Time for a little audience participation. Don’t worry, it will be simple. First, a little warm-up about the goals of various things people do. The main goal of every sports team playing a game is to …… win the game. The main goal of every class is to …… teach the subject. …

Why is economic planning so vital to any new museum project? What happens if you don’t do it? James Stevens (VP, ConsultEcon, Inc.) joins Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) to discuss “An Economic Planner’s Advice to Museums”. …

The principle “Bad On YouTube” says that exhibition media should be site-specific and/or special-format. We’ll know it’s good when it’s bad on YouTube. But being “spatially specific” isn’t only about media, it applies to everything. I can think of three levels. …

Our visitors are surrounded by media better-funded than anything we will ever do. In a fair fight, we lose. So make it unfair. Capitalize on what makes exhibition media unique. Because it’s exhibition media. If it doesn’t work well on YouTube, it’s good. …

What is the “humanities gap” — and why is it a huge opportunity for museums? Why can’t everybody be a philanthropist for the day? Michele Y. Smith (CEO, Museum of Popular Culture) joins host Jonathan Alger to talk about “A Guitar That Teaches Civil Rights”. …

Planners plan using floor plans. A floor plan is a great tool. But sometimes even veterans make weird decisions because we’re thinking while looking straight down. Our visitors don’t have a dollhouse-owner-view. They have a doll’s-eye-view. …

Welcome to the trippy art spa. You might not know the name. But you know the formula. It’s a subgenre of immersive art that combines multiple trends into one night out. Giant room with projections covering walls and floor,? Check. ..

We might think a design concept is the first step — but it’s not. What do you need to ask yourself, before you even start? Carolynne Harris (Museum Planner, Carolynne Harris Consulting) joins Jonathan to discuss “The Questions You Have to Ask Before the Project”. …

Ah, the humble Post-it. Classic yellow, light pink, pale blue. A staple of low-budget interactive experiences for a generation, museum teams either love or hate these little squares. I’m a fan. Not because it’s the most novel thing I can come up with. It’s for another reason …

There are two tricks that are so good, they work every time. So good, they work on experts who know the trick. This is one of those. This works even if the budget is low. Even if you just did it last time, or in the same room. Even if the subject doesn’t fit. …

Why is “70/50” the gold standard? Who decided? Does every gallery really need to be 70 degrees? At what cost? Roger Chang (Principal, Buro Happold) joins host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) on Making the Museum, the podcast. …

Q: How many museum-making people does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: Check the responsibility matrix. A responsibility matrix — a chart of which team will do what — is a must for any complex project. Especially when it’s both new construction and a new exhibition. …

Creative contracts call for “three options”. But complex organizations need more than the usual three options to make good decisions. They need plenty of choices to not like. And when you need to hit a balloon in a dark room with a dart, you throw a handful of darts.

What if chaos in cultural projects is something to embrace, not fear?Can chaos theory give us new insights about how to manage complex work? What are the three things upon which the success of a project depends? Are we owner’s advocates — or project advocates? …

Richard Saul Wurman, co-founder of TED, popularized LATCH in the 90s. Essentially, you can organize any information by Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, or Hierarchy. You can find LATCH everywhere. In fact, exceptions are rare. …

What words do we all use to refer to the individual parts of an exhibition space? Let’s say we have a large exhibit. Within that overall space, there are individual discreet experiences. What do we call them? Zones? Areas? Modules? … Exhibits? …

[NEW PODCAST] What’s the secret to success, when a project lasts years longer than planned? How does the subject matter of a project relate to its form? Which is more important: patience, or pushing? (Hint: it’s a trick question.) Give it a listen! …

When we plan our exhibitions and experiences, it’s critical that we take into account the aging speeds of the elements of a project: Elephant, Dog, Gerbil. But things just got faster. AI tech is now in our exhibitions too. What aging speed is that? …

MONIQUE: [Chewing] This free cheese isn’t bad. Museums should give out more free cheese. PHIL: [Stops chewing] What? MONIQUE: Metaphorically. PHIL: Uh oh. [Chews] MONIQUE: See, usually we consider marketing for exhibitions as separate …

My new acquaintance K.C. and I were watching a conference talk. She runs a museum. When a slide defined “TL;DR” for the audience (“Too Long, Didn’t Read”) she whispered to me, “That’s what all our exhibits are.” Heh. She’s right. And our visitors don’t come to read. …