Building a Museum in Eight Months – Part 3

Design Kickoff Meeting – Putting our assumptions to the test and finding the right voice for the story This is the third article in a series about designing and building the Museum of Internal Auditing in eight months. The previous article explains how and why we developed an Exhibit Plan for the museum. This article is about how we started the design …

Building a Museum in Eight Months

First Meeting – Finding a reason why the world needs this museum When I first got the call from Judy Burke, VP of Governance for the Institute of Internal Auditors, I thought this was going to be a difficult process. She called me to set up a meeting to explore designing and building a museum about Internal Auditing. First, I …

Vitrines for Museum Exhibit Cases

Properly designed and executed exhibit cases will both protect your artifacts and allow your guests to see and appreciate them. They allow the artifact to connect your guests with your story and our shared past. While there are many factors that determine how well your cases perform at these tasks, we are going to focus on the glass or vitrines. …

Protect Your Artifacts

What is the best way to protect artifacts in a case? This is a question we get asked a lot. The answer depends on a number of factors, but let’s keep things simple. There are four major factors that will cause objects to degrade when they are in a case environment for long periods of time. They are ultraviolet radiation, …

Backwards History: Leading with the Story to Bring the Holidays to Life

What the Dickens

A local museum, Art and History Museums Maitland, recently called us with an interesting project. They had committed to making the theme of their historic property representative of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” for the holiday season. They needed a material historian who specializes in the Victorian era. More specifically, they needed someone who was familiar with the period between 1844 …

Lessons from a lemon tree

Lemon Tree

From the Desk of Marilee Not long ago I cut down my lemon tree. Believe it or not, it was a big event. I had been waffling about removing the tree for nearly 18 months. It was obviously not healthy, but I held out hope for a return to its fruitful glory. I watered. I fertilized. I tended. And, I …

Hiding In Plain Sight

Traveling and exploring new places offers opportunities to take in and appreciate cultural resources. It’s funny: When you are close to something and see it every day, you lose perspective on its value. It’s the “you can’t see the forest for the trees” thing, I think. We miss the treasures that sit right under our noses. I recently visited a …

Revitalize Tired Museum Spaces in 4 Easy (and Inexpensive) Steps

lightbulb

In the 21st century, museum exhibit spaces that may have “just” been renovated a mere 10 years ago can suddenly feel old and tired. But, how do you combat a 21st century problem when all you’ve got to work with is a 19th century budget? Below are a few simple actions you can take to re-energize your space (or at …

Ingenuity & Know-how Trump a Hostile Environment

Conservation framing

It is hard to imagine a worse environment for a special piece of original artwork than a restaurant, where it’s exposed to pollutants, harsh light, unstable temperatures and humidity, and even curious fingers. And yet … Art must be seen to be appreciated. Sometimes, that means taking the art to where the audience is. A private collector wrestling with this …

Now Hiring: CAD Draftsperson

Job Description The CAD Draftsperson will create detailed construction drawings from design sketches and documents. Desired Skills & Experience • AutoCAD and/or SketchUp Pro • Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite 5 • Knowlege of exhibiit construction techniques and materials • Familiarity with elements of design CLICK HERE TO APPLY Or email a cover sheet and resume to: CONTACT@ASTEXHIBITS.COM