JMZ Exhibits
Join us for a conversation with JMZ Exhibits Director, Tina Keegan. This is the next installment in our newsletter series with all the latest news about the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo!
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Where do the ideas come from?
Exhibit ideas come from many places. Developers and designers find inspiration at other museums, zoos, parks and public places, in books, from nature, and from creative people such as artists, scientists, teachers, friends and of course, our visitors.
We spend time watching children play and explore. We observe how caregivers interact with children and support their learning. We also pay attention to the social dynamics of families, caregivers, and school groups. Learning, exploration and play happens differently for each child, so we look for a variety of ideas. We want everyone to find something that engages their curiosity.
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Young visitor's play with the Junior Museum's exhibits. |
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What is the process for turning the ideas and design into reality?
Ideas always seem to work really well in your head -- which is why it is important to create a design early on and then build a prototype to test it. With a prototype, we are evaluating a few factors:
1) Does it function as intended?
2) Does it communicate the concept that we were aiming for?
3) Do users like it? Does it engage their interest?
The last criterion is very important because even though visitors come to a museum to learn, they also come to have a good time!
Prototypes are tested with staff, visitors of various ages and abilities, and expert advisors. We may iterate several times on a prototype. Sometimes we know from past experience that an exhibit will be successful, and we may skip the prototyping phase to save time. However, skipping this step means we may miss valuable insights as well as the opportunities for innovation that arise from observation and the creativity of other people.
The last step is to create a detailed design for building. But the process still doesn’t end after an exhibit is built! We often find kids do surprising things or can break something that we thought was bullet-proof. So remediation is always planned for after an exhibition is open to the public.
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What influences or guides the design?
Many factors influence the design. We consider esthetics, durability, maintenance, building costs and methods, materials, acoustics, ergonomic needs, sanitization, and environmental sustainability. These design constraints require research and thoughtful consideration.
For example, to design for ergonomics we must consider our audience, which spans birth to adults. A toddler’s height, reach range and physical capability is vastly different from a 9 year old’s and even more so than an adult caregiver that will also use the exhibits. We also follow Universal Design principles so our facility and exhibits are usable by all people, regardless of age, disability or other factors. This adds an added level of complexity but the reward of engaging ALL visitors is worth the investment!
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How do you maximize the audience for the exhibits?
We try to engage multiple users at each exhibit and provide more than one station for experiences. That way groups can work together, and you don’t have to wait to use an exhibit. We also pace a visitor’s experience by having benches, snacking areas and quiet, sensory-free spaces where people can take a break and re-energize. Museum fatigue is the technical term, and it affects adults and kids alike. Tantrums are an outcome of this, so be sure to check out our Calming Nooks.
How do you decide what materials to use and where do you source the materials?
Materials are chosen for aesthetics, durability, cost, ease of sanitization and environmental sustainability. We balance our choices by weighing these variables. For example, we may spend more money on a material that is durable, sustainable and can be sanitized, but this investment becomes a savings in the long run because the material lasts, requires less staff maintenance, can be easily cleaned and has a smaller environmental footprint. Because our exhibits are custom designed, the main cost is in the labor, not the materials so we must make careful choices. They are often sourced locally or online.
Sustainable materials are also important given our mission and the City’s commitment to environmental responsibility. This takes more research but the benefits often go beyond the environmental footprint since many eco-friendly materials are healthier for our staff and guests.
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Who is involved in developing the exhibits?
Our exhibits are developed and designed by an in-house team that includes myself, Koen Liem (Senior Exhibit Designer), George Carpenter (Exhibits Builder), Leo Knapp (Exhibits Builder) and Lisa Eriksen (Accessibility Coordinator). We also involve other staff, interns, expert advisors for accessibility or scientific content, and contractors, such as text writers, graphic designers, evaluators, builders, artists, and other specialists. It is truly a team effort!
Can you talk about your favorite exhibit(s)?
I always enjoyed our old Ball Machine as much as the kids did! I loved watching the balls move in surprising ways and enjoyed how the kids collaborated to make it work -- developing their sharing and social skills at the same time. There is something about ball machines that fascinates children and adults alike. Our new machine, developed by Koen Liem, still requires kids to work together, but it adds a new beauty with fascinating mechanisms and surprising sounds and payoffs as golf balls roll through the machine.
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What makes the JMZ exhibits different from other museums?
We create hands-on and developmentally appropriate exhibits for young children. They are developed, prototyped and designed in-house by a small team. Many are also built by us in our workshop and are mostly built using green, sustainable materials. We have a comprehensive accessibility initiative, called Access from the Ground Up, that is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to design for accessibility for people with physical and developmental disabilities. The new JMZ will be an international model in this regard for other museums and zoos. Lastly, the needs of caregivers and visitors are highly considered, and we believe they are essential to creating an excellent visitor experience.
How many new exhibits have been added with the rebuild?
We have really packed the exhibits and play experiences into the new museum and zoo -- not an inch has been wasted! It is difficult to count exhibits because usually one exhibit accommodates multiple users. We think it is often more fun to do things with new or old friends!
In our new space, our main exhibition, called Curious by Nature, offers science exhibits that encourage experimentation, such as the ball machine, creating time-lapse movies, making paper helicopters, building mobiles, spinning tops, and more. The Collection Corner offers a scavenger hunt with sensory-rich interactives amongst our natural history collection artifacts. The Build! area will change every few months with innovative blocks to build and topple. The Baby’s Meadow welcomes our crawlers and toddlers with activities just right for youngest visitors.The Garden offers a Gravel Dig, a water and sand table and active play experiences to keep kids busy in nature. It is also a beautiful place for adults to relax with one another while they watch their children.
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The Junior Museum & Zoo's new Ball Machine exhibit. |
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Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo
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