What Do We Do Next? Thoughts on German Museums and Syrian Refugees
How can local German museums best support, engage with, and document the arriving Syrian refugees?
Re-imagining The Unloved - An Argument for Experimental Collections
A few months ago, I sweet-talked (in very poor German) my way into a behind-the-scenes tour of a local museum. As a staff member was showing me around, he mentioned that the collection space was roughly divided into two zones. Zone 1 housed the “valuable” items - the pieces that get put on display and used by researchers. Zone 2…
Inspiration - Icelandair (again)
Last year I wrote about how impressed I was with the interpretive moments sprinkled throughout Icelandair’s planes. When I traveled with them this month my admiration kept growing. These guys are good. Their little language and cultural stories are consistently interesting, quirky, and beautifully phrased, while still being short and snazzy. The world needs more interpretive signage…
Exhibit Idea: “Swimming The Rhine” Tour
If you follow me on Twitter (cough…shameless plug…cough), you know that I recently spent a day in Switzerland, swimming in the Rhine. Or floating in the Rhine. Whatever. There was some kicking involved, so it totally counts. Have you done this? You should do this. It was heavenly to drift down the river, and so…
Exploring Transparent Engagement- Inspiration From German Customer Service
Ask ex-pats about the differences between America and Germany, and customer service will be on the list. For those used to the American model, where polite staff and friendly transactions are expected and the customer is always right, the German approach can leave something to be desired. In fact, when I surveyed some of my…
Inspiration - Informal Diorama Elements
I’m not always the biggest fan of dioramas. For me, most have always been a little too dark, a little too static, and just never sparked my imagination the way they do for so many others. I appreciate dioramas. I value the role they play in museums, and I am in awe of the skill…
Blogroll Updates
I’ve updated my blogroll to reflect all the blogs I’m majorly (and not-so-secretly) crushing on at the moment. Most of the new links are about museums (quelle surprise), but the sections on all-other-things-awesome (science, storytelling, thinkers, etc.) are growing. Check them out - nothing but stellar writers and ideas all the way. Do you have…
Interpretation Inspiration
Clever interpretation is always awesome, and I never know where I’ll find it. Here are some of the signs, images, and labels that have captured my imagination lately. This week: old trees, trolleys, and gin. Strassenbahn, Freiburg, Germany: Everything is a work of art, from the paintings to the people in the frames to the…
Why Don’t You? Guerrilla Interpretation
How do you do interpretation? In exhibits? On panels? Labels, plaques, historic markers? Why don’t you ditch the traditional signage, go rogue, and… Take interpretation outside the museum? Into the community? To the streets, corners, and little back alleys? Ditch the engraved plaques in favor of slapdash signs? Handwritten? Collaged? In haiku? Decorated with copious…
Exhibit Plans on Display
In July, the Freiburg Naturmuseum is opening “Wald,”a new children’s exhibit about the Black Forest. To give visitors a preview, the museum turned an empty programming space into a sneak peek gallery, showcasing the ideas, plans, and pieces that inspired and informed the new exhibit. From vintage photographs of old biology exhibits to the first,…
Museums Askew 