For your second museum field trip, you all went to The Works together, so it doesn't make sense to have you read and respond to each other's photos & captions, right? I had a good time listening to you talk in class

about your developing "eye" for museum exhibit design and decisions about signage--content, placement, form, style. And then spending more time with each of your photos/captions gave me a chance to really see that you're becoming discriminating museum-goers. Kaye and I will look forward to seeing how your 2 field trips influence the way you think about your exhibit's purpose and delivery, including signage content and form.

The Works

Since everyone seemed to take photos of close ups of the signage, I chose to look at them from another perspective. What could be improved. Overall, I enjoyed the trip to The Works and I felt most of the musuem was APE, however I felt the signage didn't really draw the visitor in.

This was their opening sign, which I did really like as the inside of the "O" moved so it looked like it was spinning. I felt it grabbed the visitors attention because of it's placement within the exhibit. It wasn't directly in the front, but more in the middle of the exhibit which allowed for the visitor to immerse into the room.

This signage really got my attention just because of how small the font was. It was a really cool exhibit, but it was hard to want to read a lot about it as the font size was small and there was a lot of text. I felt that the creator of the exhibit could have just created a little blurb about what was happening. 

This exhibit didn't have any signage near it, which was different to me. When I first approached it, I didn't notice any signs, so it left the visitor to understand on their own. Although this was pretty self explainitory, I felt a few bigger signs that helped show steps would have been helpful.

Lastly, in the design lab most of it was APE and hands on which didn't require a ton of signage, which was why I did like these signs. I thought the abstract viewpoint was interesting and it was different from any other signs I had seen in a musuem. 

The Works Museum visit

The Works Museum Visit

Signs on the main floor:

All the signs on the main floor had the same layout. I appreciated this because then I knew what to look for when I wanted to find out more about about an exhibit. I like the bold colors, it definitely draws my eye to the sign. I also like the headings and find the picture is useful for visual learners. The splash of blue makes it easy to see what each exhibit is. This design inspired my own layout for my sidebar. The content is laid out like most museum exhibits with a variation of the 'To Do', 'Notice' and 'What's Going On' section.

side note:  I would like to incorporate elements from the Mill City signs as well. I still love the recipe cards from Mill City and hope to use some elements from that sign as well, namely using an interesting shape that relates to the topic. 

The layout for the signs in the design lab is a little bit different. The color scheme is similar, with a purple and orange border, but instead of the title of the exhibit in blue, this time it is green. The design lab signs read more like instructions or challenges. This one tells you to take one scoop of foam balls and toothpicks and try and add onto the sculpture already on the table. There is also a reminder not to take anything home at the top. This is is bold, boxed in, and at a different angle than the rest of the text to help set it apart so people will notice it. This inspired me with our own group signage. Our sidebars don't have to be huge tri-folds, but could be letter sized papers. The only struggle is how much to fit on the paper without looking cluttered.

The exhibits

I went once with the girls from class and then took my family the next day. It was great to actually go to a museum with children and watch how they interact with the exhibits and how long they stay at each one. There were two clear winners for my family. The first one was the kinex cars.

At this exhibit, visitors could build a car or any sort of wheeled vehicle with kinex blocks. They can race them, watch how they go down the ramp, or time their speed. One child I noticed tested his vehicle, modified it, tested it, modified it.... the whole time we were in the downstairs part of the museum. Everyone in the family spent lots of time building their own vehicles (lots of different designs) and then we raced each other. This exhibit had active engagement and we spent a lot of time there as well. I think if we went back the kids would be excited to build cars again and bring with them the knowledge they gained from previous interactions.

The second big hit of the day was in the design lab. The kids could build structures with magnets. At first the kids played around with the magnets and then slowly started to build things. Yuan focused on her own design and Jedi made something pictured on the challenges. Then they switched, Jedi built blocks of magnets and investigated how strong the magnets were. Yuan and Bry made a fancy cube that was pictured in the challenge as well. At one point it drew us all in to try and help them make it. 

