INTRODUCTION: MUSEUM FLOOR PLAN: EXHIBIT SKETCHES

     This blog is intended to serve as a reference tool for exhibit planning committee members.  It is a place where museum staff and committee members can share ideas and progress on the development of displays.   
     Most of the images on these pages were taken by me on my recent information gathering tour of museums in the Anchorage area, San Francisco and Seattle area.  My apologies for the many flaws and marginal qualities in many of the photos.  I hope I was able to get good information into most of them.  I was concerned with seeing other peoples ideas of how things were put together, groupings within cases, creation of environments, layout of floor plans and whatever technical information I could gather from observation about materials used, lighting, etc.. 

     The various categories that make blog pages were determined after return and trying to make sense of the approximately 1,400 images I shot.  When I think I am almost done choosing categories more ideas come up.  As I get familiar with the blog and how to work with it, more things will be added.  I just learned there is a limit of 20 pages to this blog so some existing pages will be combined with other pages.  Look for titles to change and more clearly indicate contents of that page.   Progress on various exhibits, sketches of displays, photos from the museum collection, videos and written ideas will be added to existing pages.  New pages will certainly need to be created as we fine tune each exhibit for the new space.  Some pages are added without images.  Those pages remain mysteries so far.  The blog, like the exhibits themselves, is a work in progress.

     I am available to answer questions and help clarify what is in any of the photos here.  I don't know yet how to post things on the blog though that is possible according to our blog mistress Nancy.  Email and phone calls are fine with me.  Please don't hesitate to contact me.  Also, I apologize for sideways images.  They are annoying but so far I'm stumped as to how to flip them.  

Due to time constraints I haven't identified images with museums on the blog.  I will do so whenever it seems helpful.

The following museums were visited:

The Anchorage Museum at the Rasmuson Center

The Alaska Transportation Museum in Wasilla

The Alaska Aviation Museum

The Alaska Native Heritage Museum

The San Francisco Maritime National Park

The deYoung Museum

The California Academy of Science

The Palace of the Legion of Honor

The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)

in Seattle

MOHAI Archives

The Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie

The Burke Museum at the University of Washington

There is more to come here so please check this blog regularly.  

Thanks for all the effort, energy and creativity you put into our museum.

Denis

MUSEUM FLOOR PLAN & 
EXHIBIT CATEGORIES

This plan has galleries color coded and walls labeled and is the latest key to layout of exhibits.  Dashed lines indicate approximate size of base for display.  Susan and I have been getting our heads together on this.  We are currently continuing to sketch out each exhibit.  The fine tuning continues.  

ROUGH SKETCHES FOR DISPLAYS

These sketches are initial ideas, totally subject to change, thinking through drawing.  They will be organized as ideas develop.  For now I just want to get them up to share with people so will put them up as they are done.   

I hope you will be encouraged to do the same with any ideas you get, regardless of how rusty you are at drawing.  

Remember, the museum is very much a visual experience.  

Paul Schwartzbart requests making the chair so people can sit in the chair.

Located in Gallery 3 over the vent at the end of the wall common to galleries 2 & 4.