Exhibits - MP

Today, RK and I spent several hours going through the exhibits and trying to figure out what will work for us both for the second floor, but also what we might be able to use now. Here's a little of what I found that I think we could put to use sooner (rather than later - except for one)...

Kid Spark by the Ontario Science Centre (the Ontario in Canada) - this science centre manufactures and sells exhibits, including many that are truly scalable and would fit our needs. One thing I saw that I thought was way cool was the "Build Your Own Coaster" exhibit where kids get all the pieces to build a roller coaster and then use balls to try it out.

Luckey Climbers - This was very cool - climbers that really prevent kids from falling more than about 18 inches. They are structures that are covered in netting and kids can climb through them and they get back down. Very hard to explain so look at the picture. We could do something like this but perhaps use open books as the "steps"!

Energy Exhibits - We also saw several great energy, environmental, conservation exhibits. They were pretty neat and the best thing - portable! These included exploring solar power, creating energy to light a bulb, creating wind, etc. They were relatively inexpensive and can definitely be used around the library and even at some courtyard events!

Mindsplash Airways - These are exhibits that can range from 30 feet by 20 feet to small traveling exhibits. They are continuous tubes that have a lot of air pressure that can move objects through them (balls, scarves, etc.) Children can learn about the properties of air and wind.

Crazy Contraptions - These were pretty low tech but sure looked fun. I could see these being incorporated into the library right now. These were large magnetic boards that allowed children to play with gears (by interlocking them you can create several motions), magnetic shapes to create various animals, and magnetic tubes and pieces to create slides for balls to slide down. All very cool.

Moonsand - I think I mentioned this last time, but this time we just have to get it. This sand that is coated in some substance that keeps it from sticking to you. You can play with it just like sand (it's as soft as sand) and you can build things with it. Love it!!

Please Touch Museum

Yesterday, RK and I took a study tour of the new Philly Children's Museum - "Please Touch." It used to be a 30,000 square foot building with 15,000 square feet of exhibit space. Now the building (a renovated historic building) is about 100,000 square feet with about 50,000 square feet of exhibit space. Oh yes, and the entrance has a 40 foot Statue of Liberty torch made out of old toys and junk.





I think what struck me about the place (besides its size) was that even though the ceilings are high, floors are all original marble, etc. - it wasn't that noisy. Now, there weren't many kids there when we were there, but it appeared that the acoustics were pretty good. Some of the exhibits I liked best were - Alice in Wonderland special exhibit (complete with maze), water play (A LOT of H2O), carousel, giant piano like in the movie Big, and music area).

Check out some of the pictures. Unfortunately, I didn't like most of it very much - just seemed a little boring! Oh yeah, even though I didn't care for their version of the grocery store, Angelica would appreciate the fact that there was an entire row of cake! Unfortunately, most people bypassed the grocery store and were playing in the McDonald's (yes, McDonald's is a sponsor and has a play store in there). Guess there's no "Healthy RC (or Philly) for them.










Michelle

Three Cups of Tea

Yesterday RK and I went to hear author Greg Mortenson speak about his bestselling book Three Cups of Tea. He was the keynote speaker for the conference (last year it was Jim Collins). He spoke for about an hour and I was in tears by the end of the presentation. He was so moving and inspirational. He spoke about his life and how he got to where he is: starting as a baby and into teens growing up at the foot of Mt. Kilamanjaro in Tanzania to late teens in the Midwest to enlisting in the military to now, a man who has created a movement.

When Mortenson was younger he decided to climb K2 but didn't quite make it to the top. He felt that he had to try to prove to himself that he could accomplish something, but he never made it to the top. Instead, he met some villagers in Northern Pakistan and stayed with them for a while. They saw that he needed help (during at after his climb is was like a nomad and hadn't showered in *84* days). They took him in an cared for him. He saw that the village had no school and no teacher so when he left a child asked him if he could help them get a teacher and a school - which he promised to do. He came back to the States to fundraise and wrote 530 letters to famous people (spent $130 on postage) and only raised $100 (from Tom Brokaw). So, he asked his mom for help (an elementary school principal). They raised 66,000 pennies and so the movement "Pennies for Peace" began. Since then, Mortenson has raised enough money to open a couple hundred schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has seen a huge increase in literacy, a decrease in birth rates, and of course - the satisfaction of helping thousands receive an education. Currently there are about 3,000 Pennies for Peace programs around the world in schools, libraries, churches, etc.

Mortenson wasn't the most dynamic speaker I have ever heard, but he was one of the more inspirational. Last night when RK and I got out of our cab, he got in. I thanked him for a great talk but forgot to hand over my pennies...

Michelle

Off-Topic: Where to Eat in Philadelphia!

If you find yourself in Philadelphia, there are a couple of restaurant I can definitely recommend for dinner! They are:

- Friday, Saturday, Sunday. This is a neighborhood bistro, quite small but with a nice menu and great service. Michelle had a horseradish panko-crusted tilapia and I had roast duck. Yummo! And even thought it is called Friday, Saturday, Sunday, it is open seven days a week!

- Buddakan. Looking at a few travel guides as well as The Google, Buddakan is considered perhaps the best restaurant in Philadephia. At least if you want fusion-Asian food, I'm sure it is. It is by the same people who brought you Morimoto's. Michelle had a miso black cod with wasabi mashed potatoes (*realy* good!) and I had Asian BBQ pork tenderloin with Chinese brocoli. Also had a side of crab fried rice and an Asian casear salad (not exactly sure why it was "Asian" but it sure was good!) The service here was also outstanding, and the actual restaurant space was amazing.

