The Detroit Institute of Arts and Moi

During a visit to Detroit I had a luxurious four hours at the DIA. I give it gold stars all around even though art museums are not my natural habitat.

The gold stars are for intellectual accessibility; clear commitment to audience engagement on multiple, multiple, mupltiple levels; and sheer level of human activity inside those walls.

Director Graham W. J. Beal starts it off with a welcome, in the map material, "to encourage [me] to look longer, think harder and feel more deeply about the wonderful works of art in this collection." Whether planting the seed, or designing the exhibits made that happen, I can't say for sure - but I suspect both.

Here are the highlights:

The Family Fitting Room to help families choose what to visit based on their interests - it was a busy place!

The one-hour tour theme booklets guiding a visit on "nature walks" through the art, sequences of game or sports images or sculpture, creepy images, or simply 10 Things to do with Kids at the DIA. And there were a lot of kids.

The Art of Dining video on the 18th Century European Banquet Table - a table with four chairs for visitors with a projection as if you were seated and those were your hands selecting bread, and the staff's hands clearing your plate.

The excellent discussion with the docent explaining the Diego Rivera murals [this Flickr photo by Mr. History has notes - don't miss it] http://www.flickr.com/photos/57669468@N00/242899355/. Incidentally, I'd just read Girl with the Gallery on New York City Modern Art dealer Edith Halpert and so I had background on the mural installation making the experience all the more rich. There's a multemedia option for viewing the mural, too, (which I didn't try).

Because I like a good background read, I was very pleased to see the "More Ways to Explore" free bookmarks in the galleries with books (for all ages), web sites and blog posts, and recommended music CDs on related topics. My only wish is that there had been more of these on more topics.

And there were a TON of volunteers and staff on duty and everyone helpful, quick, thoughtful.

Well done DIA!

The Secret Life of Museums

Behind-the-scenes tours. Everyone loves them, but few museums do them. Safety concerns, staffing requirements, privacy issues. But boy the public would love them.

Here is a link to a Wired Magazine (by way of Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums) story about the cryo-vats at the American Museum of Natural History. http://ow.ly/21ONK

My FAVORITE behind-the-scenes story is about the a wily octopus at an unnamed aquarium. Years ago the fish in behind-the-scenes aquariums were disappearing at night. About one a night. I can't remember how they caught her in the act, but there was an octopus who would climb out of her space, slide down the 3-foot edge to the floor, move across about 5 feet of floor and up about 4 feet to the open standing aquarium to select a meal.

The top of her home is now covered and locked to protect the fish around her. And her meals come in increasingly-complicated enrichment 'packages'. It's surely not nearly as fun as night-time raids on nearby resources for her but she does get the stimulation she needs.

For sure that behind-the-scenes glimpse has taught me to respect the humble octopus and it may have been the most effective teaching moment at the Aquarium that day. Okay museums, how about select offerings of behind-the-scenes tours - and not just for your major donors. Who knows, you may foster a future conservationist, curator, advocate or director in that simple act. You'll surely create engagement with the audience.

Of love for museums, writing and Moleskine

I’m a writer, a museum addict and a Moleskine addict – so how to choose among four Museum-Moleskine pairings? I love that Moleskine has four limited edition versions created in partnership with major museums: two at MOMA, one at SF MOMA and one at Centre Pompidou. It's good for museums, Moleskine, writers and the visitors.

For many, many writers, Moleskines are the epitome of the pen-to-paper experience, of the peaceful moment (or the exciting one) for composing thoughts and committing them to paper, of special moments recorded in situ. One has a Moleskine for the sheer love of a bound book and the meaningfulness of keeping it and keeping thoughts.

Moleskines and museums is a classy partnership among and for folk who love and value art and design. The 2010 planner was a give-away at the Tim Burton retrospective events. A good idea, but I’d have given away blank books -- they subtly yet insistently communicate that the givers and receivers are not about flash but about contemplation, creativity, and thoughtfulness.

If I were you, I’d visit one of these museums, purchase your notebook and take it with you as you indulge in a visit. Take the time to luxuriate in a gallery, in front of a single artwork, or just watching people. Maybe you’ll make this your notebook for visiting any museum and keeping a record of your thoughts and discoveries, or sketching what you see.

It will be good for you and for the museum.

Enjoy!

Visit the Moleskine projects here.

Exhibits about Making Exhibits? Why Not!

