Museumist: I’m A Museum Person – A Museumist Questionnaire

I completed a questionnaire for Museumist over the weekend. It will go live there tomorrow, but I thought I’d give you a preview today. Check back tomorrow for a link to their site.

Betty Brennan

I own a planning, design/build exhibit company called Taylor Studios, Inc. (). I’m an entrepreneur. I started the company in a garage and renovated chicken coop. Twenty years later Taylor Studios has over 300 projects in museums, nature centers, universities, visitor centers, corporate lobbies and anywhere a unique story needs to be told. I also a humorous, farm girl, horse lover, animal enthusiast, nature admirer, traveler, goal setter, business player sort of girl.

From a straight forward point of view, they matter because they support the business and my staff. Beyond that, we love museums. They tell the stories of our past, they preserve our history, they can transform you to another time and place, they can touch your soul, they teach, they inform, they are fun, they inspire, they increase knowledge, they are a window to nature, they envision the future, they are places of discovery and the human experience. If through our exhibits we can touch someone’s urge to know, love or acknowledge the content we have in a ways improved humanity. With knowledge comes appreciation and sometimes action. Museums add this richness to people’s lives. They can brighten our world of understanding. What a grand thing!

We stopped by the Roswell UFO Museum. I read a copy panel I have never forgotten. It went something like this, “we were buck naked in the back of my pick up truck when all hell broke loose.” I like to say it with emphasis. Now that copy tells an unforgettable story. It’s the best copy ever. I’m still laughing when I type this. Sometimes humanity needs to lighten up and laugh. Museums can do that too.

I have been to hundreds of museums. It’s what I do. I don’t have a particular one in mind that I must see. My favorite time period is the Pleistocene. So, I’ve always intended to visit the La Brea Tar Pits. I have been to that area of the country many times and have never stopped there. I would love to continue visiting museums every chance I get.

I have it. To own a company that has 20 projects going at one time is quite amazing. In any one day you could learn about trains, the civil war, prairies, African American history, a particular fort, a particular time period, etc.

It’s an exhibit that inspires and engages the visitor. It provides something more than a book, the history channel or the classroom. The content is well organized, relevant, thematic and has a point of view. There is an easy flow. The copy is concise and poignant. There are more visuals than words. The visuals are a variety of media: graphics, photographs, 3D objects, immersive environments and A/V. If I had a pleasant experience and walked away from the exhibit with a different point of view, new knowledge and the desire to learn or do more then it is perfect.

I’ll go with NatHistoryWhale. I mean whales are probably genetically prone to being more funny than a T-Rex. Check out our tweets @TSIExhibits. We are really pithy.

I buy a lot of museum magnets. They are all over my fridge.

The EMP is in Seattle. The rest would be a guess or google search. I guess I have a lot more museums to go see.

I recently visited Paris and am tempted to say the Louvre given its size. I could certainly find something new to learn every day. However, I have a special place in my heart for Natural History Museums. Since, I have never been to London and their museum is vast. I will pick that one.

The Field Museum in Chicago.

The Thing in Arizona. Oh, my gosh all those billboards on the empty desert road eventually suck you into visiting this museums. I remember the billboards more than the museum.

Another all time favorite is The House on The Rock in WI. This crazy experience is definitely worth the trip. I think I recall Santa on a surf board being chased by a life sized whale. You can’t beat that with a stick.