On the Road in Ohio

COSIAfter my trip to Wisconsin, I went to three cities in Ohio. My favorite city that I visited was Columbus. There's a lot of great restaurants, shops, art galleries and museums in Columbus and the people were great too. I think a must-see for anyone who goes to Columbus is COSI. It was rated the number one science museum in the U.S. by parenting magazine and although I haven't been to every science museum in the U.S. I'd have to say it was the best one I've ever been to. The staff was very friendly and helpful, the children were well behaved and the museum was clean. The exhibits were engaging and immersive and well-maintained. There were very few out-of-order signs and it was just a fun place to visit.


Franklin Park Conservatory
During my fun-filled trip to Ohio, I also went to the Franklin Park Conservatory. Horticulture is not one of my biggest interests but they boasted having some pieces leftover from Dale Chihuly's traveling exhibit. I saw this exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden and it was fantastic so I thought it would be a place worth visiting. The Conservatory was very pretty and Chihuly's work was beautiful as always but I was expecting more. There weren't very many pieces and they were dispersed throughout the entire space with bits and pieces placed here and there. Even in their Chihuly Resource Center, there were only a couple small pieces of his work. I thought the nicest part of the Franklin Park Conservatory was the outdoor area which is free to the public (as opposed to the $7.50 for admission to the greenhouse). If anyone wants a nice peaceful outdoor activity with beautiful scenery then they will really enjoy this area and save themselves $7.50.

I also have some more valuable travel tips for this week:

1. If you are staying in 3 different hotels per week, it's a good idea to write down your room number on a piece of paper, on your phone, or on your arm. This way you won't repeatedly go to the room numbers of the 5 previous hotels you just stayed in and try to unlock someone else's door. You might also want to make a note of the floor you are staying on so that you don't spend your whole day in the elevator trying to figure it out. This also applies to the city that you are currently in because that tends to get confusing too. Just be sure to carry a pen and paper wherever you go and write reminder notes to yourself and you will be fine!

2. Do not put your magnetic room key anywhere near your phone or keys because apparently, it will de-magnetize the key. I managed to lock myself out of a hotel room 3 times in 4 days before I figured this out.

3. If you are running late for your flight you can fake a broken leg and get an airport wheelchair. Anyone in a wheelchair gets to go to the front of the airport security line (including all of the people traveling with them). I've never done this myself but I've witnessed people suddenly being afflicted with all sorts of disabilities when they approach airport security. I recently witnessed one woman with a broken arm suddenly become incapable of walking. The airport wheelchair is the E-Z Pass of airport security. It took me 15 minutes to get to the front of the line. The lady with the broken arm (and her husband) were through those metal detectors in less than two.

On the Road in Wisconsin (part 2)

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame

I went to check out Lambeau Field before I left Wisconsin because I felt that it was something I needed to do in order to get the real Green Bay experience. I wanted to take the stadium tour because I heard that they actually let you go on the field. I arrived at 9:15 but unfortunately the first tour started at 11 am and I had to leave for the airport at 11:30 so I opted for the ticket to the Packers Hall of Fame which is located on the lower level of the stadium.


The museum was surprisingly nice. It had beautiful displays, sculptures, and really nice graphics. The labels were clear and well placed and there was also video footage to supplement the text. It had a good balance of technology and hands-on interactives plus lots of cool photo-ops with lifelike sculptures. They had tons of interesting artifacts and an exact replica of Vince Lombardi's office that you could walk through. There was also a separate area for kids to play in where they could put on football jerseys and throw footballs or slide down a giant hunk of cheese.


The exhibit was clean and well maintained, the content was well organized and I didn't find anything out of order or broken. The staff was also very friendly and helpful and even gave me the senior citizen discount when I told them I work in museums.

Even though I'm not a Packers fan I thought this was a great museum. I was really very impressed. I would recommend buying the Stadium Tour and Hall of Fame package. If you do take the stadium tour please let me know how it was since I never got to see it myself!

On the Road in Wisconsin (part 1)

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary

I just spent the last week in Wisconsin. During the first half of the trip, I was in a city called Rothschild. With a population of 5,201, there wasn't much to do there. I tried reading the phone book but it was only 10 pages long. No kidding. This place had more cows than people. Thankfully, my hotel room came with a hot tub. This really helped with the boredom and the fact that it was a shocking 48 degrees outside after I just came from 80-degree weather in NY. I discovered there's a lot of things you can do while in the hot tub such as reading, watching TV, calling friends, text messaging, eating, sending emails, working on your laptop...blogging, etc...

