Museum Archipelago

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23. Museum-Metro Station Hybrids Jun 05, 2017

Show notes

Image: An early rendering of the Serdika station in Sofia, Bulgaria, displaying Roman ruins on the first level underneath the street.

During the planning stages for the Sofia Metro in Bulgaria, ruins of an old Roman fortress and city wall were discovered at the network’s proposed Serdika station. This wasn’t a surprise. People have been living in what is now Sofia for at least 4,000 years, and when you dig a tunnel, you’re bound to find something.
The agendas of archaeologists and metro builders are often contradictory. Metro builders want to proceed quickly, while archaeological examination can be extremely time consuming. After the construction finished, however, Serdika station resolved these differences into a museum-metro station hybrid.
Serdika station is just one example of this museum-metro station hybrid. Metro systems in cities like Mexico City, Istanbul, and Rome have stations featuring artifacts unearthed during their construction. Museum Archipelago tries to make sense of these museum-like spaces.
Links:
Problems of Cultural Monuments' Preservation Connected with the Construction of the Sofia Underground
MISC | Archaeology & Subways

22. Guide Training at Akagera National Park with Lisa Brochu May 15, 2017

Show notes

I met interpretive planner Lisa Brochu in Akagara National Park in Rwanda. I was there as a tourist, and she was there as a guide trainer.

Lisa’s teaching stresses that the best way to communicate with the visiting public is by having strong, central theme.

At Akagara National Park, park-employed and community freelance guides are the ones doing that communication. By working with them, Lisa hopes visitors’ experience in Akegara will stick with them longer. Lisa teaches that instead of rattling off a list of facts, guides should bundle them together with a strong, central theme. Repeating the theme throughout the tour builds an emotional connection that standalone facts don’t.

In this episode, Lisa explains the importance of “going beyond the wow,” particularly for institutions like Akagara that have plenty of cool experiences to offer visitors. The “wow” doesn’t last, but a good theme will leave visitors with something to reflect on afterwards and then hopefully stimulate the visitor to make to make a commitment to the park’s conservation.

Guest: Lisa Brochu

21. Apollo 11 Historic Site May 01, 2017

Show notes

Even before I started working in the museum field, I was thinking about the future museum at the Apollo 11 landing site at Tranquility Base on the moon.

The site is special. No matter how the human experiment turns out, the site will represent the first step off earth. Now Tranquility Base is a pile of historical artifacts in their original context. Even the astronauts' footprints in the delicate, powder-like dust of the lunar surface are still there.

How should we treat this well-preserved historic site? What will the museum at the site have to say to future visitors, all of whom took the same journey as the Apollo 11 astronauts?Museum Archipelago has some ideas (and more questions).

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20. Universal Design at the White House Visitor Center with Sherril York Apr 18, 2017

Show notes

Dr. Sherril York, executive director of the National Center on Accessibility, was part of the team that renovated the White House Visitor Center in 2012. Design priorities included making the experience accessible for all visitors.

The new visitor center features raised line floor plans, tactile 3D models, and physical directional keys adjacent to touchscreens.

In this episode, based on her case study for the fall 2015 issue of the Exhibitionist, Dr. York describes the process of working on alternative navigation methods, explains the difference between accessability and universal design, and underscores the importance of not thinking about accessibility and universal design as an afterthought.

Guests:
Dr. Sherril York

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19. Remembering the Rwandan Genocide Against the Tutsi at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre Apr 03, 2017

Show notes

When the Kigali Genocide Memorial was first built in 1999, it was a burial site outside the Rwandan capitol city for thousands of victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide Against the Tutsi. Rwandans came to visit the final resting place of friends and family. Today, the city has expanded to envelop the memorial, which has also expanded to include a museum and archive.

We talk with Honoré Gatera, the manager of the memorial, about what the center means to the city and country in 2017 and why a museum is the right medium for the center.

This podcast was recorded at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre on March 24th, 2017.

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Guests:
Honoré Gatera

Topics Discussed:
00:00: Intro
00:14: Honoré Gatera, Manager of the Memorial
01:00: Burial Site
01:45: Visitor Experience / Opening Film
04:00: Individual Stories Lead to Community Stories
04:50: Video Is In Two Parts
05:25: Pre-Colonial Period
07:10: Why is a Museum the Right Medium to Tell the Story?
09:06: School Groups / Educational Outreach
11:07: Photographs in the Museum
13:00: Genocide Archive

18. Maps and the 20th Century at the British Library Feb 27, 2017

Show notes

Image: Two propaganda maps at the Maps and the 20th Century exhibit at the British Library.

