Exhibit Development Workshop

Workshop Schedule

2007-06-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

The workshop schedule can be downloaded by clicking here.

We'll be having dinner together (on the house!) on Tuesday at Izzy's near your hotel. You can find more information about it here.

We've also made reservations at Bistro Aix for everyone (again 6:30pm, near your hotel) for Wednesday night. You can find more information about it here.

Travel Information

2007-06-07T05:39:00.000-07:00

Call Shawn on his cell phone if you need a hand: 415 420-3468

Walking Directions to the Exploratorium from the Coventry Inn

Getting to San Francisco from the Airport
Transportation info from San Francisco Airport to San Francisco

Transportation info from Oakland Airport to San Francisco

Accomodations
Coventry Inn

Key Readings

2007-06-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

10 Important Exhibit Design Criteria

by Robert L. Russell - Co-Editor of The Informal Learning Review and Ted Ansbacher

In several conference and workshop presentations, my colleague Ted Ansbacher and I have emphasized the central importance of the exhibit experience, that is, what people see and do in the exhibits. Many times museum designers talk about the educational outcomes of exhibits, often couched in terms of “cognitive” and “affective” outcomes of impacts. With this great emphasis on outcomes, we may shortchange the attention given to the exhibit experience itself. In this article, I offer my “Top Ten Points” (with more detailed suggestions) for designing engaging exhibit experience-based exhibits.

Design Chart for 10 Criteria

This is quick reference design flow chart that breaks down the process into:

Exhibit Qualities
Enhancing Visitor Experience (interaction)
Visitor Experience (mental processes)
Outcomes

Exhibit Development-Rules of Thumb

These are few pages about Exhibit Development written by Frank Oppenheimer and others. Though the museum has changed and advanced in many ways, these writings still manage to get at the core of how the Exploratorium creates and thinks about exhibit development.

Previous Workshops

2007-05-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

Information about previous workshops can be found on the Exploratorium website:
Fall 2002
Spring 2004
Fall 2004
ENET Partner Site Visit

Ken Finn

2007-05-15T13:47:00.001-07:00

Guest Speaker
Position: Educator
The idea of partners coming together to share their experiences and knowledge really excites me. Personally, my interactions with ExNET staff have helped to re-inspire and re-invigorate me, and I hope that we can capture the same spirit in these workshops. To that end, we want these workshops to be sharing sessions. Some of the workshops will be led by folks at the Exploratorium, others by staff at other partners, and some jointly. Although the workshop topics may vary, I hope the spirit will remain the same. Fresh ideas are always welcome, so please contact me with any workshop topic ideas or comments.

Tim Criswell

2007-05-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

criswell@mind.net
Exhibit Consultant, Science Works - Ashland, OR

Dr. Paul Doherty

2007-05-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker
Position: Senior Scientist

I am a physicist, teacher, author, and rock climber. After graduating summa cum laude from from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT class of 1970, physics) I earned my Ph.D. in solid-state physics from MIT in 1974. As a tenured professor of physics at Oakland University, 1974 through 1986, I taught a wide range of science courses, including physics, astronomy, geology, electronics, computer programming, and meteorology. In 1986, I came to the Exploratorium Teacher Institute and began my exhibit-based explorations in science. I became the co-director of the Teacher Institute in 1990 and the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Learning in 1992. Since 1997 I have been a senior staff scientist at the Exploratorium. To get a sense of Paul's adventuresome side, take a look at his excellent web site

Dr. Thomas Humphrey

2007-05-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker, The Exploratorium
Postition: Senior Scientist
Thomas is a nuclear physicist with a PhD from the California Institute of Technology. He is the recipient of numerous research grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Institution, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and others. He worked with Frank Oppenheimer, the founder/director, on the creation and development of the first programs at the Exploratorium. He is also a sculptor, and his work has been exhibited in the Bay Area and Cleveland, Ohio. exhibited in the Bay Area and Cleveland, Ohio. Weblink to Thomas being interviewed about the Explo's new Hearing collection.

Peter Richards

2007-05-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker, The Exploratoruim
Position: Senior Artist
Weblink
As a long-term Artist in Residence at the Exploratorium (an innovative science museum in San Francisco, California) Peter Richards shares his enthusiasm for nature and the elements through his work. His engaging outdoor public sculptures and immersive landscaped environments bring such phenomena as wind and tidal movement into a larger cultural context.

Inga Peterson

2007-05-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

e-mail address
IPeterson@Exploratorium.edu
Position: Project Manager
Years: 4
Areas of Interest:

William Bisbee

2007-05-08T16:22:00.001-07:00

williamtheartist@hotmail.com
Exhibit Technician - Grout Museum District

Aruna Namburi

2007-05-08T16:21:00.001-07:00

tjacks@terrehautechildrensmuseum.com
Exhibit Coordinator - Terre Haute Museum, Terre, IN

Bruce Quast

2007-05-08T16:20:00.002-07:00

bruceq@discoverycentermuseum.org
Exhibits Director - Discovery Center - Rockford, IL
Years in field: 10
Background in Graphic Arts/Illustration/Cartooning
Current Projects: Traveling Exhibition on Communication titled “Get the Message”, early childhood Pizza Parlor role play area, development of Agriculture exhibit gallery

Shane Pickett

2007-05-08T16:20:00.001-07:00

shane@sciencecentral.org
Director of Operations - Science Central, Ft. Wayne, IN

I've been in the field for 11 years as a jack of all trades, ie. Director of Operations.