Anyway, you won't go wrong if you go to either of these place!

RK

First Impact

Today I attended a program called "First Impact" that talked about the first impressions customers have on our space, on us, and our offerings. I thought this was pretty interesting because first impressions don't just pertain to children's museums, but to all businesses, organizations, etc.

Here are a few things Peter B. (Director of the Portland Children's Museum) talked about:

Emotional Imprints - what our first response is to what we see. He spoke specifically about something called the "decompression zone" - that space between the customer entering the building and front desk. He mentioned the importance of:
- Information - what info do they need when they enter and do they get it
- Chromodynamics - colors that set the mood (bright, glossy yellows and oranges seem to agitate people, even cause high blood pressure). Green tends to be more tranquil
- Lighting - oranges and red in a very subdued lighting tends to make people want to spend more for some reason
- Greeting - in the first 7 seconds, customers judge employees in 11 different ways (cleanliness, knowledge, professionalism, friendliness, helpfulness, courtesy, credibility, confidence, attractiveness, responsiveness, and understanding). He also mentioned that the body language you use in those first 7 seconds accounts for 55% of the first impression
- Fairness and Diversity - the 11 ways the customer views the staff person should *never* be reversed

He suggested everyone do a first impact audit to see if the experience the customer faces is truly welcoming and what they want, that we figure out ways to empower our customer, and to work on that decompression zone.

This was a good program with some worthwhile info.

Michelle

Pre-Conference Workshop

All day today was a pre-conference workshop that basically could have been called "So You Want to Start a Children's Museum 101". Actually, it was quite interesting, broken down into one hour modules and full of information.

Modules were on topics like the need for a feasibility study, running a capital campaign, basic fundraising, coming up with a business plan, the nuts and bolts of museum exhibits, and resources available to the start-up museum.

There were a few things that struck me about this workshop: The first was that there were quite a number of attendees who as far as I could tell are stay-at-hime moms who want to have a children's museum in their town. They have a lot of enthusiam and passion but it was pretty apparent that at least at the moment, they really don't have a good concept of is really involved in starting up a children's museum. (It is more than having a mini-grocery store exhibit or setting up a bunch of easels and paint brushes. But I give them total credit in that they are at the right conference, and are asking the right questions). Another observation for me is that at least in Rancho Cucamonga, so much of what was being talked about, we have already done (in a library context). Capital campaign? Done that. Fundraising? It is in our blood. Construction project management? No need to contract this out. With our feaibility study, what we are doing is textbook in that the Gyroscope people are doing *exactly* what more than one speaker said what should happen when doing a feasibility study. And unlike most people at the workshop, we have so much infrastructure already (such as administration, a building, facilities maintenance, a working 501(c)3 organization, etc.

My final observation was that most of the speakers today were once upon a time the stay-at-home moms who had a dream and through sheer determination, made their museum happen. Mind you, most of these museums are in the 900 (yes *900*) to 5,000 sq. ft. range, but the bottom line is that they made their dream happen, and more important, they are proud of what they have accomplished. These people made their dream happen (and in many cases, it took up to 12 years of living in cramped, temporary spaces and running a "museum without walls", which is a euphemism for just setting up an exhibit for a day in a park or a community center).

They did it so there is no reason why we will not. (Only we will do it better!)

RK

Pecha Kucha Philly Style

This evening RK and I went to a program about play, creativity, learning, art, etc. - presented Pecha Kucha style.

What is Pecha Kucha you ask? First, it's pronounced in a couple different ways ("peh-cha-ku-cha" or "pe-chak-cha"). Either way, it's a fast-paced format for making powerpoint presentations - ultimately making the presentation more fun, quick, and keeps people from reading their slides! (YAY!!!) For more info - here's the Wikipedia definition.

Presenters each show 20 images on 20 different slides for 20 seconds each. No words or bullet points or anything. Then, the presenter talks over the images and are done in 6 minutes 40 seconds! It was a real fast-paced way to learn lots of different topics and see lots of different exciting projects.

I will definitely incorporate this into my PPT style. In fact I think I will use this method for a portion of my California Library Association presentation in October and want to adapt it to use at our next in-service. This is great for the audience because it keeps the presentation moving and keeps the energy up. The good thing is - even if the presentation sucks, it's done in 6 mins 40 secs!

I think this would make for a great teen program or adult program - perhaps out in the Courtyard. I am sure there is a lot of creativity out there that we could harness into an exciting Pecha Kucha Night (there are 190 participating Pecha Kucha countries)! Of course - I might have to adapt this into something that will work for me and call it something else like Micha Pucha (well, maybe not - that sounds too much like Machu Picchu)

Michelle

Made it to Philadephia!

Well, our flight was delayed about three hours in Dallas (not sure why) but it meant that we didn't get into Philadelphia until around 2am! Needless to say, we are both dog-tired. (However, considering that I went to Sacramento on less sleep, I should be OK. At least here, I don't have to walk around all day and keep up with a couple of teenagers!)

Today's program is about starting a children's museum. I am real excited about this because it will give us a good idea of how our planning process has been. Plus I get to learn something new!

OK, better get going. More to follow...

RK

Welcome!

to Michelle and RK's Children's Museum Conference blog.

We are leaving for Philly tomorrow to learn all we can about the planning and design process for creating an interactive space for children and their families. We will blog about the programs we attend, the exhibitors we talk to, the people we meet, the museums we visit, and of course (most importantly) the food we eat!

For more information about the ACM Conference, check here.

Stay tuned...

Michelle