The Maps and the 20th Century exhibit at the British Library is quick to get to central theme of the exhibition: in order to understand a map, you must understand how and why it was made. Maps are not neutral.

In a museum context, however, it can be tempting to present a map as the source of truth.

Topics Discussed:

00:00: Intro
00:14: Maps in Museums
01:08: Limiting the Gallery to the 20th Century
01:45: “Global North”
02:15: Propaganda Maps and Globes
02:40: German Map of European immigrants living in the US

Links:
Maps and the 20th Century: Drawing the Line

17. Entertainment and History at Disney's America Feb 06, 2017

Show notes

Image: A Civil War-era village that would have served as the hub of Disney's America. Image (c) Disney

In 1994, Disney was hard at work on a new theme park called Disney's America. The park, which would open in Virginia not far from Washington DC, would showcase the “sweep of American History.”

Confident and enthusiastic, Disney executives were walking a tightrope between entertainment and history.

Topics Discussed:

00:00: Intro
00:14: Disney's America
00:37: "The Complexity of the American Experience"
01:24: Themed Lands at the Magic Kingdom
01:50: Themed Lands at Disney's America
03:10: "Serious Fun"
03:50: Courtland Milloy
05:10: Theme Park Design
05:50: Marc Davis

Links:

DISNEY SAYS VA. PARK WILL BE SERIOUS FUN - The Washington Post

HELPING DISNEY, HURTING AMERICA?

SLAVERY IS NOT AMUSING

Disney Avenue: Imagineers Remember Creating Pirates of the Caribbean

Passport to Dreams Old & New: Marc Davis

16. Visitation Trends at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum Jan 16, 2017

Show notes

The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum is commemorating three anniversaries in 2017: the 200-year anniversary of the first attack of the Seminole War, the 60th anniversary of federal recognition of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the 20th anniversary of the opening of the museum.

Carrie Dilley, Visitor Services and Development Manager at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki museum, compiles data collected from visitors. Last year, she discovered that visitors from one third of countries visited the museum, including a surprising number of Europeans.

In this episode, Carrie discusses possible reasons behind the visitation numbers, some museum goals for the next year, and Seminole history.

Topics Discussed:
00:00: Intro
00:14: Carrie Dilley
00:48: Three anniversaries in 2017
03:30: Overall Visitation Numbers
04:44: What a Wonderful World Blog Post
05:25: Why the interest from Europe in general and Germany in particular?
07:30: Museum guides in multiple languages
08:00: How much do Europeans know about general American history?
10:30: New exhibits on the way

Guest:
Carrie Dilley, Visitor Services and Development Manager at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki museum.

15. Tamar Avishai's The Lonely Palette Jan 02, 2017

Show notes

The Lonely Palette is the best museum podcast out there. Host Tamar Avishai wants to make art more accessible and to help people feel more comfortable talking about what they see in museums. She uses her experience as a Spotlight Lecturer at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston as a jumping off point for her relaxed and unconventional approach to art history.

Topics discussed:
00:00 Intro
00:16 Tamar Avishai
00:29 The Lonely Palette
01:26 Museum education as a recent addition to the museum experience
02:04 Museum education making visitors feel welcome
02:49 Spotlight lectures at the MFA
04:14 A tour nobody asked for
06:05 The intro, by museum guests, in the Lonely Palette
10:10 The problem with audio guides

Guest:
Tamar Avishai

14. Early Interpretive Planning at the National Museum of African American History and Culture Dec 12, 2016

Show notes

Image: Guard tower from Camp H at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola at the National Museum Of African American History And Culture

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) opened in September 2016. Today we will talk to some of the people who were thinking about the museum in 2007.

Sara Smith and Andrew Anway were part of the Interpretive Planing team. They discuss NMAAHC director Lonnie Bunch's guiding principals for the museum as a whole, trips to other museums during the planning process, and the mission to show that what is happening in culture today is rooted in the past.

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Topcis Discussed:

00:00: Intro
00:30: Sara Smith and Andy Anway
01:12: National Museum of the American Indian
02:59: Guiding Principles of NMAAHC
06:59: Guard tower from Camp H at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola
08:50: Where in History Does the Museum Start?
09:44: The Museum Today
11:24: Getting The Museum Built

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