In this article, Paul Orselli, Chief Instigator of Paul Orselli Workshop, provides specific suggestions and examples of ways to become "greener" exhibit developers or fabricators. Orselli sorts his recommendations about sustainable materials and techniques into the 5 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink, and Resources.
This article features three critiques of the exhibition "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" on view at the Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore, MD) from October 3, 2009-September 5, 2010. Nigel Briggs, exhibition designer at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Kerr Houston, Professor of Art History at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and Peg Koetsch, curator of Exhibtions at VisArts and Founder/Director of Learning Insights, each provide an assessment of the exhibition.
In this article, Daniel Spock, Director of the Minnesota History Center Museum, explores the effects of public participation in museums. Spock acknowledges the challenges associated with increased public participation, but argues that museums should consider themselves as trusted "mediators" in this complex new age of media and information.
In this article, Katharine T. Corbett, formerly of the Missouri Historical Society, examines how visitor meaning making can be stimulated by exhibitry that explicitly addresses the social construction of history, using personal and familial history-making as a point of connection. The Missouri Historical Society's exhibition on the 1904 World's Fair presents an excellent example of how to successfully engage visitors in exploration of the past as it relates to their present.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Katharine T. CorbettNational Association of Museum Exhibition
In this article, Dan Tomberlin, an exhibit and graphic design consultant, investigates virtual museums. Tomberlin presents several definitions of these online museum-like experiences and then highlights several noteworthy museum sites. This article is a reprint from the "Exhibitionist" vol.15, no.2, Fall 1996.
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Dan TomberlinNational Association for Museum Exhibition
In this article, Kathleen McLean, Principal of Independent Exhibitions, explores the importance of criticism for museum exhibitions. McLean includes a model of how to assess an exhibition as a chronicle of personal experiences. This article is a reprint from the "Exhibitionist" vol. 12, no. 2, Fall 1998.
In this article, Janet Kamien, principal of Janet A. Kamien Museum Consulting, discusses controversial museum exhibitions. Kamien uses recent examples to argue that all controversy associated with exhibits is "situational," and these controversies usually stem from issues within the museum and staff and rarely from the actual subject matter.
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Janet Kamien
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
In this article, Barbara Berry, student in Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University, provides a "RFP: Go or No Go?" checklist as a tool to stimulate a discussion amongst museum staff about whether to respond to an RFP. Berry outlines the steps to take to evaluate an RFP and tips for crafting responses and moving forward.
In this article, Marjorie Schwarzer, Professor of Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, California, describes eleven of the most influential exhibitions from the 20th century, according to NAME members surveyed for her book "Riches, Rivals and Radicals: 100 Years of Museums in America."
In this article, Jessica Willcox, Creative Director at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, describes the development of the OMSI's "Green Exhibit Certification" guide--a tool to help developers rate the environmental sustainability of exhibitions and encourage exhibition development teams to improve their sustainability efforts. Excerpts from the tool are included in this article.
This article features perspectives from a variety of exhibit design consultants about their work and trends in the field. Authors include Douglas Simpson, Associate and Senior Exhibit Designer at Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc., Christopher Chadbourne, President of Christopher Chadbourne & Associates, Jeffrey Kennedy, President of Jeff Kennedy Associates, Inc., Michael Roper, Creative Director at Experience Media Group, Krent/Paffett/Carney Inc., Sara Smith, Director of Exhibit Development at Amaze Design, Inc., Sari Boren, Principal and Exhibit Developer at Wondercabinet Interpretive Design
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Douglas SimpsonChristopher ChadbourneJeffrey KennedyMichael RoperSara SmithSari BorenPeter KuttnerLarry Bell
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