I think this one was also active and prolonged, we spent over an hour in the design lab. I think the other thing that was great about these two exhibits is that the whole family could get involved, it wasn't one person interacting and the rest of the family watching, everyone had their hands on something. 

And Justine look! Remember your paper tower?

It was taped to the door when I went the next day!

The Works

 I was very impressed with what The Works has to offer for children and adults of all ages. I was really impressed with how many family engineering nights they have. Overall I felt the museum was excellent.

This was one of my favorite signs from the museum. This sign caught my attention as soon as we walked into the museum. The only complaint I have about this sign is that it is not capitalized.

One thing that I noticed with multiple signs in the museum was the bold blue and white writing. There was also a "Try This!" , "What's Going On?", and "So What?". I felt this was great for children and adults. These little cues helped a child become involved with the exhibit.

Upstairs there was a huge room that was essentially devoted to engineering. Children were able to build skyscrapers and were able to apply them to the scale that is taped here on the wall. The sign on the top asks all guests to help keep the exhibit clean. I thought this was brilliant.

I took this picture because I felt that it was a great sign for children. Having an image for the children to identify with I felt was really beneficial. I also enjoyed the questions that prompted discovery.

This exhibit had multiple little booklets that children could use to discover this little bug. The children could then create their own pattern for the bug.

This was also one of my favorite sign. This sign I felt really grabbed the attention of visitors. The best part of the sign was that visitors could interact on the back side. Visitors were also able to see how the sign works as well.

@ The Works!

All in all I'd say that The Works definitely lived up to my expectations.  They know how to create a good hands-on exhibit.  I especially enjoyed the upstairs Design Lab.  It included four very hands-on exhibits that encouraged visitors to engineer with fairly everyday materials.

 

I made this! Hooray for geometry!

One of the Design Lab exhibits that I enjoyed was the Magnetic Structures table.  The magnetic balls and rods themselves were very enticing and easy to build with without any instruction.  However, the signage also encouraged more directed play, using many pictures and some thought provoking questions. 

High quality signage and exciting materials

I also like that the there were two signs at two different levels of difficulty.  One included step-by-step instructions with very straightforward, simple language.  The other was more open-ended.  It encouraged visitors to think more deeply.  My one complaint with this signage is the "Dear Families..." note that asks visitors to disassemble their creations. Some of exhibit developers in our APE exhibit book mentioned the importance of allowing visitors to admire others creations.  It is a form of visitor interaction that can encourage individuals to explore the exhibit more thoroughly.

The Paper Skyscrapers exhibit was also in the Design Lab.

These graphics are to die for.

The signage on the jars where the rulers and scissors for the challenge were kept interested me.  

See how the layout also increases ease of reading?

There was another sign, but this conveyed everything that the visitor needs in 20 words or less.  And it is located in creative spot, where the visitor naturally looks as she sits down at the exhibit table.  I am finding that where signage is place is just as important as what it says.

About half of the exhibits on the main floor were less APE-like.  They were all hands-on, but less intuitive and less open-ended.

Bold lettering + careful placement = easy reading

This pulley exhibit,  for example, confused me at first. I wasn't quite sure what to do.  Then I discovered that all there was to do at the exhibit was pull on each of the three pulleys.  The exhibit looks very clean and well put together.  I like the signage on the wall.  However, I found this exhibit pretty boring.  Most of my time at it was spent reading the very wordy signage (four paragraphs in 14pt font!) 

Still, most of the exhibits were great. I look forward to working with The Works in the future as a teacher.

