Boy Scouts of America, Order of the Arrow

This past weekend was the annual Southern Region 9 Conclave at Moundville Archeological Park. A conclave is a gathering of Boy Scouts who are members of the Order of the Arrow. We had over 600 scouts from all over Alabama and Georgia at this event. Having it at Moundville made it extra special for me.

Just a few days before the event I was asked to help create an exhibit showcasing the history of Coosa Lodge. Coosa is the the Order of the Arrow lodge for the Greater Alabama Council, BSA. We worked with lodge adult and youth leadership to concept, design, and produce this exhibit in under 5 days! Before the weekend was over, scouts were calling it the "Coosonian."

See below for slide show.

(Mound photographs by Eric Sullivan, Coosa Lodge)

Helping Visitors Budget Time at Your Museum

Have you ever thought about how your museum guests plan their visit and budget their time? Lets look at an example of a typical grade school field trip:

8:30 till 10:00 (1.5hrs) Leave the school and travel to museum

10:00 till 10:30 (30 mins) Ticketing and orientation and potty break 

10:30 till 12:00 (1.5 hrs) Gallery visit

12:00 till 12:45 (45 mins) Lunch

12:45 till 1:00 (15 mins) Gift shop and potty break

1:00 till 2:45 (1.5hrs) Travel back to school

How long did they spend at the museum?

How long did they spend doing "deep thinking?"

How long did they spend getting an overall impression of the museum?

The answer to the last question should include the time used to plan the trip. Planning starts at home while using the museum's website to learn more about the things your group can do during the visit. But how long - on average - does each activity take?

The Kansas Cosmosphere has a handy online guide to help their guest plan their day BEFORE they leave home. The guide helps them plan in advance in the quite of their home or office where better concentration can occur. Their guests can then wisely budget their time before leaving, and hopefully have a better overall perception of the Cosmosphere throughout the day and after returning home.

What methods are you using to help visitors budget their time?

In the future I will write about the concept of cognitive mapping to help your visitor budget their time.

Fred Hunter, Absolutely Alabama

Today Fred Hunter visited Cullman County to do a story on Streight's Raid - a unique event in Alabama during the Civil War. Look for the story soon on Absolutely Alabama. Look in the portfolion section to learn more about how Kelton Design interpreted the story of Streight's Raid for the Cullman County Museum.

John Kelton (L), Fred Hunter (R)

Tomorrowland @ Disney World

  

So I was searching Google images for design inspiration - who doesn't, right? Lo and behold I came across a blog post at www.onlywdworld.com about the Robots of Tomorrowland at Disney World. We  built the family of robots when I worked in Orlando for Presentations South, Inc. If I remember correctly, the Disney Imagineer came to our office with his original color pencil on canson paper sketch. We built all of the robots from these sketches. Those guys are still giving guests miles of smiles. http://www.onlywdworld.com/2011/09/robo-newz-direct-from-tomorrowland.html

Paul W. Bryant Museum

You never know who is going to walk in the door when working at the Paul W. Bryant Museum.  Coach Gene Stallings! 

University of Alabama Coach Gene Stallings

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

Today I am at the archives of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The curator showed me this brass key. Would you like to guess its historical significance?

Cullman County Courthouse

Commemorative displays for the Cullman County Courthouse which took a direct hit during the 2011 Alabama tornados. You can read more about the displays at this link from the Cullman Times newspaper: http://www.cullmantimes.com/local/x880896773/Items-found-in-time-capsule-pieces-of-clock-recovered-after-tornado-on-display-at-courthouse

No Greater Love 9/11 Heroism Medal

It has been 11 years since 9/11, and the world we live in is a different place. As an American, I grieved for those lost and cried every day for two weeks. To process my emotions, I began a personal project – the "No Greater Love" heroism medal – to remember those that were lost risking their lives to save others. I would like to share the artwork for the medal with you today. Comment if you recognize symbolism in the design.

Alabama in the Making, exhibit opening

Alabama in the Making, a new traveling exhibit for the Alabama Folklife Association, opened this past weekend at the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art, Tuscumbia. Kelton Design planned and designed five oral history stations with one representing each region of the state. Each station has an iPad with both audio and video recording of oral histories collected as part of a Smithsonian grant and the Alabama Community Scholars Institute. All of these collection are maintained at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. This exhibit is intended to make the rich oral histories of Alabamians come alive and accessible to the public. I hope you have a chance to see the exhibit when it comes to your part of Sweet Home Alabama. Please repost this so we can spread the word about the exhibit.

You can see more photos at this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/gallery/81825870/1/Photos_Alabama%20Folklife?h=ef5b05

Alabama Folklife Association

In the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to dig into an extensive collection of oral histories about folklife traditions collected by the Alabama Folklife Association and maintained at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Kelton Design has planned, designed and produced an exhibit highlighting these oral histories. It will debut next week at the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art, Tuscumbia. The exhibit will travel the entire state, so look for it when it comes to your region of Alabama. www.alabamainthemaking.com Please feel free to retweet this post.

Tip of the Day: File Transfer

I recommend www.wetransfer.com when you need to transfer large files. Their interface is simple and to the point on both the upload and download side of the transfer.