still get plenty of gory Alcatraz-as-prison action. The exhibition features audio documentary from convicts and guards who lived there; a reproduction of tunnels through which prisoners like Frank Morris tried to escape; an original letter written by Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz; and other artifacts, like a baseball initialed in blood, found in the prison’s exercise yard.

(Through Jan. 12; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily; free with the purchase of a ferry ticket to Ellis Island: $5 to $13; 201-604-2800,statuecruises.com.)

Link to the New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/arts/alcatraz-exhibition-at-ellis-island-museum.html

Kadoya Art House

As a follow up to the post “Museums are Hospitality”  I created a thread on the American Association of Museum’s Linkedin thread “What is the Business of Museums?“.   I suggested that “Museums are in the “hospitality” business, not the education business”.  The response has been great.  Although, Many people felt that I didn’t understand the business of museums or that it was “sacrilege” to say that museums are in the “Hospitality” business.  The longer the discussion continued, the more convinced I became that museums are in the “Hospitality” business, but now for different reasons.  The responses got me thinking about a “core” business of museums that is an intangible, that I will call “connecting with the muses“.

Museums grew out of Cabinets of Curiosities, a way for the wealthy to collect and organize the objects of their travels and education, you could think of Cabinets of Curiosities as a way for the rich to show off to guests.  There are many different types of hosts; humble hosts, conceited hosts, fun hosts, etc..  As museum professionals we are acting as the host of our museum and we dictate the type of experience for the visitor.

Last week I was in Union Square in San Francisco and walked into the St. Francis Hotel to use the bathroom. As soon as I walked in, I buttoned my jacket, looked in the mirror to check my hair, stood straighter. I wanted to become worthy of the “attitude” of the St. Francis, even if only to use the bathroom. My reasons, were because of the style, elegance and expense of the hotel.  Museums “ask” visitors to be better people, to reach their full potential. The reasons for me straightening my hair at the St. Francis are different then the reasons that I straighten my hair at the Museum of Modern Art, but the impact on me is the same, I want to be a better person. Creating an atmosphere of potential is a part of hospitality, “what can be”, “who can we become”, to nurture the spirit in each of us to be a better person. “Hospitality” is not pandering, it is elevating an experience.  Museums are “serving” their communities by asking them to be better people, not giving them what they “want”. We all want to be better people, but sometimes we need to be reminded to reach and that is the role of a museum, to remind us of our potential, what is possible and what has been accomplished.

I don’t believe any amount of market research or marketing would support, building the Cy Twombly Gallery.  But there it sits, one of the best museum experiences ever. The de Menil family had faith that building such a place would enrichen the lives of visitors. I felt as if, I was welcomed into the home of the de Menil’s and they shared with me their passion for the work of Cy Twombly. The de Menils are wonderful hosts.

This is a very personal list, some of my favorite places to “connect with the muses”

1. Cy Twonbly Gallery
2. Benesse Art Museums
3. Storm King
4. Museum of Jurasic Technology
5. City Museum
6. The Modern Museum of Art
7. Yale Art Gallery
8. Noguchi
9. Mass MOCA
10. DIA Beacon
11. The Earth Room

The United States National Park Service creates interpretation for 394 National Park sites including; national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lake shores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House.   The total number of visitors to the National Parks in 2010 was 281,303,769 visitors.  To support the development, design and project management of the interpretation of the sites, NPS created The Harper’s Ferry Center in 1970.  Services of the Harper’s Ferry Center:

• Historic Photos
• National Park Service Maps
• Publications
• Media Development

Many of the resources are free.  My favorite resource is the Museum Exhibit Planner template.  The freely distributable template runs on Filemaker for Mac or PC and “helps exhibit teams manage content elements and keep track of project goals, quality factors, and project requirements related to content.”  Museum planning teams can use the template “as is” or users can modify the template to meet their needs.

We have been using the template for several years for our database of exhibits and find it to be a fantastic tool.  If you decide to use the Museum Exhibit Planner template please forward feedback to Harper’s Ferry Center to help with correcting errors and enhancing the usefulness.

Resources:

National Park Service, Frequently Asked Questions:

http://www.nps.gov/faqs.htm

Harper’s Ferry “Museum Exhibit Planner”

http://www.nps.gov/hfc/products/imi/imi-ex-plan.htm

About the Harper’s Ferry Center:

http://www.nps.gov/hfc/

Do you have a question about Museum Master Planning or Exhibition Design that has not been answered on museumplanner.org?  Enter the question in the comment section below.