Bird's Eye View

Hi All, After looking at your photos and reading your captions more carefully, I developed a list of qualities you seem to favor when it comes to museum signage. The signage presents a challenge--doesn't explain exactly what visitors should do Words are minimal--only what's necessary to getting a point across Text invites immediate hands-on interaction Purposeful placement of signage Text encourages deeper understanding w/o being overwhelming in either word count or structure Text is concise (are you seeing a pattern?) Typeface size is appropriate, and sometimes varied with thought about how the size might affect visitors' attention Font choice is readable and consistent Signs are colorful Sign shapes often complement the content of an exhibit (recipe-card shapes, for example) Signs sometimes have texture Signs don't always include print text, but often diagrams, maps, or charts If you're interested in learning more about Museology, including where to go for degrees in this field, check out the Princeton Review site here: http://www.princetonreview.com/GradPrograms.aspx?page=1&gpid=87 You need to register (it only takes a minute). Happy creating! Dr. K

Mill City Trip

I chose this text example because of the different font sizes that were included with the photo. It allowed for the visitor to bring their attention to different aspects of this text.

This was a consistent style of text throughout the exhibit, it was very eye catching and it allowed for the reader to get a piece of information about the information without havng to read further.

I felt that this piece of the exhibit did show APE aspects, however, as a visitor it did not provoke prolonged engagement.

This figure was extremely eye catching to me, as it was a diagram that drew me into the text.

I felt this was another example of APE but did not exhibit prolonged engagement. 

I felt that this was a good exhibit but wasn't APE as there was a known understanding of what the visitor would be taking away.

Justine's Trip to Mill City Museum

More exhibits from Mill City Museum!  One thing I that occurred to me while I was there is that the criteria for an effective exhibit and signage at a history museum might be different from at a science museum. For example, the use of first hand accounts and period multimedia is more important at a history museum (in my opinion.) One exhibit I really like played a bunch of old commercials on several TV screens.  However, a video clip would be less effective as part of a science museum exhibit.

My favorite exhibit for both signage and engagement was in the Water Lab.  Britt mentioned a sign from it in her post.

Child playing with model Falls.  Can you spot the model engineered structures?

Visitors could build dams, spin turbines, and run logs down the river on several models of St. Anthony Falls, just like occurred on the Falls throughout their history. The moving water and many tools to interact with it invited visitors to touch.  It was fairly intuitive to use.  Even just placing your hands in the water gave you a better understanding of how the water moves on the river.

Overhead signage.  One explains and the other instructs.

Signage was just enough to encourage deeper understanding without overwhelming the visitor with information or structure.  The amount of words was concise. Size of the words was easy to read and approachable.

Do these signs at playing level seem to extend learning from the overhead signs?

I especially appreciated the creative placement of the signage, both high and low.  The signs that hang from the ceiling guide initial engagement, while the ones on the exhibit encourage prolonged engagement.  My one complaint is that the ceiling signs might be easy to miss.


Another exhibit/signage that I liked demonstrated how a water-powered turbine turned a grain elevator in a pulley system.  The visitor gets to turn the turbine, simulating the action of the power.  Then you can see all the other parts move.

The exhibit had many moving parts to catch the eye. Can you spot all the signage?

The coolest part of the exhibit for me was the placement of the signage.  It was placed at all different angles on different parts of the machine, so that you could read it while observing the part in action.  The signs followed the path that your eyes naturally took in exploring the machine.  As in the Water Lab exhibits the writing was concise and approachable.  This exhibit also had a more lengthy explanation off to the side for those interested in learning more.

The exhibit invites you to look up.

While the combination of signage and moving parts did keep me engaged, this exhibit did not encourage active prolonged engagement.  There wasn't actually much to do and there was only one way to interact with the exhibit.  Still, this was a step up from the normal history museum exhibit encased in glass.

Information direct from the source.

Other strategies I saw that I might consider using for my exhibit were the use of direct quotes from a primary source (ie. William Kamkwamba from The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind) and questions.  Just like in a nonfiction book, these leads engage the reader and make them want to read more.

A question and fun fact wrapped into one!

