In this article, Nathalie Caplet, from Cap Sciences in Bordeaux, France, outlines how French and European museums in general cater to young audiences in exhibitions while otherwise targeting the general public. Caplet provides examples of how institutions engage children using old or more innovative techniques.
In this article, Robert Kiihne, Director of Exhibits at the USS Constitution Museum, describes the planning and research process associated with the "Sailors Speak" and "A Sailor's Life for Me!" exhibitions. The team studied how to encourage Family Learning through hands-on, minds-on, exhibit elements. This article describes research results and makes recommendations about how to better engage multi-generational groups in the educational experience.
This article features critiques of the "Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear" exhibit at the Liberty Science Center. Brenda Cowan, Chairperson of the Graduate Exhibition Design program at SUNY/Fashion Institute of Technology, Paul Orselli, Chief Instigator of Paul Orselli Workshop, and Martin Weiss, Science Interpretation Consultant at the New York Hall of Science, share their analysis of the exhibition and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, Jim Spadaccini, Director of Ideum, examines open source software packages designed specifically for museums. Spadaccini provides practical advice on how this software can be utilized in museums.
In this article, Beat Hachler, co-director of Stapferhaus Lenzburg, discusses his institution's unique exhibit design approach, which uses unconventional strategies to "represent the present." In particular, Hachler describes the techniques used in "A Matter of Faith: An Exhibition for Believers and Non-Believers" and its impact on visitors and museum staff.
In this article, Jenni Martin, Director of Education at Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, describes how and why her team developed a new exhibit, "The Wonder Cabinet" for children ages 4 and under and accompanying adults. Martin outlines the design process associated with this exhibit, noting challenges and best practices.
In this article, Minda Borun, Director of Research and Evaluation at The Franklin Institute Science Museum, discusses how and why exhibit designers need to design experiences for multi-age groups (families) not individual users. Borun sites exemplars from the field who've successfully created immersive experiences for multi-generational visitors.
In this article, Julia Rose, Director of the West Baton Rouge Museum, analyzes increased efforts by museums to include references of slave life histories into their interpretations. Rose discusses the strategies used by museums and challenges they face when presenting the tough stories of slave life.
In this article, Joanne Jones-Rizzi, Program Director, People & Cultures, at the Science Museum of Minnesota, explores the role of museums in presenting and translating cultural experiences for visitors. Her perspective is based on twenty years of community-centered work in the field at two museums.
In this article, Andrea Douglas, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the University of Virginia Art Museum (UVMA), discusses UVMA's "Forming American Identities: Our Southern Legacy" project. This umbrella project incorporated "The Landscape of Slavery: The Plantation in American Art" exhibition, the "William Christenberry: Site/Possession" exhibition, "The Dresser Trunk Project" exhibition along with several public outreach programs. Douglas addresses how staff and visitors were prepared to interpret this difficult content as well as how the community responded to their efforts.
In this article, Suzanne Gaskins, Professor of Psychology at Northeastern Illinois University and researcher at the Chicago Children's Museum, discusses how museums should design exhibitions to support and encourage family interaction. Specifically, Gaskins discusses how caregivers' understanding of the exhibition influences their engagement and their use of resources offered by the museum to support their engagement as well as cultural differences in caregivers' understandings of how experiences like those in a "hands-on" museum are related to learning and what their should be, and how they
This article features critiques of the "The Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals" exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History. Barbara Brennan, Senior Exhibition Designer at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Rebecca Singer, Youth Audiences Manager at Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens, and Andrew Pekarik, policy analyst in the Office of Policy and Analysis at the Smithsonian Institution, share their analysis of the exhibition and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
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Barbara BrennanRebecca SingerAndrew Pekarik