Museum Techmuse

The Updraft from the Outhouse

PBS’s new show Colonial House is a fascinating glimpse into the life of early colonists. We watch fifteen or so modern day citizens live as colonists in a remote location in Maine for four months -- a very smart twist on the otherwise dubious category of reality tv. (The series' producers had help from Plimoth Plantation, the living history center near Plymouth).

In our family, we had our own fascinating living history experience several years ago at Norlands Living History Center in Livermore Falls, Maine. I took on the role of “Pa Waters,” and for three days, we lived life in the 1870’s. Every moment was 1870, from working (digging potatoes), to eating (much preparation), and sleeping (on a lumpy mattress suspended by a rope frame).

The most memorable moments for me can’t be captured on tv. They are the sensory experiences when you truly live in another environment. And, I have to say, it is quite a unique and memorable sensation, to forsake modern plumbing for the basic sensation of a breezy outhouse. (Hard to convey this in a traditional museum exhibit).

A Mouse Moved Into Our Grill

A couple weeks ago, I went out to put some salmon on the grill. And, as I lifted the cover, I noticed on top of a cushy nest inside, a mouse or vole, its black eyes looking up at me.

Why didn’t it run away, the way mice usually do? I looked closer, and there, to her side, she was nursing four pink babies. It was a touching scene – I was moved by this little mouse, whose eyes were wide in fear as she remained protecting and nursing her babies. I carefully covered the grill, and Paula and I decided it was off limits for the next couple weeks till they moved out.

What’s the connection to zoos and technologies? At the AZA workshop in Louisville, the cheetah from the Cincinnati Zoo watched me closely as I stood in the back of the room (I am usually the tallest in the room) during Laurie Marker’s presentation. And at the excellent Think Tank exhibit at Smithsonian’s National Zoo in DC last week, an orangutan on the other side of the window sat a few feet in front of me, crossed its arms, and watched me closely as I pulled my digital camera out to take a photo.

The theme connecting all of this is to find opportunities to encounter animals with compassion and awareness. And to look for ways of using visitors’ own experience at home to draw these connections…

Collecting Animal Stories at ACM/AAM

I’ve been asking friends and colleagues who come to our booth at ACM/AAM to add their story to our Storytelling Kiosk demo. And this year, Paula and I asked them to add a quick sketch (or Play-Doh model) of an animal they care for, then record the story of that animal. What a menagerie we gathered in New Orleans!

Paul Orselli (POW!) sketched the goldfish his wife carried on the plane going to and from college. Clifford Wagner (Science Interactives) created a model of a “generic dog” from those he and his wife have rescued – and then related this to the philosophy of Schopenhauer. And Leslie Bedford (Bank Street College) sketched her family’s first dog “Squeaker,” while Peter Samis (SFMOMA) stopped by later and added another layer of interpretation to a blob of Play Doh I left trailing behind Squeaker’s rear. But the drama award this year goes to Brenda Cowan (Exhibit A Design) for her riveting tale of the fate of “Flower,” her daughter’s hamster who had been let out to run around the room.

Many thanks to all who left their spontaneous stories!

Winning an AAM MUSE Award

What a pleasure to walk up to the podium among international colleagues in the museum media field to receive the American Association of Museums’ MUSE Award for Conservation Central, developed for Smithsonian’s National Zoo. (We received the Silver Award in the Science and Education category).

For families, we wanted to create programs that inspire them to sit down at the computer together rather than just surf the Web in isolation. And for teachers, wanted to integrate technology with both science and social studies concepts, aligning them with national standards for Grades 5 to 8.

On a related note, special congratulations to our colleagues Dan Spock and Michael Mouw at the Minnesota Historical Society for their innovative, one of a kind “Flour Tower” ride, which won the Jim Blackaby Ingenuity Award.