So my travel tip for this week is: if you must travel, be sure to book a hotel room with a hot tub 3 feet from your bed. A flat-screen TV in the bathroom doesn't hurt either.

After my exciting trip to Rothschild, I drove back across the state (another 88 miles of corn) to Green Bay which is a relative metropolis compared to Rothschild. During this trip, my GPS and I got into our first fight. After an hour of driving, she led me back to where I started. Some harsh words were spoken but I realize it wasn't her fault and we've since made up. She didn't know there was highway construction and I know she would never intentionally lead me astray.

My first day there I went to the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. It's a beautiful 700-acre urban wildlife refuge that receives over 3,000 injured, orphaned and sick animals each year. They rehabilitate as many animals as possible and release them back into the wild. Animals that can't survive in the wild remain at the Wildlife Sanctuary. The park, which is Green Bay's largest city park, also has 6.6 miles of hiking trails and is open year-round with no admission fee.

I went on a day where the weather was perfect for outdoor activities. The animals were extremely friendly and were not shy about coming up close to the visitors (probably because you're allowed to buy food to feed them). One of the things I really liked about the park was that it offered unique views of wildlife such as this viewing tower in the picture to the left. The park was really pretty and had many benches and picnic areas with beautiful views of ponds. It wasn't crowded at all and was actually very peaceful. I just picked up a map at the Nature Center and walked at my leisure through the trails. This was definitely a great daytime outdoor activity that I would recommend for all ages.

Also, right across the street is the Bay Beach Amusement park (open seasonally) which had rides, go carts and mini-golf with a view of the waterfront.

For more info about the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary

call (920) 391-3671 or go to www.baybeachwildlife.com

On the Road in Michigan & Canada (part 2)

Greenfield Village and Windsor Museum

I was in Michigan for 8 days and had some free time over the weekend so I went to the old car show at Greenfield Village. Greenfield Village houses more than 83 authentic historic sites throughout its 90 acres including the Wright Brothers' workshop, Thomas Edison's laboratory, the Firestone Farm and George Washington Carver's cabin. It has costumed presenters who give demonstrations in weaving, pottery, glass blowing, etc... and will answer all of your questions. You can also take a ride in a vintage Model T, hop on a steam-powered train, a horse-drawn omnibus or ride on a carousel from 1913.

That weekend, there were hundreds of old cars parked or driving throughout Greenfield Village so if you're someone who loves cars then this was the place to be. There was a lot to see and do and I would recommend Greenfield Village as a fun family activity.

The next day I took a drive over to Windsor, Canada. Its biggest attraction is Caesar's Casino so if you're like me and you're not into gambling then I would recommend taking a stroll along the river. There's separate walking and bike trails (you can rent a bike for only $5 an hour) and a pretty sculpture garden that runs along the entire path. There's also plenty of bathrooms, snack stands, and restaurants along the way if you want to take a break and enjoy the view of the Detroit skyline.

I also wandered around the city for a little while and stumbled upon the Windsor Museum which is free to the public and has an exhibit that in my opinion rivals the Museum of Jurassic technology in its weirdness.

(I had a similar exhibit in my childhood bedroom when I was about 10. This was back before I knew I wanted to be an exhibit designer or that such a thing even existed but I used to have artwork, sculptures, dioramas and artifacts displayed all over every inch of my room complete with interpretive signage. There was even a sign telling a story I made up about a hole in the wall that was created by a poor blind fly named Milly who met a tragic end when she crashed into the wall).

Well, my bedroom exhibit made more sense than the Windsor Museum which was set up in an old house that looked as if they dragged a bunch of stuff out of the attic and put it up all over the walls. But it had an un-museum like quality that I liked. It was unpretentious and absolutely devoid of any technology or special effects and I found it kind of nice that I wasn't sprayed with anything and wasn't forced to watch a movie. I get the feeling that most people who live in Windsor probably don't even know that this little gem exists but if you are planning a trip to the area I recommend popping in just to see for yourself because I think it's just impossible for me to describe in words and pictures just don't do it justice.

