Cross Pollination
One thing I find interesting about museum work, is how many other fields we overlap with. Here are some readings from other fields I've found relevant and useful.
The Experience Economy
B. Joseph Pine III and James H. Gilmore
Harvard Business Review Press; Updated edition (July 5, 2011)
My friend Anita turned me on to this book. She was studying how it applies in museums as part of her MA thesis in Parks, Rec, and Tourism at the University of Utah. I later learned it is also a foundational book for BYU's Recreation Management program. At first glance, it's a book about business and marketing. But read it from the perspective of a museum educator, exhibit designer, or visitor services director, and you'll find a trove of valuable ideas for creating rich, compelling and engaging museum experiences.
B. Joseph Pine III and James H. Gilmore
Harvard Business Review Press; Updated edition (July 5, 2011)
My friend Anita turned me on to this book. She was studying how it applies in museums as part of her MA thesis in Parks, Rec, and Tourism at the University of Utah. I later learned it is also a foundational book for BYU's Recreation Management program. At first glance, it's a book about business and marketing. But read it from the perspective of a museum educator, exhibit designer, or visitor services director, and you'll find a trove of valuable ideas for creating rich, compelling and engaging museum experiences.
Pine and Gilmore trace economic offerings from commodity (for example, the coffee bean), to goods (the coffee bean roasted, ground, and packaged for sale at the grocery store), to services (brewed and served in a diner), to experiences (think Starbucks.) Their references to staging, props, and entertainment, may deter museum professionals, but they remind us that staging experiences is not about entertaining customers, it's about engaging them through participation and connection - exactly what we strive to do with our visitors in museums. The authors identify four "experience realms": entertainment, educational (see, it's okay!), esthetic , and escapist. Don't just choose one realm of focus, but creatively explore how aspects of each realm might enhance the experience you wish to provide. Of course, some realms will be represented more prominently than others, but look for a "sweet spot" that includes even a little of each realm while still being relevant and appropriate for your museum.
Other ideas will resonate with museum folks: choosing a theme around which visitors can organize the impressions they encounter; engaging the five senses; recognizing that no two people will have the same experience, considering it derives from the individual prior state of mind and being; and more. Apparently I'm not the first to discover this book's relationship to the museum field. As I prepared this review, I found that authors published an article by the same title in the March/April 1999 Museum News (when I has home with a newborn baby - no wonder I missed it!) This article has now been reprinted as Chapter 14 of Reinventing the Museum: The Evolving Conversation on the Paradigm Shift edited by Gail Anderson, 2012. Start with the article or chapter and see what you think!
Other ideas will resonate with museum folks: choosing a theme around which visitors can organize the impressions they encounter; engaging the five senses; recognizing that no two people will have the same experience, considering it derives from the individual prior state of mind and being; and more. Apparently I'm not the first to discover this book's relationship to the museum field. As I prepared this review, I found that authors published an article by the same title in the March/April 1999 Museum News (when I has home with a newborn baby - no wonder I missed it!) This article has now been reprinted as Chapter 14 of Reinventing the Museum: The Evolving Conversation on the Paradigm Shift edited by Gail Anderson, 2012. Start with the article or chapter and see what you think!
First Principles of Instruction
M. David Merrill
ETR&D, Vol. 50, No. 3, 2002, pp. 43–59
Learning in museums differs from formal educational settings. Nevertheless, many principles of effective instruction are universal. David Merrill, Professor Emeritus of Instructional Design at Utah State University, studied multiple instructional models and theories with the goal of identifying common prescriptive principles. He boiled it down to five principles, many of which may already feel familiar to museum educators:
I believe museum educators can use these principles to design effective and engaging exhibitions and instruction in them. For example, many exhibits, particularly in science centers, address real world problems. Get visitors thinking by inviting them to consider solutions for those problems. Helping visitors make connections between exhibit content and their own lives provides context for new information presented. Live performances and demonstrations bring exhibit topics to life, and allowing the visitor to participate in those demonstrations, or even manipulate an object, uses multiple senses and solidifies the experience. New knowledge is integrated when we give visitors the chance to reflect, respond, and discuss the new ideas they have encountered.
While museums have not had a strong presence in the field of instructional design, the increasing emphasis on their educational role demands that established learning theories be incorporated by them. Application of learning theories in museum contexts, both by museum educators and instructional designers, will not only benefit museum visitors, but will contribute to the field as a whole.
The complete article can be read at the author's website, and has also be expanded into a book.
M. David Merrill
ETR&D, Vol. 50, No. 3, 2002, pp. 43–59
Learning in museums differs from formal educational settings. Nevertheless, many principles of effective instruction are universal. David Merrill, Professor Emeritus of Instructional Design at Utah State University, studied multiple instructional models and theories with the goal of identifying common prescriptive principles. He boiled it down to five principles, many of which may already feel familiar to museum educators:
- Learning is promoted when learners are engaged in solving real world problems.
- Learning is promoted when existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge.
- Learning is promoted when new knowledge is demonstrated to the learner.
- Learning is promoted when new knowledge is applied by the learner.
- Learning is promoted when new knowledge is integrated into the learner’s world.
I believe museum educators can use these principles to design effective and engaging exhibitions and instruction in them. For example, many exhibits, particularly in science centers, address real world problems. Get visitors thinking by inviting them to consider solutions for those problems. Helping visitors make connections between exhibit content and their own lives provides context for new information presented. Live performances and demonstrations bring exhibit topics to life, and allowing the visitor to participate in those demonstrations, or even manipulate an object, uses multiple senses and solidifies the experience. New knowledge is integrated when we give visitors the chance to reflect, respond, and discuss the new ideas they have encountered.
While museums have not had a strong presence in the field of instructional design, the increasing emphasis on their educational role demands that established learning theories be incorporated by them. Application of learning theories in museum contexts, both by museum educators and instructional designers, will not only benefit museum visitors, but will contribute to the field as a whole.
The complete article can be read at the author's website, and has also be expanded into a book.