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
In this article, Charlie Trautmann, Executive Director of Sciencenter, and Maureen McConnell, Education Manager at Ecotarium and Exhibit Developer for Jan Crocker LLC, argue that museums who seek to change visitors perceptions and behavior through exhibitions on sustainability, they need to address four issues: the focus of the exhibition, the museum context, and post-visit engagement through programming. The authors include a checklist to help museum professionals plan exhibitions on sustainability.
In this article, Jennifer Bine, Project Director at the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), explores the role of project managers as key members of the exhibit development process. Bine analyzes how project managers have changed the structure and operation of museum exhibition teams at their institutions.
In this article, Amanda Griffith, Executive Director of Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., describes the work of the AHI New Deal Homestead Museum. Griffith describes how this small institution overcomes challenges related to operational expenses and lack of staff.
In this article, Kitty Connolly examines a case of in-house label production at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, where she serves as Botanical Education Manager. Connolly analyzes the costs and benefits of in-house label production.
In this article, Elizabeth Bogle, president of Limn Studios, analyzes how glass plays a wide variety of roles in exhibit design, all of which involve important technical issues. Bogle presents flat glass basics to help designers select the appropriate glass for their needs.
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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TEAM MEMBERS:
Barbara BrennanRebecca SingerAndrew Pekarik
This article outlines a case study using social media as a front-end evaluation tool to revise or redevelop content and themes from an exhibition at the Australian Museum, Sydney, on the topic of evil. The study also explored the time investment and the outcomes achieved through the use of social media compared with undertaking a front-end study in a more traditional way.
In this article, Rick Wurzer, lead interpreter, presents the challenges of creating exhibits at the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, a small institution with limited staff. Wurzer shares eight valuable lessons he learned during the center's exhibit renovation project.
In this article, Diane Willow, Assistant Professor of New and Combined Media in the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota, discusses how technology can be used to better engage children and families in the content of exhibitions. Willow highlights several exhibitions as they relate to how children interact with technologies in general and digital technologies in particular.
In this article, Gretchen Jennings, editor, and Maureen McConnell, Museum Exhibitions Consultant, summarize and comment on how professionals in the field responded to the question, "What, if anything is 'unexhibitable'?" They organize the topics into categories and explore the roles of time, place, culture, community, funding, and other issues play in shaping answers to this question.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Gretchen JenningsMaureen McConnellNational Association for Museum Exhibition
In this article, Kathleen McLean, Principal of Independent Exhibitions, responds to her 1994 article in the "Exhibitionist" to explore how far the field has come in terms of exhibit evaluation and what work remains. McLean discusses how criticism based on personal experiences is just the first step in creating a more reflective group of practitioners and better exhibits.