Reflections on CAM

This morning Aimee and I shared our highlights from the California Association of Museums Conference which we attended in March 3-5, 2010. The theme of this annual meeting was Reflect on Tech, a topic which is near and dear to Zeum's collective heart.

Aimee and I began the conversation by demonstrating how several local museums are utilizing new media to make their collections more accessible, interactive, and engaging for a 2.0 audience.

Aimee shared how the Smithsonian Latino Center used Second Life to create an immersive online environment for visitors to interact with their collection and tell their stories. She also shared how museums are using mobile devices to solicit donations and encourage repeat visitorship through the use of such sites like MobligGiving.org.

I shared a few session which featured multitouch devices including the California Science Center which partnered with NASA to create Mars Mission games using the Microsoft Surface. As well as institution like the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles where exhibits developers created a custom 6x6' multitouch screen in their shop rather than pay $10,000 for an out-of-the-box product.

This idea of developers creating their own custom projects from start to finish truly inspired us. We thought "how could would it Zeum were a place for this type of innovation to take place, and better yet, what if this innovation was driven by our community!" This is where the concept of the Community Prototyping Lab was born.

From this initial idea, we shared three posible exhibits and asked for feedback on each. Here's what we got!

1) Community Prototyping Lab: Collaboration between artists, community members, and youth to create new exhibits.

Pros - appealing to 3-5 year olds, hands-on physical process, broader audience, funding, new offerings (members), creates "stake holders" out of participants, resources ($ and political coverage), fully collaborative experience!, achieves Zeum's mission

Cons - not appealing to 3-5 year olds, too broad, geared towards conceptual, too chaotic, too much input, who is spearheading this process? creates hierarchy - who makes the decisions?

2) Creative Design Studio: Artists/developers showcase prototypes alongside hands-on activities and opportunities to give feedback from visitors.

Pros: builds audience, creates impression of impact on broader culture as emergent tech developers, opening the museum up to students, emerging and established new media artists, link w/ local educational institutions

Cons: traffic flow, how do we know if projects are appropriate?, don't want the world of artists, etc. to outshine the kids, how is it funded?, possibly not kid friendly

3) Zeum Design Challenge: Real-world design challenges solved by visitors through creativity, communication, and collaboration.

Pros: on-site problem solving, member return rates, consistent facilitated workspace, community partnerships, help with outreach efforts, generate press coverage, more inclined to position Zeum as a thought leader, incentive for members, generate revenue/funding, world audience, very "Bay Area"

Cons: won't generate audience, real world problems change frequently have to constantly refresh, getting people to participate, vague, can't be open-ended

Finally, we asked folks to fill out a Exhibit Criteria Matrix through which everyone got a chance to rate the ideas based on: their ability to grow audience, generate revenue, generate funding, enhance visitor experience, make a community impact, appeal to 3-5 year olds, drive media coverage, and position Zeum as a thought leader...

And the results are.....

Creative Community Lab: 31 (out of 40 possible points)
Creative Design Studio: 29 (out of 40 possible points)
Zeum Design Challenge: 32 (out of 40 possible points)

Wow, what a tight race! Thank you all for your thoughtful feedback, ideas and critical questions! These are going to make a HUGE impact as we continue to plan our exhibits and programs for Zeum's future!

Please use this space to comment, share, and post other links or examples of new media which might be useful!

Here's to another inspirational Brown Bag!
Irina

Community Development, Civic Engagement, and Advocacy

Today's Brown Bag started with a brainstorm around three main questions:

Who is our community? kids, SFers, tourists, families, artists, NPOs, tweens, tweets, teachers, schools, students, media, teens, filmmakers, members, donors, biz partners, CBOs, YBG/SOMA, undeserved communities, museums, camps

What do we offer them? venue/space, educational environment, media studios, camps, DVDs, clay, field trips, inspiration, career development, creativity, mentorship, internships, rentals, bday parties, fun!, family time, exposure to arts and tech, fearlessness/safety, MAGIC

What do they offer us? feedback, art work, money, ideas, WOM (word of mouth), energy, inspiration, workshops, happiness, challenge, growth, staff, donations, youthfulness, network

From this I went on to talk a little bit about 3 arts organizations who presented at the Americans for the Arts Convention which I attended in Seattle last month. These three represented innovations in community development, civic engagement, and advocacy:

We first looked at the way the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle used it's Community Action Committee to curate their exhibitions and develop culturally specific programming. Through their sustained community network, the WLAM accepts exhibition proposals, curates, and helps facilitate their shows. One moving example of this was when the WLAM reached out to the Sikh community which was experiencing discrimination and alienation following the 9/11 tragedy. What started as a community vigil, became an ongoing partnership that included education programing created by and for the community itself. Teens worked to create a mural about the experience of being a second-generation immigrant, elders created oral histories, and community members gather both at the WLAM and at their own neighborhood center to share stories and create a comprehensive history of the Sikh people in the Pacific Northwest. This same Community Action Committee, came forward when it came time to fundraise for a new building. They raised $23 million over 5 years through 100% staff contributions, over $500,000 raised by the board of trustees, and community members doing "face to face ask" in the streets of Seattle's Chinatown!

