Assignment: Museum Project

You have been tasked with developing a temporary exhibition at the Smithsonian. Each member of your three-person team will need to bring a certain skill set (not Liam Neeson's) to the table to complete it. This will require both individual and group work. Each group member will be given a task he or she must complete on their own, but must add to the finished product.

The bulk of your project grade will be determined on the quality of your own contribution. The remainder will consist of an evaluation of your entire group project, your ability to meet deadlines and maintain communication through your group discussion boards, and assessments completed by your group members regarding your input.

Museum Project - Group Member positions

Position #1: The Archeologist

This person must find images or videos of the artifacts, primary source documents, etc. that you want to present as a part of the exhibition. This person will also need to supply some basic facts about the object (who, what, when, and where). He or she will need to run it by the other team members for approval before deciding whether or not to add it to the exhibit. He or she may also need to build replicas of some artifacts for display (i.e. an exhibit on the Industrial Revolution might have a telegraph or electromagnet demonstration), and may call on Team Members 2 and 4 for some assistance.Finally, this person will assist in developing the exhibit introduction which Team Member 2 will be drafting.

Position #2: The Researcher/Exhibitionist

This person will need to write a short blurb about each agreed-upon object/image that uses the basic facts provided by Team Member 1, and then explains the significance of it to explaining the exhibition's topic, using outside scholarly sources to write the blurbs. This person may be recruited to help in any replica constructions for the exhibit.This person will largely be responsible for also writing an introduction to the exhibit, which explains it as a whole (will receive input from Team Members 1 and 3).

Position #3: The Marketing Analyst

This person will be in charge of design, layout, and marketing for the exhibition. This person will need to craft the images and content found by Team Members 1 and 2 onto an aesthetically pleasing website that will both inform and draw visitors. Visit some museums and/or museum websites to get a feel for what works well. Do some research into museum marketing/administration. Additionally, this person will create a map that helps visitors navigate the exhibit. He or she will also need to craft a short press release describing the exhibition to be published in the local paper. Finally, this person will assist in developing the exhibit introduction which Team Member 2 will be drafting.

Museum Project

You will be presenting your final collaborated group project as a website which your Marketing Analyst will largely be working on (I will send the links for each groups website to edit). Each member will need to add their content to it, but the Marketing Analyst will work to make it aesthetically pleasing to visitors, in addition to other more administrative tasks.

For your individual research submissions (i.e. what is specifically outlined in your position description), the following are the recommended formats/styles for submission through Blackboard:

Position #1

A Power Point presentation with images, pictures of objects and/or videos of demonstrations of objects in the collection. You should have a combination of 15-20 objects, pictures, and demonstrations in your exhibit. Each should include those basic facts you found (as outlined in your description above). Make sure you include the source citations for both where you found the objects/pictures, and also where you found the information for the basic facts about each item. Citations should appear on each slide, with a final slide providing your bibliography.

Position #2:

This can be done in either Word or Excel. You can present the research about the objects in a table or more in the format of paper with different sections (i.e. each section discusses one item). Your blurbs about each object should be at least five relevant and coherent sentences about the object and its significance (i.e. do not tell me things like, "This picture is historically significant, and should be preserved."). Then, write a one or two page double spaced report that will act as the introduction display for visitors upon entering the exhibit. This should be a general overview of the exhibit and should be developed from your knowledge of the objects and their significance. Make sure you are citing your sources throughout the document, with your final page being a bibliography.

Position #3:

A Power Point presentation will most likely be the best method. Treat it like a sales pitch: explain your design and layout for the exhibit and the associated website (also, provide the exhibit map on a slide to help "visualize" the exhibit). Your last slide should have a brief press release about what the exhibit is and the reasons it is relevant to the community. Make sure you reference the marketing and historical sources, Museum websites, and other sources (such as if you used any stock images you found online) you used throughout your presentation. You should have citations for each slide, with the final slide being your bibliography.

Museum Project - Requirements

While each position requires different types and different levels of sources needed, each person should have sources that were referenced and used in the creation of their work. Even if you are a tech guru and do not need any how-to guide help, research some tech websites to find out about the latest and greatest in A/V content and development, especially as it pertains to museums or history as a whole.

With the exception of a using at least 15-20 relevant and thoughtful objects for your exhibit, there are no specific length requirements (unless otherwise noted, such as for Position #2).

Mainly, you want to ensure your exhibit is thoughtful in its selection and presentation of materials and content, and really see to it that your objects and object demonstrations tell a thorough story about your topic. So, an exhibit on Ancient Greek philosophers might have a surviving written piece from Aristotle or a Middle Age painting of him surrounded by his students. There may even be a demonstration of how Greeks recorded content during this era. However, you will most likely not see a generic pot used for food storage by an unknown family during this era. While interesting, it does not really relate to the exhibit topic, and it fails to help tell the story of Greek philosophy.

Now, for specific components:

• Your own research submission (see "Presentation of your Research" section)
• The final group website
• Your discussion board participation
• Member assessments on each of your group members (will be posted closer to the due date)