Now I'm back in NY for a couple of days and getting ready to leave for my trip to Wisconsin. It was great to be somewhere new but when my taxi dropped me off at my building and I was wheeling my suitcase up to my front door, my path was blocked by a woman who was letting her dog relieve himself on my stoop. I laughed and thought to myself, "Aah New York...it's good to be home!"

On the Road in Michigan & Canada (part 1)

Here I am in Detroit, Michigan on week 2 of traveling. Last week was Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love and home of our founding fathers. I had a lot of work to do so I had to do the speed tour on 5 hours' sleep and in the 2 hours of free time I had before I had to get back to the airport (see the delirious picture of me at the Liberty Bell). The good thing about being completely exhausted and delirious in another city is that you sometimes stumble into places that you're not supposed to be without even knowing it. Such as the Constitution Center. I somehow wandered in the wrong way and wound up seeing the whole exhibit (although backward) without having to pay admission.

Tips for visiting Philadelphia:

If you want to tour the Franklin Mint, don't bring a camera...because they won't let you in : (



Other traveling tips: 

1. GPS is a must-have. I don't know how I've lived my life without this. The person who invented the GPS should be awarded the Nobel Prize. I am currently looking into getting one surgically implanted in my brain. If anyone has any info about how I can achieve this please forward it to me! 

2. If the lock on your suitcase breaks and won't open and your house-keys are locked inside, there are plenty of airport employees who are more than happy and willing to break it off for you. As one security employee said, "We love to cut locks!" Thank you JFK airport for your determination and enthusiasm.

3. Don't fly Delta. Always a nightmare. Every time.

4. If you must travel, the best way to do it is on someone else's dime!

So now here I am in my Detroit hotel suite which is bigger than my NY apartment. So far I've been to Detroit, Lansing, Troy, and Dearborn. Detroit happens to be the hometown of my mentor and exhibit mastermind extraordinaire, Paul Orselli. Yesterday, on Paul's recommendation, I went to the Henry Ford Museum which was really impressive. I saw the "Chocolate" traveling exhibit. Which was great for many reasons but mostly because they have a delicious chocolate bar at the end. Yum! I love exhibits with food. I also saw the chair that Lincoln was assassinated in, Rosa Parks bus, the DC-3, the Kennedy presidential limousine, Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House (I'm a Bucky fan so this was my favorite. Bucky Fuller was a mastermind designer who was way ahead of his time), the Allegheny Locomotive and oh yeah...how could I forget the biggest weiner I've ever seen.

I also took a tour of the Ford Rouge factory which I have to say was pretty boring since there was no production going on. If there was, I would have seen them making the Ford F-150. Instead, I saw an empty factory and wasted $7.50. Although, they do have a pretty interesting multi-sensory theater where they spray you and heat you as if you're the Ford being made on the assembly line. This was the second of 2 movies that you watch on the tour and I'm personally not very fond of exhibits with lots of videos. If I wanted to watch a movie I would have gone to a movie theater and not a museum. Since I was the only person on the tour (usually a good indicator that it's not a great exhibit) I had my very own tour guide and I learned that it's called "the Rouge" because the factory runs over the Rouge River. Which got its name because of the color it turns due to the red clay and minerals it picks up turning it red in color. Ok so maybe that was worth a buck seventy-five. If you're really into cars then you might enjoy this tour. But for someone like me who doesn't even own a car, then the chocolate exhibit is much more appealing.

Tomorrow, I'm going to the old car show at Greenfield Village, which has people dressed in period costumes from the 1800s (kind of like the Old-Bethpage village restoration) and also houses the Wright Brothers workshop, Thomas Edison's laboratory and George Washington Carver's cabin.

Then I'm off to Canada!

Exhibit on Wheels

Over the summer I worked for a little bit at the New York Aquarium located in Coney Island. This year was the first time that the NY Aquarium had a float in the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.  I had never been to the parade before but heard it was a lot of fun. When I found out the Aquarium needed puppeteers for their float I happily volunteered and I learned that it's way more fun to march in a parade than to just watch one pass by. The giant octopus float was created by the lovely and talented Katherine McLeod who builds and maintains the exhibits for the NY Aquarium. Many volunteers also helped Katherine build the float and march in the parade. I got to be an octopus tentacle (along with 7 other volunteers) and of course, we also had a mermaid.

