Last week I was in Oklahoma. The reason for going was personal, but I visited a couple of museums and since I am no longer able to see through the eyes of an everyday visitor anymore, the line gets fuzzy where work begins and ends. It’s a blessing and a curse.
At one particular museum, I had the privilege of meeting with the head of exhibits. As we walked around all the galleries, he pointed out barriers which had to be installed because visitors were known to climb on the dinosaurs and other animals!
There was even a buffalo in one exhibit which had an obvious barrier, but visitors would climb up the side then trample over the grasses and smaller animals and insects to take photos on or near the buffalo.
To me conduct such as this is mind boggling, especially when it’s the adults encouraging the behavior.
So, in an effort to possibly curtail bad behavior at museums, nature centers, etc., here are some things not to do in an exhibit gallery (or anywhere else for that matter):
- Don’t climb on the exhibits! Just because there’s not a sign telling you not to do something, does not make it OK to do it. Most institutions make it pretty obvious what is touchable and what is not.
- Don’t pick at the graphics! Not all facilities are financially able to replace their graphics or other exhibits routinely. A peeling label or lettering is not an invitation for you or your children to pick at it. My one year old is an expert label peeler. I’m not sure what is so fascinating about peeling something, but he is instantly drawn to those opportunities. I know this, so I proactively watch him and divert his attention elsewhere if there is a peeling opportunity.
- Don’t intentionally try to break an interactive. We have a client in CA who said one of their volunteers witnessed kids hanging on hydraulic flip doors and broke each and every one of them. In this situation, you would have thought the volunteer would have spoken up, but no, he just sat by and watched the damage be done.
I’m sure there are many more stories to be told. What have you witnessed people do in a museum or nature center that you couldn’t believe they did?



When Does the Client Want it Done
Before you try to wrap your head around how we get massive ground forms into a semi, let me reveal a little of the magic behind the curtain. Each structure is built knowing that we will be cutting it into chunks. Chunks that can fit through a double door, ideally. The exhibit is a 3D puzzle that comes together amazingly well. So, we know how to fit an exhibit into limited shipping spaces. Packing a shipping container for an ocean transit isn’t too different from packing a short semi-trailer. You don’t want to waste any space, and you want the weight to be well distributed, since the entire container will be moved by some sort of suspension system in the port. 