Mill City Museum Exhibit 2

Museum Exhibit #2

This is an exhibit at Mill City entitled 'Design a Cereal Box'. I like the layout of the exhibit. It's a big circle with lots of stools around it and 8 felt boxes one can design on. It's easy to interact with it by yourself or with a friend. The are felt pieces scattered all over the table with common cereal phrases and pictures that can be placed onto your felt cereal box. One of us was clearly engaged in this exhibit and one was not. I think the exhibit had kind of been forgotten about. The pieces were old and worn and there weren't a lot of choices. But you could interact with it in anyway you wanted, there was no correct cereal box design. I think with more updated felt pieces and a wider variety of choices this exhibit could have interested me a little more.

*author's note: I realize I wrote two lackluster reviews of Mill City Exhibits, but don't let this detour you! It really is a great place! They have a flour tower where you ride up and down a tower and learn how the flour mill worked, a mini movie about the city of minneapolis by local Kvein Kling. There are people playing historical figures that you can talk to and interact with, a baking lab, a water lab. It has lots of history about minneapolis and the flour mills and its all inside the ruins of a flour mill. The views from the top are awesome.

Mill City Museum Exhibit 1

Museum Exhibit 1

This is an exhibit from Mill City, it is a giant 3d block puzzle of the state of Minnesota. We had fun making the puzzle, but found it a bit one dimensional (ha!). We enjoyed manipulating the giant blocks and figuring out the puzzle (although there was a picture of the completed puzzle right in front of us). We had a picture of the puzzle to guide us and while I do enjoy looking at maps, I did not find this one that interesting nor did I feel I gained any new or fun information while doing it. I take that back, we did learn from one of the museum attendants that a group of children had started it before us and gave up after a minute. This definitely did not have prolonged active engagement for those children. There was only one puzzle to work with and its not an exhibit that can be easily reset.

Mill City Museum Sign 2

Museum Sign #2

This is a sign from a Mill City exhibit about the role water played in the flour mills. It sits on the edge of water table filled with flowing water, a dam, moveable wooden blocks, and a wooden city/flour mill. To get a better idea of what is going on, I've included a picture of the whole exhibit at the end. I think this sign is effective because it addresses the ideals from APE. It presents a challenge, keeps the words to an absolute minimum and entices the visitor to jump right into the hands on portion. The sign is very small though and can easily be missed. Of course, one could ask, is the sign really necessary? When children see water and wooden blocks they don't need a sign to tell them to play with it. If the exhibit is intuitive and enticing on its own, what is the purpose of the sign?

Mill City Museum Sign 1

Museum Sign #1

This sign is from a Mill City Museum exhibit about the history of the city of Minneapolis. I thought this was an effective sign for several reasons. It has large readable font, a variety of colors, but not a color explosion. I also think it's successful because it is creative in its presentation. This museum is about the flour mills and so it ties in flour by making it look like a recipe card. It tells the steps to making a good city on each card. There are 5 cards in total, so it is not overwhelming. I think they did a good job editing themselves as well, I'm sure there was a lot more information they could have included, but they made smart choices in keeping it short and too the point.

While this photo is not the greatest I felt this sign was appropriate for the exhibit. This sign was able to draw in visitors to the other signs of information about the Tigers. The sign also is up high in a location where people can see where the exhibit is located. Finally the sign does not give out information that is not needed.

This photo was taken outside the Grizzly Bear entrance. I really enjoyed this sign and opening to the exhibit because it is bright colors and big letters. The information on this sign is also kept to a minimum. There is enough information to engage a visitor without having them become bored reading information. Having the sign with texture also benefited visitor engagement because everyone wants to touch everything.

This sign at the Minnesota Zoo captured my eye right away. It was hard not to look at this sign in the Tiger Exhibit. This sign was very convincing for my friend and I to see the baby tigers. After I saw this sign it got me thinking about the website and how effective the signs on a website can be to convince people to come visit. This sign does not have a lot of information on the exhibit, however it draws people into the exhibit and into the conservation campaign. 

This photo is from the Minnesota Zoo. This sign and the massive shark teeth are what captured my eye. I felt the exhibit sign and entrance are very appealing for a person. While this sign is not the best sign , I feel it was appropriate for the exhibit.