Next we examined the way in which Urban Bush Women, a Brooklyn based performance group, developed civic engagement through telling under-told histories and stories of disenfranchised people to the light of dance. They began this process through an emphasis on Outreach, looking for strong black leaders outside the dance community to galvanize audience. However, over time they found this model to be too hierarchical. Next, they began doing Community Building by being invited into a communities and working closely with them to develop performances which shed light on their experience. In New Orleans, for example, they spent 3 months in meeting with groups in the town hall, community centers, bars, etc. to hear marginalized voices. However, simply telling stories was not enough. This is when they began Organizing/Mobilizing through their Summer Leadership Institute in which they married arts making with activism. They offered a toolbox to the young people who participated, creating a direct service opportunity that was linked with performance. Some of the performance that came out of that included“Are we Democracy?” which featured a voter registration drive as well as a performance which focused on body and safety and included HIV education and testing.

The last organization that we looked at was, Big Thought in Norther Texas which is a non-profit that links art providers to teachers, students, parents, and communities. Big Thought works with
Creative Learning Communities, which are partners that work together to organize and implement resources and programs though libraries, city agencies, universities, museums, and non-profits. They conduct Out-of-School Learning—Integrated Creative Learning which serve 300,000 children in Dallas – 97% of them are of color, 66% English as a second language. These programs are supported through dedicated Parent Groups which are developed through conversations about cultural opportunities that already exist in their communities and homes. Finally, Big Though advocates for itself and its mission through mobilized parent leaders (who create PSAs for the media and local politicians to spread the word.

We concluded with a final brainstorm about "What more can we do to engage our community?" some ideas included:

Community Advisory Board, Spiral Gallery reflecting communities, going after the entire economic spectrum, culturally specific performances and workshops, encourage more specific feedback from visitors "what did you create?" videos, local business sponsorship (i.e. Pixar), online present - advocacy - teachers (curriculum ideas, parents post-visit ideas), Best of Field Trip Showcase, Zeum tutorials (how to take the experience further), partnerships with Jump Start and similar child-centered organizations

Looking forward to more of your ideas!!!

Sky High Thoughts on Web 2.0!

On February 17, 2009, our Brown Bag lunch took on the wide world of the web and we asked ourselves the following questions:
What is the goal of Zeum's website?
Who is our end user?
What is the role of the website in the museum?
What kind of online presence do we want?
Given the economic situation, how can we maximize our awareness through online soruces?
We looked at several websites that we felt used interesting features and discussed what we liked and didn't like about our current site. Even more, we talked about what it would take to increase our visitorship on our site and how we can best serve our visitors.
To begin, Mike shared Agency Net's website, http://www.agencynet.com/, which demonstrates an interactive home page where visitors can engage the space of the business and learn what happens in each space. The informational menu below matches the content shared through the interactive component, making it easy for visitors to get the information they need while also being engaged. Mike said he felt that while Zeum is all about visitors sharing their stories, Zeum does not do a well enough job sharing OUR stories, and that we need to find mechanisms for telling people what it is we do here and who is involved. If Zeum were to follow this format, perhaps we could have children demonstrate the exhibits? A second website that he shared was Get The Glass, a promotional site for milk. http://www.gettheglass.com/ The site demonstrates the use of a child-friendly game to engage visitors.
Ari discussed the need for the website to both be interactive and also share information. Gil reflected on this and mentioned our site was very informative, but not interactive, and that both components are necessary. An example of a website that balances both interactivity and information is Burke Museum, http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/, which is Ari's favorite site. At the bottom are several clear options for interactivity, including networks, blogs, and podcasts. One consideration that Gil mentioned regarding expanding our use of networks is defining how we would manage them. She expressed a need for an in-house webmaster that would continually update content on all the networks and blogs and seek out sites that would direct visitors to us.
Audrey suggested that the greatest question for us to consider is "Who is our end-user?" Do parents really want a site that will engage their kids? Should we cater to children, teachers, or parents? Heidi mentioned that it may be possible to have a site that does all three and provides the visitor an option for which type of website s/he would like. Gil provided an example of a site that offers this option: Kids Health http://kidshealth.org/ Even so, Audrey expressed concern for doing all the work to make this available without first knowing whether it is an interest of our visitors.
Heidi asked the staff to consider all the ways someone might be directed to our website. Here is what we came up with:
search engines (such as google ad words)
networks
online childrens magazines
travel sites
resource and community events sites
blogs
flickr
photobucket
parent affinity group sites

