a museum? what? really? what?

possible extra credit

For this assignment you can go to any museum you want. If you've always wanted to see the L.A. Science Museum, this is the time. If a local miniature train museum picques your interest, well, it's homework, after all. If you manage to snag tickets to the latest pop-up (like the Ice Cream Museum), turn this into an event.

I have been to a lot of museums in my day. My favorite art museum is the Tate in London; the weirdest museum I've been to is The Thing in Arizona. My absolute favorite museum, and it's fairly local, is the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City. I will not describe it here beyond noting that it is "different." It was the subject of Pulitzer-Prize nominated Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonders, and founder/curator David Wilson won the MacArthur Foundation's Genius Grant.

Every student who has been has returned saying they found it "fantastic" or "puzzling" or "weird" or "amazing" or "?" And so I'm going to encourage the class to visit this museum that is (possibly) all about "what is a museum?" Look at how things are organized, the ratio of printed information to physical objects, the layout, the flow (is there a flow?), the unexpected extras that make this a place you have to see in person and not on a Netflix documentary.

If you do go to the MJT, you will get 10 extra-credit points BEYOND the 10 points for the assignment. Parking is a bit dicey, and I'd recommend you go when it's not TOO crowded, and be sure you check ahead to find the location, hours, etc. here at their website: Museum of Jurassic Technology. Click on the picture and select "Visitor Information." Enjoy :)

For the past couple of years, when two of us decided to build much of our English 102 classes around Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, students have found this assignment to be the weirdest. They have also (later in the term) often commented that the museum trip was

  1. a lot of fun
  2. one of the most useful information-gathering activities they'd done all semester

So, yes, this is an actual graded assignment (possibly extra credit (see the pinkish sidebar on the right), and an important first-hand research step in the Station Eleven project (the main project for the class).

er, what's involved?

Simple enough--you need to actually go to a museum. I do not care which museum you go to. It could be a small local museum that is free, a large museum in Exposition Park or on the Miracle Mile (or even the Getty). Make a day of it; take the family; carpool with other students doing the assignment. Have some fun.

Then prove to me that you actually went to a museum (this semester, not some time in the past; past trips do not work because you are now looking for some very specific things that you would not have been then). So what constitutes proof? The simplest method is to take a selfie or a picture of the ticket/cataloge (many museums will not let you take pictures inside), attach the .jpg to an e-mail, and e-mail it to me at jrcorbally@gmail.com, something like this:

museum receipt

NOTE: you must do this by the end of Week 5 (it's on the Class Schedule page), and here is why: those OTHER possible points (and that includes up to 10 more extra credit points) are for class Discussion 5. 20 points will be for your museum findings (see the list of questions to take notes on below), and for your museum brainstorming/design.

and so why are we doing this?

As I noted, you are on a fact-finding mission. You want to look at how to set up a museum. How is it orgainzed, staffed, optimized for crowd flow, monetized (museums are businesses, after all). What do individual exhibits consist of? What are special exhibits like? What literature (catalogs, books relating to exhibits) are on sale? Is there a gift shop? A cafe? Where are restrooms situated. And most important, what makes this museum special, distinctive, a place that will draw people across town, jockey for parking, pay admission when they could be home watching Netflix?

If the owner or curator or a docent is free, you might want to ask what the museum's mission statement is (it's likely in their catalog) in an "About us" section). Ask what the idea was behind limiting each exhibit and setting up each exhibit to create maximum interest and information? You don't have to actually talk to a live person, but it's great information for your purpose. Try to get information and take notes on the following:

Oh, and you are also doing this for a change of pace and fun; don't forget that part.

what is this "purpose" you mention?

Again, it will make even more sense when you've finished the novel and of you have looked ahead at the Research Paper and Final Project instructions. I actually recommend looking over that assignment before you go to a museum.

and what if I just don't go to a museum?

Obviously you will get zero points for this assignment (and even miss a possible extra-credit opportunity), but you will also then not be able to do the first part of Discussion 5 (which will cost you MORE points (and another possible extra-credit opportunity).

You will also very likely be lost when it comes to the other steps in the Station Eleven Project (including the Research Paper and the Final Creative Project.

wait! you mentioned "the first part of discussion 5"; is there a second part?

As I said elsewhere, this project builds from one step to the next. You will be using those notes in Step 2 where you will be digesting what you noticed about what makes up a museum and creating the initial design and ideas for your own museum. Better notes will make Step 2 easier :)