Daring Experiences: Museums & Visitors Taking Risks

Daring Experiences: Museums & Visitors Taking Risks - 10:30 - 11:45
Submitted by Angelica

Allen Boerger, Roto (moderator)
Katie Slivovsky, Chicago Children's
Nichole Myles - Executive Director Children's Museum of Lowcountry, Iowa / now Charleston (new campaign)
Thomas Quaranta- Children's Museum of Manhattan

Three museums shared their examples the risks they undertook or faced - either financial, through content, etc. Iowa shared an example of a financial risk undertaking a museum renovation with no budget and the campaign they undertook to raise funds. Manhattan shared an example of a risk of content - creating an exhibit about Muslims as a backlash to terrorism - trying to create global citizenship, education about culture and life, while navigating  without getting into politics or religion, while not being stereotypical, and focusing on community voices. Chicago submitted the risk of loose part play in their fort building exhibit, which created risks in people not understanding what the exhibit was, difficulty in promoting to public, board. Chicago also covered their tinker exhibit and how museums should offer real tools and experience if they want to encourage science and engineering. The risks are everyday- ice pack safe, not catastrophic.

The purpose is to think about as a museum, what risks and challenges and boundaries should you push for the benefit of meeting your mission and serving children. The message was be brave and create a haven for children.

If you'd like more info checkout my notes from the session below ....

Notes:

Nichole - Risk of Fundraising
- 7 figure risk
- Built science center space in existing space
- Some of risk is luck
- Find your tribe, Worked with ROTO
- Why do this? High drop out rate, manufacturing community with a large shift in available work to technology, kids did not know what opportunities for what was out there for them.
- Museums great communicators - they could highlight opportunities, encourage finishing school
- Cost - $5 million dollars and 3 years (24 months, 2.4 million)
- Being small made us nimble - "Aerodynamically the bumblebee should not be able to fly, but it does not know that so he goes on flying anyway" - Mary Kay Ash
- Corporate funding / grant funding- Capital Attraction and Tourism grant (CAT -Vision Iowa)
- Grant = monthly reports, updates, money will given at end (they can pull out at any times)
- Needed multiple individual donors as required by grant = 30 days
- Crowdfunding/ razoo (2013) - kick starting article on Tesla museum
- 45 sec to 1 min to get the message across - to build and launch this campaign
- Vision Iowa happily accepted crowd funding (never asked amounts - just wanted the problem solved)
- Built the museum in 20 months with 2.25 million (4 months early) in time for school field trip time

Manhattan - Risk of Content
- Risk of content
- Fighting terrorism fears with exhibit of Muslim face (translates into risk of visitors, too big of content, finance)
- Worked with city officials, scholars, huge list of partners, 14 academic advisors, 25 institutional partners, 29 community partners, Boomgen storytellers, Reza Aslan from CNN
- Looked at questions they feared they would get to develop guiding principals
- Not interpreting Islam, exhibit should emanate joy and beauty, highlight local stories, voices from community, do not take money from certain countries (Not all money equal)
Key messages - children learn more about selves by learning about others, global citizenship
- Staff not to engage in questions about religion or politics, staff training
- Safety also a risk, worked with private security firm, NYPD - video security, lighting, operations, liaison
- Examples of exhibit design shared (mosque architecture), a live, interactive courtyard, a kitchen with food and spices of the region, used authentic materials (content expert) like Moroccan rugs with symbols - created a game with symbols, recording stories from the community
- Visitors include - Hilary Clinton, Samantha Powers, Senators, Cardinal Dolan
- Great press - Wall Street Journal, NY Times, AFP
- Risk worth it - positive impact on audience, community, and even increased visitorship, expanded community reach, new partners - New York Metropolitan of Art, Washington DC
-Now - museum exhibit travels

Katie - Chicago Children's - physical risk
- Fort building exhibit
- A universal pursuit of childhood (crosses age, gender, nationality)
- Forts invite imagination, loose parts play, looks different hour to hour, establish territory, unfacilitated
- Exhibit doesn't make sense without kids
- Risks - kids (telling yes / no can't come in)
- Risks - loose parts
- Exhibits have inspired other children's museums - Middle east purchased

Tinkering Lab - real vs. perceived risk
- Tinkering summit - beer and tacos with local tinkerers
- Grilled them about childhoods
- Who jumping off things, breaking and smashing, mixing things, building and fires
-We believe children think like scientists
- Children think like engineers when they explore real tools and conceptualize real problems (tinker movement started by Adobe engineer tired of kids with no experience with real tools)
- Real metal hammers, sharp knives
- How safe is it (ice pack safe) ice packs and band aids all the time
- Everyday injuries all the time, avoid catastrophic injuries
- Hand saw yes (can't cut off finger)
- Require eye protection (can get hit in eye by hammer by 3 year old)
- Most dangerous is stairs
- Our staff show what tools can do - not what kids can do- motto wait watch follow (let the kids design and build- don't answer for them)
- Be brave and create a haven