We went to a nearby art museum for their friday night members' opening. The weather here had delayed delivery of some items and materials so the installers were putting on the finishing touches as we arrived. Visitors rarely get to see what goes in to making an exhibit, so even seeing the titles pressed onto the wall was a new thing for many.

Why don't museums ever do exhibits about making exhibits?

A museum could have an exhibit about making exhibits and use it to attract visitors for the next exhibit - an exhibit designed and installed with the public. The project could start with a small space and a simple topic, then every year it could be a bit more complicated. Returning participants would make it still manageable. When the level of the exhibit starts to get too complex for beginners, the museum can alternate between 'experienced' and 'beginner' exhibits.

History museums often let a group or an individual 'curate' an exhibit in a small changing gallery or on a wall or in a single case, but usually without much support from the museum. What if the staff helped the group or individual learn exhibition techniques to use for those displays? Engagement would go up exponentially. And of course engagement brings in more visitors, creates dedicated supporters who bring in friends to build the museum's fan base.

With the public increasingly able to curate exhibits for themselve online, maybe that experience will encourage them to want to try the REAL thing!

The Natural History Museum - Becoming A Paleontologist?

The thigh bone of a Patagonian titanosaur is a humbling sight. It takes up the entire table, and is nearly as long as the educator is tall. And to think it came all the way from South America to Philadelphia.

A college-aged volunteer was manning the Fossil Prep Lab back in a corner at the Academy of Natural Sciences. She told us all about packing up prehistoric bones in the field and shipping them to the Museum. She explained the cleaning process, the challenges of working with large but delicate materials, and demonstrated the record-keeping to manage the cleaning and reconstruction work. For her this was not a career, but a very important hobby.

How great for a young visitor to be shown two ways into museum work: vocation and avocation. How great that the museum will offer PaleoPalooza, http://www.ansp.org/paleopalooza/index.php February 13 and 14, 2010, and fill the museum with paleontology programs and researchers and games and excitement.

Thank goodness for natural history museums; where else does a kid learn that he or she can be a paleontologist?

Museums and Merit Badges

Monday was a holiday - a great day to visit a museum. Some of the Scouts in Troop 190 are working on their Citizenship in the Nation merit badge. One requirement is to visit a National Historic Landmark. Here in Talbot County, Maryland, we have four - and three of them are boats. We visited the Edna B. Lockwood, a log-built Bugeye at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael's, Maryland.

We called three days ahead to see if there would be an interpreter on the grounds, and let them know what we were interested in seeing. During our visit to the boat, we were joined by the head of the Shipyard who helped explain the bugeye's history, how she was built and how she compared to the Skipjack nearby. We were treated to a demonstration of caulking with cotton, and to a personal tour of the small-boat collection.

Museums are an incredible resource for Scouting - your local historical society, the natural history museums, the aviation museums and histoirc sites, and the science museums all have programs and exhibits that support badge work: Just call the education staff and ask which ones they support for Brownies, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

The kids and adults will all have a terrific time. We finished our visit with stops at other exhibits: the oyster shed, waterman's wharf AND the lighthouse. I had to drag them away to be home on time - what was I thinking doing that?!

Another great day at a museum.

Plan Your Free Time: Visit the Museum

You're faced with a wide-open day. Either you crave a little adventure, a little intellectual stimulation, a little people-watching; or you need a diversion for you children, visitors or yourselves. The mall is not the answer, and don't assume a movie is either. Your first thoughts should include a visit to a museum, zoo, aquarium, garden or historic site. But how to decide?

First, who is with you: kids may need to run around (choose science or children's museums and ones with outdoor spaces), adults may need multiple gallery options (choose art, history and science museums), teens may need to go off on their own (choose open-air sites, museums with multiple gallery options).

Second, think about what you want to do: kids may want to climb, draw, or watch experiments or animals; adults may want to be able to ask questions or take time to read labels; and teens may need some opportunities for electronic stimulation (the museum's or their own).

Third, consider how long do you want to spend: this includes driving, parking, touring and possible eating. If it's an outdoor site or a huge indoor museum, think about the walking tolerances. Check beforehand to see when scheduled events take place so that your visit time includes the rat basketball performance at the Virginia Museum of Science or the Naturalist Shows at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philly.

Each of these 'hidden' issues can significantly affect the pleasure of your visit. A bit of planning and you can have make museum-going a regular family event.