Turning raw space into a fully functioning hands-on exhibit is a process that includes many steps along the way.
Phase I
Throughout 2021, we worked with our advisors to plan out concepts we would address throughout the Saltwater Stories exhibit. Coupling that knowledge with the available space (currently the Patterns gallery), our team developed a floorplan.
Phase II Updates — September 2021 through July 2023
After a floorplan is developed, our team continues through the iterative process of developing more detailed drawings, evolving the overall “look and feel” through graphic elements, determining what components will look like and how they function, and adjusting how the story is told throughout the exhibit.
Testing Ideas
Members of the exhibit development team seek advice from the most critical audience – children—as they test concepts and component ideas for the exhibit. The questions visitors ask and the way they interact with the activity and props helps our team to make everything as intuitive as possible.
Throughout the summer of 2022, we had weekly “Summer by the Sea” drop-in programs. Each Monday, we dove into fishing fun, created ocean-inspired art, or took a trip back in time to explore the historical importance of the sea.
Creative Technologist and Exhibit Developer Sean Allen spent time with visitors in July 2023 to test a clam sorting activity.
Working on Graphics
3-D Models
The Newest Model
Here is what an aerial view of the exhibition plan looks like as of January 2024! Staff are working hard to fit everything in and ensure that visitors can easily flow through the space.
This project is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Humanities New York.