Areas of Interest: too many to count. Puzzles and games and cool phenomena to demonstrate. Hopes for the workshop...more on planning an exhibit, and working with designers and contractors and other staff to see a project to completion (we have no plans to do in-house manufacture of exhibits).

Gena Garrett

2007-05-08T16:19:00.001-07:00

gena@emuseum.org
Science Educator - Evansville Museum

I've only been in my current position (Science Educator) since January 2006, but before that I was a part-time science workshop instructor at my museum for 6 years.

I have a geology degree, so the earth sciences are always close to my heart, but my biggest passions are teaching children about nature / stargazing and teaching girls about science. One of the projects I'm in charge of at work is a science workshop program for Girl Scouts, and I love it.

Since I've only been doing exhibition work for a little more than a year, I know that I have a LOT to learn. I also can't wait to meet others from the OTS project.

Carina Eizmendi

2007-05-08T16:15:00.001-07:00

ceizmendi@yahoo.com
Director of Museum Development - SciTech

Chris Hostetler

2007-05-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

chris@scienceworksmuseum.org
Executive Director - Science Works - Ashland, OR

Eric Miller

2007-05-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

emiller@imaginarium.org
Exhibits Director - Imaginarium, Anchorage, AK

Outdoor Team

2007-05-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

Our ecclectic team of artists, exhibit developers, and scientists is looking forward to discussing outdoor exhibits at our Ft. Mason offices. We're still early in our development process, so you'll see a lot of sketches, new ideas, and abandoned ideas around. We'll be spending time in the studio and walking about the site.

Eric Dimond

2007-05-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

Position: Lead Exhibit Developer
Current Projects: Eric is a lead developer on the "Geometry Playground" grant and one of the museum's most seasoned exhibit developers. He has worked on a number of large exhibt development projects including the newly opened "Hearing" section located on the mezzanine level. He has a degree in biology, has completed large scale public artworks in San Francisco, and has recently returned to school to complete a degree in physics. He was also a Ducati motorcycle mechanic in a former life and has the tools to prove it.

Local Restaurants

2007-05-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

There are about 5,067 restaurants within 10 feet of the Exploratorium (yes, a slight exaggeration). You'll find a listing of all of the restaurants within walking distance right here

Shawn Lani

2007-05-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

Slani@Exploratorium.edu
Position: Senior Exhibit Developer, The Exploratorium
Years: 12
Areas of Interest:
I'm particularly interested in geological processes and dynamic motions. I've built a lot of water exhibits over the years and works that highlight complex pattern formations and behaviors.
Current Projects: I'm currently developing outdoor exhibits at Ft. Mason in partnership with the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It's a tricky project because it's forcing our team to rethink how we've traditionally developed exhibits and artworks. Beyond the obvious engineering issues, we've challenged ourselves to create works that encourage careful observations; comparing, contrasting, matching, and inferring. Creating exhibits that sway in the breeze will not be enough in a National Park setting. I look forward to sharing our early ideas with you all. If you're interested, you can find a lot of my work at my personal website: ShawnLani.com

Outdoor Exploratorium

2007-05-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

Participant Shawn Lani
Project NSF funded Outdoor Exploratorium project at Ft. Mason Center, San Francisco.
Team We have a core team of 5 exhibit developers, a Project Manager, and a Principal Investigator. We are working closely with a graphic designer, a scientist/writer, and our evaluation staff as we move through the prototyping stage.

Process We've been working as a team for about 6 months and have moved through a number of exhibit ideas. Working in quick sketches and down and dirty prototypes, we've refined our project goals and exhibit criteria by actively critiquing and exploring ideas. I've included a few images from the project including one of Captain Peter Richards and our intrepid crew chief Steve Gennrich (we bought a boat for $200 so we can float around the piers and work on water-born prototypes). The sail on the left is a "fog catcher" that traps and channels fog into a catch basin. The wing on the upper right is part of a larger set of over 30 wings that rise and fall with the wind.

Julie Yu

2007-05-06T15:05:00.001-07:00

Guest Speaker
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow Julie is the principal investigator of a grant to develop hands-on math and science activities for middle and high school classrooms with the Exploratorium’s Teacher Institute. She received a PhD in chemical engineering and molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley and was previously a classroom teacher.

Dr. Sebastian Martin

2007-05-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

Guest Speaker
Position: Sebastian Martin is a visiting researcher from Germany. He is an exhibit developer, geologist, and educator working closely with our P.I.E. group here at the Exploratorium. You can learn more about his dynamic work here:website