For the past two months, I’ve been intimately involved in the development of an upcoming museum exhibition that will focus on the intersections of art and science. The exhibition will debut at the Reeves ASK Science Center in late September 2007. The development process, which has been highly collaborative, has been fascinating and I will share some behind-the-scenes details with you.

Our inagural meeting was in early May 2007. A group of us met for the first of many brainstorming sessions. We covered three major topics that day. The first question before us was: What are the primary characteristics of our ideal exhibition? The suggestions came easily. The exhibition would: feature the intersection of art and science, be family-friendly, have consistent themes, offer take-away written materials, be visitor-centered and inquiry-based, offer a playful experience, be process-oriented, showcase activities that match California school standards, balance the familiar with the unfamiliar, be self-directed and non-linear, provide brief, clear instructions, be interactive and visual, target broad and diverse audiences, be comfortable, be accessible to multiple intelligences, and benefit from staff and community input.

Our next brainstorming topic revolved around the themes of the exhibition. This part was more difficult. We tossed out numerous ideas having to do with art and science (light, nature, water, landscape, color, air, movement, architecture) and then there was a long silence. The possibilities were endless and very large in scale. We were stuck.

We decided at that point to move onto a different aspect of the exhibition. What would our exhibition look like? What activities, objects and experiences should be part of our project? The suggested ideas included: interactive stations based on objects, an art gallery, an interactive computer station, a library, a mural, and a wall map.

Once we had an idea of what our exhibition would look like, we had a better handle on how to incorporate the themes into the different areas.

What happened next? Details in my next blog.

Posted by Teresa España, Associate Curator of Programs. You can reach her at teresae@fresnomet.org