Exhibit Costs Can Be Confusing

Museum exhibit fabrication costs can be confusing.  Clients can be aghast and dismayed that a Pileated Wood Pecker model can cost over $2,000 and a flying Great Blue Heron can cost over $6,000.  Fabrication costs come down to the difference between customization and mass production.  You can buy customized cabinets for your home or you can buy mass produced ones.  There is a big price difference.

Many fabricated models are like sculptures made just for you.  This is especially true of biologically accurate models.  These models tell a specific story and that story takes time to tell.  The variations that have to be considered when making a biologically accurate model include:

• Geographic location.  This can cause differentiation in size, color and other features of an animal or plant.

• Time of year.

• The story being told.  Is it a coyote pouncing on a rabbit?  Is it a plant that only blooms one week out of the year?  These factors obviously change a lot about the sculpture and the labor required to sculpt it.

• Location.  Will it be inside in a climate-controlled room or will it be outside in the elements?

• Touch-ability.  Are visitors going to be rubbing its nose or climbing on it?

• Distance from the visitor.  Something seen further away in the background may not need to be as detailed as something in the foreground.

• Are you showing biological adaptations?

• Is it monochromatic or full color?

One-of-a-Kind Sculptures = More, More, More

Customization means it is one-of-a kind.  We do reuse molds, but even then, most projects still require some modification.  Customization also means the whole design and production process takes more than buying a mass-produced toy animal off a shelf of a toy store.  Here are some things included in the more:

• More inspiration.

• More expertise.

• More communication.

• More drawings.

• More steps in fabrication.

• More research.

• More collaboration.

• More people involved in the process.

All of that adds up to more time and time is money.  So, if a Pileated Woodpecker takes 60 hours of design, client approval, budgeting, client approval, sculpting, molding,  client approval, positioning, client approval, paint, client approval, installation, client approval, project management, etc. to accomplish the desired sculpture, doing all those steps (and more) results is a relatively inexpensive custom sculpture.

Sticker Shock

I do understand our clients’ reaction when they hear what customized exhibits cost.  My oven, which is a small under the cabinet type of oven, recently stopped working.  Since I have burners elsewhere, I only needed a small oven thinking less is more.  Holy cow, a brand new replacement costs well over $1,000!  Yet, I could get an oven that is mass-produced more often for around $400.  I get sticker shock, too, and I wasn’t even asking for my own sculpture.

When hiring a design-build firm, they will be able to guide you to determine whether you need a customized piece or a modified mass-produced object to help tell your story.  In order to get the most bang for your buck, a combination of the two may be used.  The goal is to always inspire and engage your visitors so working with your exhibit designer/fabricator to determine the best options for your budget is one of the keys to a satisfying visitor experience.

Have you had to change the parameters of what you initially wanted to meet your budget?  Did those changes include a combination of custom and modified objects?  What was the end result?  Start a conversation in the comments section below.