When people find out that I live in Germany, am not fluent in German, but develop and conduct visitor studies for German museums, a common question is: How? How do I understand why visitors are coming, what they’re doing, how they’re engaging, and what they want when I don’t always understand what visitors are saying? A difference…
What happens when visitors explore life in the ocean during Arctic winter using flashlights in a pitch black room?
The main art museum in my city - the Augustinermuseum - is under construction. The museum is expanding, and will eventually have new galleries for graphic and historical objects. For the past year, the fences around the construction site have been decorated with panels highlighting the city’s museums and what visitors can see there. And, for…
When I began as the Curator of Interpretation with the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery in 2008, my first project was Soapstone Prairie Natural Area. 28 square miles in northern Colorado, Soapstone was purchased by the city of Fort Collins to be a park and conservation area. Along with its attraction as a natural space,…
Disclaimer #1: This post is primarily shameless bragging. But, as Lesley Gore would have said if she blogged about museums while eating German chocolate in her pajamas, “It’s my website and I’ll brag if I want to.” Disclaimer #2: The awesome exhibit I’m about to show off was a collaborative effort. I was the primary developer,…
Be sure to read Part 1 and Part 2. Note: While I’ve divided these steps into sections, when you’re developing new language resources chances are that many of the tasks from Part 2 will happen concurrently with the ones in Part 3. Part 3: When It’s Time For Layout and Design (1) Use a Standard Order When labels will…
Find Part 1 here. Part 2: When You’re Ready to Write (1) Identify Language Form(s) Once you’ve established your target languages and begun connecting with those communities, you need to identify the appropriate language forms. No language is neutral or only has one pan-global form. So will it be British or American English? High German or…
Since moving to Germany, I’ve developed a keenly-tuned English-language radar. No snippet - spoken or written - is too small to escape my notice, and I delight when I find them. Along with hunting for moments of my mother tongue, I’m helping create them. I’m involved in several projects exploring different ways to incorporate English…
You may have already seen this fantastic video of the United States Air Force Band’s flashmob at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, but here it is again. I love this performance, but I’m also incredibly biased. First, it’s taking place in a museum - what’s not to like? But, more importantly, these are…
I’m seriously giddy to be featured in the “Meet a Museum Blogger” series on Jamie Glavic’s Museum Minute blog. It was a blast to answer questions about why I love museums and the work I do, and I even manged to throw in a few stories about being defiled by butterflies and almost-attacked by a…
Museums Askew 