Gil feels that one of the biggest issues we face with our site it that we don't tell visitors what it is that we do on our homepage. She mentioned how Flickr is very clear right away what it's aim is, but our site hardly shares anything, except the fact that we are a children's museum (which is in small print). http://www.flickr.com/
Bianca suggested that we should highlight our staff and share more stories about the diverse groups that we serve. Michael said a great way to accomplish this would be to share more photos of outreach efforts, our staff, and our events. While funders are always asking for these resources, it would also be a valuable way to increase awareness about our programs. He also mentioned that in general, our site is too text heavy. When mothers and children have short attention spans, it may help us to have a site with more images and quotes, rather than long descriptive pros. Images always speak louder than words!
A general consensus is that information is difficult to find on our current site. Bianca expressed that changing the titles on our top menu, as well as reorganizng the content would be the most benefit, rather than considering a design change all together. Visitors should be able to find the information they want in no more than 2 clicks. Audrey expressed that our home page is underutilized, and by making more use of the "first glance", we could make it easier for visitors to find what they need. Irina also mentioned that it would be good to have a multilangual site, and to use audio and images. Mike made a good point, saying kids hear more than they can read. Jarrod suggested adding features, such as ecards, games, and a comment section.
Generally, noone felt the slideshow on our homepage is helpful. It slows the process of getting to the critical information and can annoy visitors. There were different views on the use of the children's shout "Zeum". Some felt it helps articulate how to pronounce our name. Others felt it is distracting, and that visitors may not know what is being said.
In conclusion, some of the main areas to consider for improving our site include:
Adding interactive components (games, blogs, podcasts, comment section)
Building links from other sites and search engines (Facebook, blogs, Twitter, Google adwords)
Making greater use of our homepage (accessibility)
Finding ways of sharing Zeum's story (staff, what we do, outreach, events)
Identifying our user and their needs
Improving accessibility of important and compelling information
Include more imagery, audio and music, and less text

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend, and I welcome any of you to continue to share your thoughts on how we can expand our awareness and attendance through online sources!
Some other sites we visited are:
http://www.brooklynkids.org/
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/
http://www.newseum.org/

Zeum in the Community

Our first Brown Bag Brunch was a huge success in that it gave folks from all departments a chance to voice their insights and get feedback from the group - you guys are AMAZING!

We began the meeting by setting up some BrownBag Agreements, they are as follows:

no restrictions
dreaming
sharing our past and outside of Zeum experiences
<1hr
fun = not meeting
drop in OKAY
focus on positives and achievements
future-oriented
snack-oriented

We began our conversation by talking about what other cultural institutions we look up to/compete with. Mike mentioned that we have more in common with community-based arts providers such as 826 Valencia and Streetside Stories than traditional museums. Heidi agreed that sometimes using the word "museum" to describe what we do is misleading and that she often begins conversations by explaining in what ways we differ from the norm.

This led to a conversation about the value and experience we provide our visitors. Fran mentioned that unlike conventional museums that view their visitors as empty vessels, we acknowledge and celebrate the experiences our visitors bring with them. Sarah W. agreed that we should be proud of breaking the mold in a world where so much museum education is didactic.

This led us to a discussion of the community(ies) of which we are a part and those we serve. Michael began by saying that our influence goes beyond the SF Bay Area and Eli added that our exhibits have inspired folks from as far away as China. With this in mind, we began a conversation about how we can thoughtfully showcase both the media created at Zeum as well as the experience we provide. Anne suggested that it might help to make a short promotional video featured on our DVDs so family and friends could see the process their children went through to create their final product. Heidi agreed that something like this could be a useful tool for our website, and other places of distribution like YouTube, Wikipedia, and Photobucket.

We concluded the conversation by proposing some ideas for future BrownBags. These included:

stress reduction, financial education, work/life balance, website (zeum.org), participation/visitor experience, visitor ownership of zeum (membership)

We also signed up for future BrownBags (you'll note the last spot is free....)

Brown Bag Calendar

Date Facilitator(s) Topic
1/21/09 Heidi and Gil Website 2.0
2/18/09 Fran and Flynn Museum Participation
3/18/09 Christina and Ari Membership and Community Involvement
4/15/09 Anne Work/Life Balance
5/20/09

Although we touched on a lot of specifics, this conversation also delved into more philosophical questions such as "what defines community?" and "what is art?" Likewise, we left thinking about creative ways to include our community in every process of exhibit and program design. If you have thoughts about this or anything else we touched on, please comment below and we'll keep this conversation going until next month!

Looking forward,
Irina