Cultural projects should be data-driven — but which *kind* of data?What’s the difference between the “big data” we all know — and “thick data”? Which is more important? (Hint: trick question.) What does cell phone data have to do with sculpture gardens? ….

Massimo the exhibition designer walks into Best Buy. “Can I help you?” asks a clerk. “Yes! I have just moved. I need a new TV,” Massimo replies. “Aha! We have a special on this one here! It’s 10 feet wide, 2 feet tall — and curved!” boasts the clerk. …

In this week’s podcast on “How to Build a Museum” with David Greenbaum, we heard that “over time, OpEx will eventually outstrip the CapEx of a new museum building.” Maybe this made you think: “Interesting.” Or maybe it made you think: “What?” …

What if there were only five important things to remember when you build a museum? What if the most important one of them all — had nothing to do with architecture? Which costs more in the end: building the museum, or operating the building? …

Tech, of various flavors, is one of the most asked-for topics in MtM reader surveys, from interactives to media experiences. So it’s no surprise that many of those flavors showed up in today’s list. I’m especially glad that #10 made it! …

Today, the Top Ten most popular posts related to content, as determined by web traffic at makingthemuseum.com, where every daily post gets gathered. (This time, the #1 spot came as no surprise. I didn’t expect #2, but Phil & Monique fans might have.) …

Thank you! Thanks to your reading, your comments, and your feedback, Making the Museum (the newsletter) just turned … [drum roll] … 1. A year ago, the first email went out. And it wouldn’t be an anniversary if we didn’t do some Top Ten lists …

I heard an expert recently assert, in a public setting, “No one should ask who designed an experience after they visit.” I have … thoughts. Actually, I just disagree. Because that isn’t a useful goal for anyone involved. It shouldn’t be a goal at all. …

[NEW PODCAST] What’s the #1 thing to know about experiential technology? How long do LED walls last? (The answer will surprise you.) Are growing pains normal? What happens when you use technology just to have it? What’s an “integrator”? …

And you might come across two other variations on "streakers, strollers, scholars" (aka, the psychographics of attention span). One of these might be a better model for your situation. For example, “Skimmers, Swimmers, Divers” comes from web development …

We could think about our visitors by demographics: age, gender, religion. We could sort them by psychographics: lifestyle, political affiliation, values. But I prefer to plan according to attention span: streakers, strollers, and scholars. …

“England and America: separated by a common language.” — George Bernard Shaw (via Eddie Izzard). To our list of Slippery Words of Our Field — program, development — let’s add “accessible”. All of its different meanings are vital to what we all do. But …

There is a paradox at the heart of every visitor center: if it's so fantastic people never want to leave — it's a total failure. The more time you spend in a visitor center, the less time you have for the destination. We came for Niagara Falls, not the Niagara Falls Visitor Center. …

PHIL: Look at this script. Is this too much text? MONIQUE: Yes. [Sips matcha.] PHIL: But you didn’t even look! MONIQUE: Don’t have to. PHIL: Why not? MONIQUE: It’s always too much. PHIL: True. MONIQUE: Why do we always start by assuming every exhibition needs text? …

VR headsets are amazing. But not — usually — for our museum exhibitions. Despite all the times they come up in our meetings. Why? For one, they’re not a group thing. Headsets are individual. Museums aren’t. Do we want an experience for the few? …

In ancient times, shortly after life emerged from the sea, movies came on DVDs. “Special collector’s editions” had a second disk with “extra” content. We often treat our interactive media experiences like that second DVD. …

Ever wonder why a “small” at Starbucks is a “tall”? Once, you could order short, tall, or “grande” (Italian for “large”), but newbies just chose the middle: tall. The chain tried dropping shorts from the menu and adding a bigger size: “venti”. Guess what happened. …

Sure, it’s smart to plan using the “worst case scenario”. But that doesn’t work when the worst case is extreme. For example: We want to accommodate the largest exhibitions, so we plan all our galleries that big — but that size rarely comes. What to do? …

Exhibits are like Dr. Seuss machines.
They change minds. And, do you know what that means?
Our visitors – isn’t it sad, they don’t know
The facts about forks that we all love so. …

Since the QR code comeback, they are up for consideration in every project. And for some things they’re great. But before we put QR codes on every wall, let’s do a quick refresher. Here are 7 truths worth keeping in mind. …