tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post7320606044282529750..comments2024-03-27T05:04:39.476-07:00Comments on Museum 2.0: Dear Jack, Dear Snoopy: Using Letter-Writing for Visitor ResponseNina Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11723930679606298550noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-73537662460760333522010-03-28T18:01:26.353-07:002010-03-28T18:01:26.353-07:00Not to be redundant, but great insights. Those typ...Not to be redundant, but great insights. Those types of visitor-response stations are great. They definitely create a connection between the museum and the visitor. Instead of a building, we are connecting to an actual face. Creating an atmosphere is really important too. That's one reason why we go to museums anyway; to experience something new, to immerse ourselves in a world we might never get to experience otherwise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-39084432703470732452010-02-05T13:26:01.246-08:002010-02-05T13:26:01.246-08:00We haven't yet used typewriters, but we have h...We haven't yet used typewriters, but we have had really great response to two recent exhibitions that have allowed visitors to write and share their stories at a spot in the exhibition. The first exhibition, Becoming American, asked visitors to take a picture in our photo booth and then write their own stories of becoming or being American on a 5x7 card. The response was overwhelming and the stories were so beautiful. A current exhibition, Breach of Peace: Photographs of Freedom Riders, asks visitors to take a photo in our photo booth and then post a card with an answer to the question "What cause would you ride for?" Again, the response has been fantastic. I think especially with intense content in an exhibit, it is almost necessary to give visitors an outlet to express themselves in respect to the exhibition. Thanks for the post!Alexhttp://www.skirball.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-42465556331642942132010-01-20T13:56:15.811-08:002010-01-20T13:56:15.811-08:00I have used a typewriter with children 7 - 8 years...I have used a typewriter with children 7 - 8 years in the last year or so. Admittedly my experience is in a classroom not a museum. Whilst the children had interesting things to say I found the greatest difficulty was that many of the children were unable to make a mark on the page. They were so used to computer keyboards where next to no pressure is needed that it took several attempts at utilising "people power" before the focus was put on what was actually written.Robyn Peeknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-39738497560078821452010-01-15T09:04:08.161-08:002010-01-15T09:04:08.161-08:00Interesting. We are in the midst of banging our he...Interesting. We are in the midst of banging our heads against the wall trying to figure out how to get our (admittedly very young) visitors to leave thoughtful responses at our "talkback" areas. The idea of a letter is interesting. <br /><br />Our talkbacks tend to be more of a prompt and response area - longhand writing on paper or post-its. We have found over 50% of our "responses" are scribbles or things like "Hi Mom" or "Best Buds 4evah 2009!" Not exactly heartening to an evaluator.<br /><br />Since these areas do ask one to slow down enough to sit and write, I wonder if the real success of these areas comes from the fictional addressee of the letter, or the letter format itself? We've experimented with letter writing, without much success. Do you think age of audience is a key factor here? What age group did best at Brooklyn? And have other CM's done this since the 80s? I wonder, with a generation removed from typewriters and tuned to IM and text messaging, if the same concepts will apply?<br /><br />Just questions pouring from a timely post! As always, Nina, great stuff!<br /><br />SarahSarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00715378729121881972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-22628686952127570322010-01-13T09:31:00.105-08:002010-01-13T09:31:00.105-08:00Nina I really enjoyed this entry. I am such a fan ...Nina I really enjoyed this entry. I am such a fan and advocate for good and well aligned visitor galleries within exhibitions. I have not experienced letter writting in an exhibit, but I see how it would work. I think this would be a wonderful addition at my museum.CDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11257874444869790791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-43082887096769734682010-01-12T22:50:50.822-08:002010-01-12T22:50:50.822-08:00thanksthanksmsh grouphttp://mshgroup.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-36025063640291314522010-01-12T14:25:10.678-08:002010-01-12T14:25:10.678-08:00I did this in my own apartment and an old Royal po...I did this in my own apartment and an old Royal portable. We had a longish sheet of paper that stayed fed into the typewriter. Anyone could then start typing a sentence or two.Taylor Deweyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08708686825971269963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37032121.post-41769486771688462722010-01-11T14:37:22.037-08:002010-01-11T14:37:22.037-08:00Great thoughts Nina about forcing people to slow d...Great thoughts Nina about forcing people to slow down, and having an intended audience. Usually an underlying goal is to keep people moving through an exhibit and not tie up a station for more than 5 minutes. But we do want them to slow down enough that their responses aren't trivial. I'm going to think more about how we might design an interface that slows people down in that intrinsically engaging way...brad larsonhttp://www.bradlarson.comnoreply@blogger.com