How to Infuriate Your Museum Audience

August 17, 2017 by Taylor Studios in Design & Planning

When I was young, I loved dinosaurs. I mean, hardcore. Unlike most kids, I did not grow out of the “dinosaur phase” until I entered high school. I was a big-time dino nerd, reading, watching, buying…heck, even everything that I could find that included these prehistoric beasts. Need further evidence? Here is a photo of me – Jurassic Park shirt and all – meeting paleontologist Karen Chin:

Sidenote – my brother Steve, pictured on the left, actually became a paleontologist! But that is for a

During my grade school years, I actually ran a “museum” in my bedroom, full of a hoarder’s miscellany of fossils, dinosaur toys, T. rex posters, and Jurassic Park merchandise. It was called “Dino Land,” and I was the self-declared “Curator of Paleontology.” PhD? No. Ambition and a bit of ego? Yes!

Humor aside, I thought that it might be fun to “review” my childhood museum Dino Land, looking for lessons that might actually help real interpretive sites today. Mostly, I discovered many lessons on what not to do!

Simple lessons, but also important. Funny how I didn’t realize the errors that I was making, blinded as I was by the childlike passion I had to know and to collect everything. But looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Do you have any fun museum-related childhood stories that you’d like to share? Comment below