The Octopus float brought new meaning to the words "traveling exhibit" as the Aquarium used the opportunity to get it's conservation message out and we even gave out free passes to the crowd so they could come to see the exhibits after the parade. 

Being an octopus tentacle was a lot of fun. I know myself, and all the other tentacles, can't wait to build a bigger and better float next year and march again.

Amazing Amphibians Exhibit

Long time no blog. Where has Kim Wagner been? Well, I've been busy frog wrangling at the Bronx Zoo! I was just hired to create and install 30 orange frogs of various sizes for the new "Amazing Amphibian" exhibit in the historical Zoo Center building. The frogs were made by cutting, gluing and heat bending Sintra plus many coats of orange paint. They were hung through the dome's 12 oculi and required two men up inside the dome fighting off pigeons and two on the ground with walkie talkies.

The exhibit was created to address the threats to amphibians. Close to half of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss, pollution, global warming, food use, introduced species, collection for the pet trade and amphibian chytrid fungus.

Featured amphibians are the Anderson's Newt, Puerto Rican Crested Toad, Mudpuppy, Green Poison Frog, Red-Eyed Tree Frog, Clown Tree Frog, Hourglass Tree Frog, Chacoan Horned Frog, Smooth-Sided Toad, and the Waxy Monkey Frog. 

Although the exhibit focuses on the amphibian crisis, it ends with a message of hope by highlighting ways you can help save amphibians.

Potion design: Where high-tech meets low maintenance

The AAM's Emerging Museum Professionals group was recently invited to a tour of the Potion Design studio. Founded by MIT graduates Jared Schiffman and Phillip Tiongson, Potion specializes in high-tech interactives.

Normally, I would equate high-tech with high maintenance. For me, the word "high-tech" would evoke visions of touch screens that need to be cleaned hourly, push buttons that get stuck and endless re-booting but Potion has developed an almost maintenance-free solution. There are no loose pieces, no touch screens, trackballs, mice or push buttons.

My favorite was The Limud Tables created for the Museum at Eldridge Street. They are just solid wood tables with an overhead projector that is out of the visitors' reach. You simply navigate through the information on the LCD screen by waving your finger over the images. The projectors have motion sensors so there's no touch screen to get jammed up with sticky fingers. There's also a great activity for kids where they get to design the stained glass window and decorate it with different colors. No loose pieces to get lost! The program is designed so that museum staff can easily update the information themselves so there's no need to keep re-printing graphics. According to Jared Schiffman, they use off the shelf products so if, for instance, a projector breaks it can be quickly replaced. The projector bulbs will need to be replaced about every three months. That's a maintenance job that I can definitely handle! 

www.potiondesign.com

Combine your love for food and museums

If you love museums or you love food (or maybe you're like me and you love both) here's a great article called: 12 Museums to Fuel a Road Trip.

I haven't made it to the Spam or Onion museum yet but I have been to the Hershey Museum several times. I suppose it's the free samples they give away at the end of the tour that ensures repeat visitation!

Access Panels: Don't design your exhibits without them

When designing an exhibit you should always assume that at some point it will eventually break or require some kind of maintenance. Exhibits endure a lot of abuse. If you are a designer you should always take into consideration that someone else will need a clear and easy way to maintain it. Don't cover screws with wood putty and don't build things that are so heavy they're impossible to lift. Try to use parts that can be bought off the shelf. For example; don't install a light bulb that needs to be specially ordered from Germany. One day that bulb will need to be replaced. The person responsible for maintaining the exhibit should be able to simply open a door and unscrew the bulb to replace it with a new one. It should not require five men to remove the exhibit from the museum floor with a forklift or hiring someone who speaks German to call the company in Germany only to find out they are no longer in business.

It's also a good idea to leave enough storage space under/behind your exhibit to store extra or spare parts. This will help avoid having to put up one of those dreaded "out of order" signs that cause visitors to complain about all the money they spent to see broken exhibits. If any pieces of the exhibit somehow disappear (as they often tend to do) they can be quickly and easily replaced. This will make the exhibit maintainer's job easier and more efficient and the museum visitors will be much happier when the exhibit is working.